Help Calm Him Down?

[blackmailchan]

Recently my blue-tongue has been taking azithromycin, a big word for anti-biotic. He has to be injected with a little needle-free syringe orally .1 ml for every other day for 10 days and he doesn't like it at all. For the first two days, he didn't seem too upset about it. But the day after he got his dose,he started hissing at me anytime I got near him. Then he bit my finger and held on ( hes little so it doesnt really hurt it just feels like a tight grip ). He's usually a really really sweet skink. Even when I took him to the vet all the veterinarians were amazed at how well tempered he was for a reptile. I fed him his regular dosage today by hiding it inside of an apple slice instead of prying his mouth open which I think I'll do instead from now on. I also think that my cat getting in my room might have something to do with it if I'm not monitoring him.

But I don't know how to calm him down.

[Linnea]

If the cat's been in there and scared him the smell might be very strong in the room as cat hair and smell goes into everything, so if you have a lot of textile material or rugs close by id remove them from the room. It might not help much if youve been close to the cat and goes to the skink, but it may be a good idea to wash your hands if you do so....

how much this helps i dont know, im not sure about their sense of smell, but i know this is one of the things that are good to do with dogs and kittens if theyve went into a fight with a dog/cat....

and well.....any child is probably not so fond of shots, doctors or medicine....make sure he gets it and leave him alone, hes also sick if hes on antibiotics and this can really wear animals out in both mind and body, making them aggressive for the time being....

Note that i do not have any knowledge of the medication or how its taken, and how this affects behaviour. I hope some experienced people from the forum will answer that for you D:

[Fatal_S]

Actually, that agression could be a great sign! Generally if a skink is ill, they're lethergic. When they start to get energy and put up a fight, I take it as an awesome sign that they're feeling more like themselves.

For medicating orally, I prefer not to pry their mouths open. I hold them with one hand (or get a sister to hold them) and rub the syringe against the side of their mouth. Eventually they get annoyed and bite it, and I then push the meds into the mouth. This is a lot less stressful on me and the skink IMO.

[Katrina]

Lightchii is right - if you want a less stressed skin then you have to get the cat out of the room! A predator in there will stress any reptile, so close the door or somehow keep the cat out of the room.

To minimize stress, make sure he has lots of snug hides so that he feels safe and minimize handling until the course of antibiotics is over.

[blackmailchan]

Okay, sp..
1. Keep my cat out of the room
2. Rub the sides of his mouth with the syringe until he bites it
3. Let him burrow and hide as usual
4. Don't pick him up?

So should I feed him as normal with the syringe or should I put it in food so as to not stress him out when he gets picked up, because he really seems to not want to be picked up.

He's been as active as he's always been, his medication is for a lump on his chin. He moves around the tank based on what side of the room I'm on, so hes interested in what I'm doing, he just gets angry when I get close.

[Bird_Brain]

If you put it in food, only put it in a very small piece of food that you KNOW he will eat. If you put the tiny amount in a large plate of food, you will know how how much of the medication the skink actually gets. Ideally, I htink it needs to be inserted directly into the mouth.

[Katrina]

1 and 3 should be done all the time - not just when he is sick. I'd talk to the vet about putting it on food and ok it with him before you do this. If he is ok with it, like Brad said - small piece of food so you are sure he is getting all of it. Otherwise, follow Fatal's advice.

And handle as little as possible until the meds are over. So don't pick him up unless you have to.

A lump on his chin sounds like an abscess. Will you be following up with your vet after the course of antibiotics is done? I'm just curious because abscesses usually have to be cleaned out rather than treating with only antibiotics. I'm sure your vet knows what he is doing though.

[El Lobo]

There are 2 points that make me believe what you are treating is an abscess:

1. The physical description of a lump on the mandible, and
2. The vet's choice of azithromycin (Zithromax) which has efficacy against anaerobic bacteria.

A couple of points. Reptilian abscesses lack an enzyme which allows the pus to free flow, resulting in a mass with the consistency of toothpaste. Because of this and the fact they are encapsulated makes them very difficult to treat to the point of eradication with antibiotics alone. Mostly they require excision and complete debridement to remove all traces of the capsule as they can reform from any residual matter.

Good luck with the treatment and keep a close eye on this lump to ensure it does not get any bigger during the course of antibiotics.

Please note: Cats and blueys do not mix under any circumstance. I have seen too many young blotchies dead with puncture wounds caused by cats to have any other opinion.

[blackmailchan]

I told the vet that I was sure what I was dealing with was an abscess and asked her if she would do the surgical procedure to scoop out the pus. She gave me the antibiotics and said to give it to him for 10 days, and that after she would see what the next course of action would be. I think this might help cut off blood to the bacteria in his jaw and isolate it so that its easier to remove or something to aid in that sort of thing. Or maybe she prescribed it to see if it wasn't as big a problem as an abscess or something else.

As for how I was putting it in his food, I took a tiny apple slice, measured his medicine and injected it into a tiny hole I carved inside the apple. He chews and eats the whole thing.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll also call the veterinarian to see if the food dosing thing is alright.

[dsteamn]

When you do have to handle him, try keeping his head covered as much as possible with a soft cloth. It tends to keep them calmed down if they are a bit on the jumpy side.