Respiratory Infection need advice

[samsnakes]

I'd like to start off by saying I have taken him to the vet and we are currently on day 13 of oral injections of Baytril. 1 mg per day. As prescribed by the vet.

After almost two weeks of Baytril I was hoping to see some what of an improvement. But every morning I check on him, his eyes are sealed together from what I assume is all the mucus. His nose is also quite plugged and he's having to breathe out of his mouth at times. I've tried to gently open his nose with a warm damp cloth but that just leads to small bleeding and then more scabbing. To get his eyes to open, I have to put the warm damp cloth on top of his head for a few minutes, then they seem to slowly open on their own. From there isn't pretty normal besides the mucus and mouth breathing.

His appetite hasn't changed and still runs after the tongs every day.

I understand this is my fault, and I feel terrible about it. I've corrected his temperature and humidity as they weren't up to par in the past. I had the "eh he seems fine" mentality and now I'm paying for it.

I'm looking for ANY advice on what I can do to help him improve. What temps/humidity works best when they have RI's etc.

Species: Halmahera
Age: 2 years
Weight: 611 grams
Basking temp: 110 F/ 43 C
Cold end: 73 F/ 22 C
Humidity: 40-50%
Tank size : 4L x 2W x 18inchesL

Before wiping eyes & nose http://imgur.com/a/CHXnY
After wiping eyes & nose http://imgur.com/a/NPuwC Here you can see how much I was able to open his nose again, also in pic 3 you can see the bubbles in his eye

[alichamp]

Hi. First off I'll say that I have no experience with these species, respiratory infections or humidity requirements. But I have been on the forum here for a while and have good memory of the advice given by those who DO have experience in situations like this. So, until someone with experience posts for you, I offer the following.

You have an Indonesian, specifically Halmahera. It's good to see you taking responsibility for husbandry. General humidity needs are really very high - usually 60-80+%. I don't know what the humidity was before but 40-50% is still too low and in the long term will not resolve the health issues. Use the search box to find posts on humidity. HOWEVER, I have no idea whether it is a problem to drastically raise humidity quickly for a sick skink so you need to get advice on that. A humid hide might help? To me, the temps seem good - the hot might be a little high but may be beneficial while sick and you have good temp gradient.

Susann on this forum has given some advice before about what she calls "mystery illness" which is essentially these types of health issues as a result of low humidity and poor husbandry. Type "mystery illness" in the search box and read up on it. She has seen that a combined injection from the vet for the sick skink can really turn their health around.

This is a useful thread: Sick skink please help!!

Please keep us updated and good luck.

[Susann]

It sounds very much like Mystery Illness (MI) to me. Once the illness has progressed to the point where eyes are crusted shut and digits start to crack and/or swell, then just treating with antibiotics will not be enough. If you can drastically increase humidity in his cage then you may be lucky enough that the shot-combo won't be necessary, but if you don't see an improvement within a week of increasing humidity then I would highly recommend you talk to your vet about the combo.

To increase humidity:
I prefer anything that adds moisture to the air without making your skink live in soaked substrate. Wetting the substrate --especially on the warm side-- does for sure raise the humidity, but if your skink already has inflamed areas of his body, then staying constantly moist may not be the best thing. If wetting the substrate is your best option for raising humidity, then maybe concentrate the wet area to just under or over the heat source of the tank.
So, other than wetting the substrate, you can:
Add a humid hide -- not quite as bad as wetting the substrate as it's just a small area that's wet, but if your skink likes to stay in that hide 24/7 then it's the same thing in the long run.
Add a "cigar humidifier" -- you can go to a cigar shop to get one or go to your local Walmart and get a sponge-holder with suction cups, and stick it right under or over the heat source, then wet the sponge with warm water and put it in the holder. Re-wet the sponge daily and soak it in bleach (and rinse well before putting back) every so often to kill germs.
Add a large water bowl -- and place right under or over the heat source.
Buy a room humidifier -- and aim it straight into the tank.
Buy a MistKink or ReptiFogger-type humidifier.

Good luck, and keep us updated please.

[samsnakes]

None of his digits are swollen actually. Just the eyes get crusted shut. I've actually taken out his substrate as I was worried it wasn't helping with the eye crusting. He's now just on paper towel. His eyes look a little better today to be honest.

I have a Exo Terra Monsoon and I've now adjusted it to mist every hour for 8 seconds. Will see how high it bumps the humidity and go from there. I am taking him to the vet this Saturday morning to get a culture swab to determine the best course of antibiotics and what's really causing the symptoms.

Thanks you so much for your advise! I will keep you all updated

[alichamp]

How did it go at the last vet visit?