Injection Question

[marwari31]

So I recently rescued a ball python which I named Mona. She came to me with healing burn marks on her belly, missing half of her tail, and with many pieces of stuck shed including many layers of eye caps. She has been wheezing since I got her but I thought it was because of loose shed in and by her nose because there were no other symptoms of RI, but she shed perfectly this past Wednesday and was still wheezing so I opened up her mouth and lo and behold it was all bubbly in the back of her throat. So I took her to the vet the very next day and she was diagnosed with an RI and I was given a round of Baytril to inject every 2 days for 14 days.

When I inject the baytril, it forms a bump under her skin. Is this ok? Will she still absorb all of the medicine properly? Also when can I expect her to start to get better? I just gave her the second injection a few minutes ago and it does not seem to be seeping out the injection site so I assume this is ok.


As a side note...as I was telling the vet about my husbandry procedures (what they are housed in, temps, humidity and the like) she practically hugged me! She said that very few people care for their snakes properly and she said everything of mine was spot on! So I would like to thank the BP.net world for helping me help my snakes live happy and healthy lives!!

[Clear]

Baytril needs to be injected into the muscle not under the scales. Did your vet show you how to do injections or explain it?

[marwari31]

Yes, she showed me how to do it but I did not notice a bump then because she went immediately back into her bag cause she was very unhappy. I am injecting into the muscle, maybe about a half an inch into her. Should I be trying to go deeper?
Thanks

[jason79]

Here is a good video
YouTube - Injectable Solution ( enrofloxacin ) - part 1
and
YouTube - Injectable Solution ( enrofloxacin ) - part 2

[CoolioTiffany]

I would like to see photos. When my Kingsnake had an RI I directely injected the medication into his muscles and saw no bumps. Where I put the needle in is very visible now, but definitely not a bump. I would need to see photos if I can, but if you were injecting it into the skin and seeing bumps then you could have not hit the muscle properly and injected the antibiotics in the right spot.

[Clear]

If you are seeing a bump then you are not going into the muscle. Make sure you alternate injection site also and do not inject in the same area as previous. Also baytril can be hard on the kidneys, make sure you keep the snake well hydrated.

[marwari31]

Well the bump is gone already so I cant take pictures of it. I watched both videos and they were very helpful. I am using the same size needles and he plunged them all the way in while I was only going in about halfway so I'll remedy that next time. Hopefully I wont have a bump to take pictures of next time but if I do I will post them.

[mpkeelee]

make sure ur angle is right and make sure u go in deep enough. when u pull the need out put ur thumb on the site and rub and massage the area a bit. i was told that helps them to absorb all the medicine properly and if u see a bump it will help it go down.

[don15681]

Sometimes you will get a bump even when injecting your snake correctly. It will go away as it did. 2 weeks is not nearly enough time for baytril to cure an RI in a reptile. 4 weeks is min. and should be injected every 72 hours. This information on the length of time for treating a reptile was put out by Dr Scott Stahl.

[Clear]

Ceftazidime (Fortaz) is ever 72 hours
Enrofloxacin (Baytril) is ever 48 hours