Baytril for Bearded Dragon: Here’s What You Should Know

Whether your pet has a urinary tract or respiratory tract infection, Baytril might be prescribed by the vets.

Sometimes, lower antibiotics might be prescribed to ease the symptoms. This means Baytril is powerful and would be used when the presented ailment requires powerful antibiotics.

Do you desire some heads up about Baytril for a bearded dragon?

Here is an article to help you learn what to know before applying Baytril on your bearded dragon.

What is Baytril?

Baytril is a brand name for enrofloxacin antibiotics in the group of fluoroquinolones. It is an excellent antibiotic drug for treating several ailments in veterinary medicine.

Baytril was introduced into clinical medicine in 1980, which was about 19 years after the original fluoroquinolone (with terrible side effects) was manufactured.

So, Baytril was a research breakthrough to solving the side effect issues the original fluoroquinolone had. Over the years, Reptiles, birds, dogs, cats, and other animals have been treated with this antibiotic.

Baytril is used in the treatment of different types of infections in animals. This includes respiratory tract infection in reptiles, Chlamydophila felis in cats, Ehrlichia in horses, Rickettsia in dogs, etcetera.

The drug is also notable for the control of swine respiratory diseases and also in the treatment of weaned pigs.

Baytril for Bearded Dragon

Although many reptile owners and herp vets administer Baytril to treat bacterial infections in beardies, the truth is that there is no medical research that validates that type of treatment.

Treating beardies with Baytril has often been seen as an off-label prescription. This is because Baytril was not originally intended to be used for treating bacterial infections in reptiles.

But the reality, however, is that this off-label prescription has had some success in herp medicine even though there is hardly any medical journal or research approving this treatment mode.

Baytril is used to treat many types of infection in bearded dragons. It kills and prevents bacteria’s continuous growth in your bearded dragon’s body. Herp vets and beardie owners have had remarkable success treating infections in their bearded dragons’ lungs, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and urinary tract.

Many others have also treated ear infections, infections in the sinus, and bronchitis in bearded dragons with Baytril.

But again, these medical problems are not the original reason the drug was created, nor the health problems for which they are medically prescribed. They are only used as an off-label prescription for treating bearded dragons.

The success has necessitated the continuous use of this drug to treat bearded dragons. Since you may also need to treat bacterial infections in your beardies with Baytril, you should know a few things. These important facts to know are discussed below.

Here’s What You Should Know

Baytril is a good antibiotic drug for the treatment of infections in your bearded dragons, but you want to keep these few things in mind:

Baytril May have Side Effects for your pet

Although Baytril is a safe antibiotic for treating bacterial infections in bearded dragons, there is a risk of side effects on your pet, especially if you use an overdose of Baytril for your pet. These side effects include the following:

• Diarrhea

Your pet may begin to experience diarrhea when under treatment for bacterial infection with Baytril. You may notice your bearded dragon having runny poop at a very disturbing frequency. Although the common reasons for runny poop in bearded dragons are parasite infection and overhydration, diarrhea is a side effect of Baytril. Your bearded dragon may respond to the drug by becoming susceptible to diarrhea.

• Loss of appetite

You may notice your pet preferring to stay alone and undisturbed during meal times. Suppose your pet has a very outgoing personality and will never turn down food or treats, but the opposite is the case after administering Baytril to it.

In that case, there is a great chance the lack of appetite is the effect of the Baytril treatment.

Sometimes, the lack of appetite as a side effect may be occasioned as a result of the overdose. This is why many pet owners prefer to let the herp vet administer the drug himself.

• Seizures, Lethargy, dizziness, and Lack of Coordination

Many bearded dragon owners report that their pets experienced seizures in parts of their bodies after using Baytril.

Others also noted that their pets lost coordination of body parts, including limbs, head, and tail. This is not an irregular occurrence and is usually occasioned by an overdose of the drug.

At other times, the wrong feeding and administration times can also lead to the same problem.

Apart from the muscle seizures, you may also find your pet extremely dizzy from the administration of Baytril.

You will usually find it in the basking area or somewhere in a semi-cool area of the enclosure, breathing calmly. It will not be in the mood for any physical activity, and its eyes will almost always be half shut, if not fully shut.

Again, this could be the effect of an overdose or the wrong feeding and medication time. Another reason for this side effect could be the prolonged use of Baytril on the bearded dragon.

Understanding Which Form to Administer

Baytril was initially produced as tablets to be taken orally. But recently, the injectable version was produced and is currently all over the market.

However, using the injectable form over a long time is not recommended. If you use the injectable form for too long, your pet will be at risk of skin abscesses.

This is pretty risky because sometimes, the skin abscess can occur under the reptile’s skin and may not be visible on the surface of your bearded dragon’s skin.

Hence, it is usually recommended that you switch to oral tablets 24 hours after administering the injectable form to your bearded dragon.

Interaction With Other Drugs in Reptiles

Understanding how a drug interacts with other drugs is equally as important as taking the drug. Baytril interacts with other drugs, such as antacids, iron supplements, and other medications your pet might be using.

Therefore, long-term use of Baytril or administration in young beardies should be avoided.

How To Give the Injection

Usually, the injections are frozen, so you will wait for it to thaw before injecting your bearded dragon. You have to keep them in your hand until they are completely melted. You can wrap your hand around the syringe until it is completely unfrozen.

You want to occasionally have a look at the amount of black fluid in the syringe and ensure that it is not murky. Watch out for anything like little ice cubes sitting in the middle of the syringe. You want to make sure that everything is completely melted.

You can give it a couple of clicks or flicks that will stir the fluid around a little. This will also help you get rid of most of the bubbles, as you do not want to inject these bubbles into your bearded dragon.

After ensuring that the bubbles are gone, and the fluid is completely melted, you want to push the fluid up a little to the point of giving your bearded dragon the injection. At this point, you can take off the injection lid and ensure that your needle is nicely attached.

You can do this by applying some pressure there to hold down the needle. Some bearded dragons owners and herp vets probably prefer to do this before taking the needle cap off.

You can go under the skin or inside the muscle when giving the injection. But you must give the injection in the front half of the bearded dragon. By all means, you must never administer the injection in the back half or back legs of the bearded dragon.

A very good spot often used by bearded dragon owners and herp vets is the back muscle area of the front legs. This would be the equivalent of the triceps of a human. Other areas where you can give include under the skin but a little shallower or around the shoulders or the back.

But the arms are usually preferred because they are much easier and have muscles through which you can introduce the medication.

The most important thing to remember when giving your pet the injection is to keep the needle as parallel to the skin as possible. You want to avoid angling the needle towards the dragon because if he freaks out and jumps, he may bump into the needle and potentially suffer serious damage to his internal organs.

But keeping the needle parallel will make it almost impossible for him to do any damage if he decides to jump or bump into the needle.

You want to find a nice entry point between the scales and ensure that no blood is coming up the needle.

Inject the Baytril in an instant and remove the needle. Hold on to the spot for a few seconds to prevent the drug from coming out, and that is it.