Re: If it is soo thin and weak...

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Posted by PH Meliss on November 18, 2002 at 11:10:31:

In Reply to: If it is soo thin and weak... posted by Flavia Guimaraes on November 14, 2002 at 19:56:00:

:...you should not give it pedyalite.This medicine is made for human child not for small reptiles!!The body mass of your iguana is too little and pedyalite can make it have a heart attack.

Pedialyte given orally, in an amount calculated based on the sick reptile's weight, is safe. Too much of anything for anybody is potentially harmful - one can kill a human infant by giving too much water or Pedilyte in too short a period of time. Human adults, too.

What really isn't good for reptiles (or humans, really) are sports electrolyte drinks. If anyone's never tasted Pedialyte (or were too young to remember ;), compare the sweetness of Pedialyte to Gatorade or one of the other popular sports drinks. The sports drinks are sweeter than the pediatric electrolyte solutions. (For those looking for a better electrolyte drink for humans, and rehabbers looking for a less expensive quality alternative to Pedialyte, check out Gookinaid. I'm chronically dehydrated and have to drink at least a quart of electrolytes a day - my doctor recommended this one.) If a sports drink is all one has at hand for emergency rehydration, it needs to be mixed 1:1 with water. For rehydration fluids to be properly absorbed, the fluids should be warmed and the reptile maintained at the species required temperatures.

Because most people don't have scales accurate enough to weigh small reptiles, this is another argument for getting a proper diagnosis and treatment plan from a reptile vet. Blood tests can also help ascertain the degree of dehydration and thus indicate the best route for the initial rehydration: intracoelomic injections (lactated ringers, LRS + dextrose, dex + saline, LRS + dex + saline), subcutaneous (same types as ICe), intraosseous (in the bone marrow - same types as ICe), or oral (LRS + dex, Pedialyte, veterinary electrolyte solution, or diluted Gatorade).

>>I saw recently a baby RES die in a few seconds when soaked in a drug similar to Pedyalite.

Pedialyte is an electrolyte solution. While turtles and tortoises (and to a certain extent, all other animals with mucous membrane lined anuses and rectums) take up some fluids through their vent, chances are there was something else going on with the turtle that wasn't caught in time, or correctly diagnoses, or whatever the "drug similar to Pedialyte" they used wasn't.

>>Pedyalite has potassium what can even kill a human being if given in a high dose!

Of course. But all electrolyte solutions, including those made for veterinary use, have potassium in them. Sodium and other minerals, too. They have to in order to be helpful in the restoration of the body's own electrolyte balance.

>>You should soak it in water with sugar and salt.2 parts of sugar and 1/4 of salt.

Sodium and glucose are only two of the essential minerals involved in electrolyte balance. Now, sugar and water is good to try to convince a hemipenal or cloacal prolapse to retract, but not enough of the sodium or glucose will be taken up through the vent or skin to make a difference. Even if it did, these two minerals would be out of balance with the other essential minerals involved in electrolyte and fluid regulation.

>>keep it warm in a quiet place.You should place its cage on top of something high like a wardrobe.If its possible, if you live in a hot country or state, put it in the sun.But be careful not to overheat the cage!

And never put a glass enclosure in the full sun or in a sunny window: the glass acts just like it does in an automobile, quickly raising the interior temperatures to 30-50+ degrees F over the ambient outside temperature. In addition, igs, even sick ones, need to be able to thermoregulate, and that means always providing their required thermal gradient for them, indoors and out.

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PH Meliss
Iguanas Pet Host for PetHobbyist.com
Herps and Iguanas
Herp Societies/Rescues and Vets

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