(follow the link above if you are treating Yellow Fungus) Administering Reptaid to
BEARDED DRAGONS and LARGER LIZARDS
Larger lizards such as bearded dragons, iguanas,
tegus, larger chameleons such as mellers and parsons, all experience
health challenges with various parasites and infections. A healthy
lizard can become infected with parasites through the food source or through
contamination from another animal. Common parasites include
coccidia, flagellates, pinworms, roundworms, and hookworms. Sometimes the
immune system of the lizard is weakened by stress or an overload of parasites
making the animal susceptible to bacteriological infections. Most
commonly this is seen as an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) , lip rot, or eye
infections. Often a larger lizard which goes through brumation in the winter
has a hard time bouncing back after brumation. Reptaid has been
very effective in helping these larger lizards overcome all of these health
challenges.
Eye dropper vs Syringe: Your Reptaid
bottle may or may not come with an eye dropper attached to the lid. It is
totally unnecessary. An eye dropper is NOT used to dose or administer the
product. The syringe included in the box is what is used to dose
and administer the product. The eye dropper, which may or may not
be present, is a standard pharmaceutical device but is not used with
Reptaid. Our laboratory here in the United States occasionally uses
bottle lids that do not have the eye dropper attached.
DOSING:
ReptaidXL is dosed at .05ml per 500g animal
weight. It is always administered orally either directly into the
mouth or injected into a food item before feeding the reptile. Following
is a dosing chart for various weights of larger reptiles:
Animal
Weight
Grams
|
Animal
Weight in
Lbs
|
Dose of Reptaid XL
|
250g
|
.55lbs
|
.025ml
|
500g
|
1.1 lbs
|
.05ml
|
750g
|
1.6 lbs
|
.075ml
|
1000g
|
2.2 lbs
|
.1ml
|
1250g
|
2.75 lbs
|
.125ml
|
1500g
|
3.2 lbs
|
.15ml
|
2000g
|
4.4 lbs
|
.2ml
|
2500g
|
5.5 lbs
|
.25ml
|
4500g
|
10 lbs
|
.5 ml
|
1 gram = .035 ounces
TREATMENT BY AGE AND WEIGHT
1. BABIES OR JUVENILES
(Less than 250g)
If a juvenile reptile in this size class needs Reptaid XL it
is better to treat the animal with regular Reptaid which is for animals 250g or
less. See the instruction website for reptiles in this class.
2. MEDIUM TO LARGE LIZARDS
(250G to 10 lbs )
A medium to large lizard may experience health challenges
such as parasites and infections, lack of appetite or energy, lack of
libido. Dosing is per the chart above.
Method of administration depends on the diet of the animals. The larger
the animal, the less likely that you can just open the mouth to squirt in a bit
of liquid. So injecting the Reptaid XL into a food item is the best
application. For lizards which eat bugs, a nice plump cricket or a dubia
roach is the best option. Just inject the correct amount into one
insect or spread it out over a few insects and feed all of those insects
to the lizard. For an iguana you can inject the dose of
Reptaid XL into a chunk of banana or on a slice of mango. Or you
can just spread it on his greens before feeding. For a lizard which
eats mice, just inject the Reptaid XL into the mouse and feed it to the
lizard. If your larger lizard eats once a week, cut its portion
down and feed it every 3 days. Reptaid XL is designed to be
administered every day, so the idea is to give a triple dose in the food
portion every 3 days. But under no circumstances should you give more than .5ml
of Reptaid XL in any one dose.
VERY LARGE LIZARDS (over 10
lbs )
Very large lizards like adult iguanas, large monitors, etc
can be effectively treated with Reptaid XL with the same methods as with medium
to large lizards. But each dose should not exceed .5ml of Reptaid XL in any one
day. Even if the lizard weighs 50 lbs just give it the same .5ml of
Reptaid XL that a 10 lb lizard would receive.
TREATMENT FOR PARASITES
Detection of parasites is best performed under laboratory
conditions using a microscope. Symptoms of parasitic problems include
loss of appetite, lack of activity, dark coloration, diarrhea, blood in the
feces or urates, very smelly feces, visible worms in the feces. If any or
all of these symptoms are present, you can treat with Reptaid being confident
that if parasites are present, treatment will help solve the problem.
Treatment for all parasites should be once a day per the dosing chart. If
the animal is very sick, not eating at all, very dark and very inactive,
Reptaid can be administered twice a day. At this point you are
fighting for the animal’s life. You can also mix the Reptaid with some
mashed up bugs or baby food so the lizard gets some nutrition as well as the
healing herbs.
Continue with Reptaid for 10 days. You should see
improvement after 3-5 days but continue for 10 days. Then wait 2 days and
start another 10 day treatment. In most cases 20 days of Reptaid is
sufficient to rid the chameleon of any and all parasites. A fecal
check is needed to be sure the problem is solved. And of course, as with any
treatment for parasites, quarantine, disinfection of the habitat, and proper
hygiene are essential to prevent reinfection.
TREATMENT FOR BACTERIOLOGICAL INFECTION
The most common infections from bacteria which afflict all
lizards are eye infections, lip infections, and URI, upper
respiratory infections. For all these, dosing is per the
chart above. Administration is the same as for parasites. For a severe
respiratory infection, the lizard will be showing foam in the mouth,
holding his mouth open a lot, making definite breathing noise, and possibly
coughing. Most infections will show signs of improvement in
2-3 days and be completely clear in 5-10 days. One 10 day treatment is
usually sufficient to completely clear up any infection.
COMBINING WITH DRUGS
Reptaid is not a drug. It is an herbal all natural
alternative to drugs. It is not recommended that Reptaid be
administered at the same time as any drug. If a course of drugs is
underway, discontinue the drugs and just use the Reptaid. Or finish the course
of drugs and then begin the use of Reptaid. Do not use at the same
time.
PROBIOTICS
When using any antibiotic drug, it is highly recommended
that a probiotic such as benebac or nutribac be used along with the
drugs. Drugs eliminate the good gut flora in the digestive tract of the
reptile. A probiotic replaces that gut flora. But Reptaid does not
kill the good gut flora with its natural antibiotic properties so a probiotic
is not needed with Reptaid. However a probiotic can certainly be used
with Reptaid as an additional boost to the immune system during
treatment. And if a drug antibiotic was used before Reptaid, then a
probiotic is very needed to help get the lizards digestive system back in
balance.
USING REPTAID PROACTIVELY
You can use Reptaid products to keep your reptiles healthy
and vibrant, rather than just as a treatment for sickness or disease. It is
suggested to administer Reptaid or Reptaid XL to your reptile, per the dosing
chart, for 2 or 3 days at the beginning of each month. This has shown
positive results in keeping animals healthy and thriving
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