Sick Skink: Help!

[KigerTiger]

Hi there,

I have a Schneider's Skink, female, a little over 12 years old. I've had her since she was a baby and this is the first time she's ever been sick! She went to the Vet on Friday and he prescribed Baytril, extra heat exposure (i.e. warm bathes, outside time, etc).

However, I had a scare this morning when giving her the antibiotic injection. This is the second time I personally have delivered the injection, and this morning when I tried to do it, she twitched a little, nothing out of the ordinary, but the needle went in a bit farther when she did and when I pulled it out she started to bleed for about 20-30 seconds. The bleeding stopped and she glared at me, or so it seemed. Since then she's been fairly active. She walked around outside and climbed all over my shirt/shoulders. But I'm still scared I may have damaged something important or hurt her? Does anyone know? The vet is only at the clinic on certain days so I don't know how to get a hold of him. Especially on a Sunday when they are closed.

Like I said, she seems fairly active, but I'm still scared. I've had her for 12 years and I don't want to have hurt her. Please help!

[mpkeelee]

Let me start by saying I know nothing about skinks and I'm only posting cuz nobody else has and I hope the more knowledgeable people chime in. But I do know that bayril can't be used for all illnesses. Your vet needs to know what exactly is making ur skink sick and what it is susceptible to. I've given my snakes plenty of injections and sometimes they flex and twitch and try to get away and some blood is drawn. Just clean it and it will be fine. And make sure the are is clean prior to injecting. Good luck. Hope I helped a little

[KigerTiger]

Thank you so much for your input. She has a respiratory infection and from what the vet said, may be slightly septic. I've previously had a ball python with a respiratory infection that was prescribed Baytril, but I never drew blood on her at the injection site. It just made me a little nervous. I cleaned it with an alcohol swab both before and after, so there wouldn't be any infection.

Again, thank you for responding. I feel minutely better now. But to be honest, I won't feel completely okay until she is healthy again. She's been my little baby for so long I don't know what I would do without her.

[KigerTiger]

Just wanted to update and say, She made a full recovery!! She's back to chasing crickets and munching blue berries happily.