Metronidazole Dosage

[Missykat]

Hi all,

I have 7 leos, 3 of which (now isolated) have been losing weight and have diahorrea or liquid urates. Faecal samples have shown presence of flagellates, and my dad (a small animal vet) has prescribed metronidazole. He is unsure of the required dosage however, as he is not a specialist reptile vet (I went to my local reptile vet and he made some alarming husbandry comments like 'you shouldnt heat them from underneath' so I lost faith in him). The metronidozole i have is 40mg/ml, which i plan to dilute to 10mg/ml and the dosage I researched was 25mg/kg. Does this seem ok?

thanks for any help,

Kat

 

[GypsyKundie]

try just calling a reptile vet and asking over the phone. They dont even have to be in your state - most will answer your questions

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

The dose for Flagyl is 25-50 mg/kg of body weight for 3-5 days, then every other day for until the infection clears.

The way to calculate dosages is: dose X weight divided by concentration.

 

[Missykat]

thank you

 

[Missykat]

:main_thumbsdown: one of my leos which has been losing weight and currently being treated has started to show blood in her stool. It seems to be in the fecal matter, not the urates. I've sent out fecal samples to be analysed further at a lab, and all i can think is oh my god its crypto. I will be so devastated to lose any of them. is there anything i can give her to stop her stomach/intestines being so sore until she is fully disgnosed? I'm in the UK by the way...

thanks anyone.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Blood in the stool can also be an indication of hookworms, which can be treated with Panacur (Fenbendazole) and fastidious disinfection of water bowls, and clean paper towel substrate with every fecal deposit.

 

[Missykat]

they are all on paper towel/lino, were wormed 2 weeks ago, need to repeat the treatment in one week, water bowls are being cleaned in milton solution (baby bottle steriliser in the uk) so hopefully if it is those I can beat it. I just hope she makes it through all the medication, she has been eating up to now but the last couple of days hasn't been interested perhaps due to the stress of being medicated. Thanks again for your advice, I really appreciate it.

 

[Missykat]

hi, just an update on my parasite stress nightmare. Samples are now coming back from the lab clean, only 2 of the geckos are now concerning me. My male Raptor, Zeus, and a female sunglow, Sunny.

Zeus hasn't eaten consistently for months, only once a month maybe he will suddenly become interested and eat some hoppers from tongs. He is down to 40g from a good 60, which was probably alot due to parasites but now he's clear i'm going nuts thinking how to get him to eat something and put on some weight. He is on a probiotic to help replace gut flora he lost while being medicated, and he is very active, just not interested in food. He gets some critical care formula every 3 days to keep him ticking over.

Sunny has always been small, always hovered around the 40g mark but she is a small gecko, but has dropped to 34g i think with the stress of being medicated. She also refuses to eat anything or show any interest in food.

I've ordered yet more fecal tests to keep screening them in case they relapse. This is more stressful than anything ever...

I've heard that feeding them slurry every day then taking them off it might stimulate them to eat. Is this right? Is there anything i can do that i'm not already doing?

thanks.

 

[Ccrashca069]

If you been feeding them the slurry then stopped the slurry and see if they will eat the feeders you give them. In a day or 2 they should start eating .

 

[fallen_angel]

I am so terribly sorry to hear about all of this and we wish you the best, we'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers!

 

[Missykat]

an update...

everyone is still alive, but my male Zeus is painfully thin and still not interested in food. I am feeding him slurry in the hopes that one evening he will get hungry. The other night he stared at a locust with the big "i'm going to eat you" eyes but then lost interest. It's breaking my heart to watch him waste away when there is nothing physically wrong with him, he has had 3 clean fecal tests including crypto and is very active and bright but losing a gram a week and now at 39g and he is a big gecko.

Sunny still has a thin tail, never eats in front of me but is holding her weight. All my geckos bar one have totally gone of waxworms so i can't even tempt them with those.

I'm at a loss as to what to do...

Thank you for your kind words

 

[Rejoice in the Lord]

What are your tank temps?

Sometimes bringing the temps up a little will help leos start eating again.

 

[Missykat]

Hey, the mat they have is statted to 90 degrees. What is the max temp they can be kept at? He ate some waxworms on saturday, but then last night again he wasn't interested. He gets my hopes up then crushes them...

thanks.

 

[Rejoice in the Lord]

90 should be good. Usually, for young or sick leos, 90-94 belly heat is suggested. You don't want the tank to get over 94.

Just keep working with her. A friend of mine had to hand feed her sick leo for months after it had finished it's meds. Then one day, the leo started eating for her.

 

[Missykat]

thank you for your encouragement. I will keep trying with him until he gives up, and certainly not before. Again, thank you.