giving medication?

[avoidtheboyd]

ok so after the vet visit today i got two different medications i need to give my gecko for 5 days. If i hold him firmly but not too hard and make him open his mouth and squirt it in. Will i hurt him?i dont want to hurt his jaws or anything. Will this be ok?

 

[Allee Toler]

He'll be fine. What's the medication, and why is he on it?

 

[Allee Toler]

And just so you know now, the stress of giving him medication will make him continue to not eat.

 

[avoidtheboyd]

but what do i do? its a vet? Hes more qualified than i am. hes on like pancur and bactrim. Ones a dewormer and the others an antibiotic.

 

[Allee Toler]

But what was his reasoning behind it? Where's the infection? Did he do a fecal to clarify he needs a dewormer? Is there weight loss to even suspect parasites?

A vet is a vet. 99% of vets their goal is to get some money out of you. If you're lucky to find the 1% that says "It's not necessary, this route is cheaper." Then don't change vets. Even I have to question my vet sometimes on his motives. I'll take a gravid female in for an eye infection, he'll ask when she last ate, I'll say two weeks or so, he'll jump right into antibiotics and this liquid calorie food to give her even though she's not eating due to being gravid and not losing weight. You really have to educate yourself before going in.

 

[avoidtheboyd]

i guess because hes no eating and his eye looks like its irratating him.

 

[avoidtheboyd]

but again what if he does need it and i dont give it to him? How long will he last if he doesnt eat? he 80 grams and hes got some fatty pockets under his arms. How long can he last?

 

[Allee Toler]

i guess because hes no eating and his eye looks like its irratating him.

Then the proper treatment would be some terramycin. It's an optical antibiotic. Oral antibiotics are strong and usually used for upper respiratory infections or sever infections, not a "suspected" eye infection. Panacur is a simple dewormer, I use it myself. I purchase it from Walmart for $5. No prescription needed, either. Panacur is a dewormer used to treat parasites, in order to diagnose parasites a fecal test will need to be done. If a fecal wasn't done then I personally wouldn't even bother. If his reasoning that the eye looks irritated is because he keeps it closed most of the time then there's no real evidence.

To be honest with you, I suspect it's brumation. Like I said prior to your vet visit. I don't believe in giving medication, especially Bactrum or Baytril, when it's not necessary.

Good luck to your gecko. Stress is hard on a body.

 

[Allee Toler]

but again what if he does need it and i dont give it to him? How long will he last if he doesnt eat? he 80 grams and hes got some fatty pockets under his arms. How long can he last?

If it's an eye infection it will goop up after a couple days. Eye infections are obvious to see visually. If he's not losing weight then I don't see why parasites were suspected. If he's sleeping a lot, acting sluggish, not losing weight, then it's classic signs of brumation.

 

[avoidtheboyd]

how long will brumation last then? Giving him the medicines wont kill him right?

 

[avoidtheboyd]

my mom just said keep the medicine for now. It wont go bad right? ill give it some time and let him calm down. Another thing that really angered me is that the vet hurt my little guys toe today. The vet held him and when he put him back in his tub his toe bled a little and there was no toenail.

 

[Allee Toler]

how long will brumation last then? Giving him the medicines wont kill him right?

Brumation, with my geckos personally, they start to come out of it end of February, early March. Each gecko is slightly different.

Depending on the dose, the amount of stress, who knows. It may or it may not. Panacur is pretty toxic. I give it once a week for a few weeks for a treatment so it's not so potent. I couldn't imagine giving it multiple days in a row... At least not without Acidophilus, even then I couldn't imagine it. Panacur kills everything inside the stomach including the good things that help break down food and aid in digestion.

 

[Allee Toler]

my mom just said keep the medicine for now. It wont go bad right? ill give it some time and let him calm down. Another thing that really angered me is that the vet hurt my little guys toe today. The vet held him and when he put him back in his tub his toe bled a little and there was no toenail.

I personally don't know the shelf life of medication. I have some antibiotics (Baytril) in a vile that expires in a year, I've had it a year already. Check on the boxes the medication came in for proper storage to maximize the shelf life. Give him a week. If he's not losing weight, having runny poo (both signs of parasites), and his eye isn't goopy, then don't sweat it. He's fine.

 

[avoidtheboyd]

i cant really tell if his poop is runny or not since hes not eating. He did poop like tuesday or monday and it seemed normal. can i feed him like a wax worm once a week. That seems to be the only thing he'll eat

 

[Allee Toler]

i cant really tell if his poop is runny or not since hes not eating. He did poop like tuesday or monday and it seemed normal. can i feed him like a wax worm once a week. That seems to be the only thing he'll eat

I wouldn't even bother with the waxworms. They're highly addictive. Don't feed him for a week and put in a couple crickets to see if he's interested.

 

[avoidtheboyd]

What about my other gecko? He doesnt look skin and bones but im deffinately sure hes not as heavy as my other.

 

[Allee Toler]

What about my other gecko? He doesnt look skin and bones but im deffinately sure hes not as heavy as my other.

If he's not puking, goopy eyed, running diarrhea poo, losing significant weight, then don't worry.

 

[avoidtheboyd]

but can i feed him a waxie every now and then? the thing thats makes me worry is that my giant female is still a monster and will eat anything that moves.

 

[Allee Toler]

Waxies are high in fat and highly addictive. Feeding occasionally isn't a big deal, only feeding them is a no-no. If they're not eating anything else then stop feeding them waxworms.