Treating minor injuries in reptiles...

[Aes_Sidhe]

....
I open this discussion because we all for sure have situation when our pets suffer minor injuries (small burns, rodent bites, some injures during escapes)

What is your first aid kit for reptiles??

Is veterinary trip always necessary ??

I like all who have any real experience (no i heard that this works) with treating such a things to chip in here please...

Thanks in advance

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Good thing to have around

Betadine and triple antibiotic ointment are a must have in your emergency kit (NO peroxide since it slows healing and can even damage tissue)

Vets are not always needed but highly recommended depending on the extent of the wound / burn or problem.

How to know if a vet visit is needed or not in a case of an injury is really a matter of experience and common sense.

Severe burns cannot be treated at home, they need to be assessed and will require anti-biotic treatment to prevent infection. Same will apply with extensive injury.

When in doubt ALWAYS consult a vet.

[Aes_Sidhe]

Good thing to have around

Betadine and triple antibiotic ointment are a must have in your emergency kit (NO peroxide since it slows healing and can even damage tissue)

Any specific Brand ???

Will Neosporin Do ??

[Stewart_Reptiles]

No specific brand even your store brand will work fine the only thing you need to make sure of is that it does not contain any pain killer.

And neosporin will work fine as well.

[Aes_Sidhe]

There is type of Neosporin called Neosporin+ pain relieve and it contains:

Pramoxine HCl 10 mg as External analgesic...

Is that one safe as well or we Should stay away from it...

[Stewart_Reptiles]

You want to stay away from the kind that has pain killer in it, just get the basic neosporin antibiotic ointment without the pain killer

[Maixx]

I have read where cream based antibiotic ointment is preferred that oil based can cause damage to their scales. Again, same rule stated above - no pain killer.

As far as vet is concerned, I tend to stick with "better safe than sorry".
If your not sure what's going on (illness) or how to treat something then get it checked out.

(Edit added)
Another thing, is to make sure they are in a clean sterile setup. If injured, removing the loose substrate to prevent from sticking to ointment or getting in the wound.

If there is question about illness, quarantine ASAP.

[babyknees]

I have also read the whole cream vs. ointment thing but I can't seem to find any cream based antibiotics without painkiller...so which is the lesser of two evils or is there a specific cream out there that I should be looking for?

[aldebono]

I would think chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine would be another good two to have on hand.