# How to properly give injections ?



## sharonland

I have been giving speedy his daily injections alternating both back areas, but was wondering if I could give injections in his front muscle and exactly how to do it not to harm him. Thank You for any advise you can give..


----------



## egyptiandan

Where in the back have you been giving injections?

To give a shot in the back of the front leg you first grasp the front leg (top and bottom of the leg not front and back) with one hand. Than you pull it out and away from the body. Insert the needle above the wrist and parallel to the leg. This way you make sure the antibiotic gets into a muscle and not just under the skin.

Danny


----------



## sharonland

The vet told and showed me to give the injection by pulling out the back leg with one hand and injecting the medication into the upper portion on the leg closest to the tail area. I can't seem to understand exactly the point you say to do the injection (sorry) I guess I need a photo.. Thank you though for your reply...


----------



## egyptiandan

Here you go 







Danny


----------



## Scooter

Just curious Danny, is this how you would recommend giving a shot in the back leg also?


----------



## sharonland

Danny, your the best !!! Thanks so very much !!!


----------



## egyptiandan

Yes you'd do the same with the back leg, but with the back leg you can use the front or the back of the leg. You'd be giving the shot above the knee on the back leg.

Your welcome 

Danny


----------



## Homerist

Hi,

I just gave my Indian Star a Baytril Injection at the spot Between the tail and right hind legs. after the injection, he is in pain and scampering very wildly around in his home with his right hind leg tucked in! 
im so damn freaked out and felt so painful for him!!...
am i doing it the right way?
i carried out the procedure as taught by my vet.
the insertion is roughly 2-3mm and the dosage is 0.03ml.
he is just a baby, 7months old and initially his heads sticks out and eyes wide open, he passed out some urates maybe due to stress but he is hiding in his shell. motionless....

please any advice?


----------



## matt41gb

I've only heard of giving injections in the front. Every vet I've talked to said if you give injections in the rear legs then the medication never metabolizes like it's supposed to. Injections in the back bypass the liver that breaks down the medication so the body can utilize it. If they're given in the front they can run their natural course. I've always been confused by this since you can give an I.M. injection to a dog or cat in a rear leg and it works just fine. Maybe it's a reptile thing. 

-Matt


----------



## Yvonne G

Homerist said:


> Hi,
> 
> I just gave my Indian Star a Baytril Injection at the spot Between the tail and right hind legs. after the injection, he is in pain and scampering very wildly around in his home with his right hind leg tucked in!
> im so damn freaked out and felt so painful for him!!...
> am i doing it the right way?
> i carried out the procedure as taught by my vet.
> the insertion is roughly 2-3mm and the dosage is 0.03ml.
> he is just a baby, 7months old and initially his heads sticks out and eyes wide open, he passed out some urates maybe due to stress but he is hiding in his shell. motionless....
> 
> please any advice?



Baytril stings REAL bad!!! I don't think you did anything wrong.


----------



## zeec

matt41gb said:


> I've only heard of giving injections in the front. Every vet I've talked to said if you give injections in the rear legs then the medication never metabolizes like it's supposed to. Injections in the back bypass the liver that breaks down the medication so the body can utilize it. If they're given in the front they can run their natural course. I've always been confused by this since you can give an I.M. injection to a dog or cat in a rear leg and it works just fine. Maybe it's a reptile thing.
> 
> -Matt



You Can give baytril, or any other drug for that matter, in the front or rear legs. It will not affect its absorption. However you give the medication it will first get absorbed into the systemic circulation, goes to the heart,which is then pumped throughout the entire body, including to the liver. Some drugs are metabolized via the liver, others are eliminated via the kidney. Either way, the drug is now in the systemic circuation and should exert its desired effect.

What your vet is referring to(erroneously), is something called first pass metabolism which is a function of the bioavailability of the drug and has to do with its pharmacokinetics. This has nothing to do with where the drug is injected. It does however come into play with oral drugs which have to first get through the liver in order to get into the systemic circulation. If an oral drug has a high first pass metabolism, it means it may not be absorbed well or at all.To complicate things, some drugs are innactive unless metabolized to their active metabolites by the liver.

Also giving baytril IM or SubQ (just under the skin) will not affect it action or absorption, so you can give it however you want  .

Robert


----------



## teshadog

What about putting baytril in each side of the nose?


----------



## zeec

teshadog said:


> What about putting baytril in each side of the nose?



Thats not going to work. It will not get absorbed systemically, and will have no effect on your tortoise...aside from leaving a bitter taste in its mouth  .


----------



## patrickstar

is there anything else to use other than injection. i have 2 stars one is 5 months one is 3 years, neve been sick, but if they did, could i try to get some medicine in their mouth, or put it in some warm water, and let them soak, and there skin may absorb some of the med(baytril). just asking, in case, i could do the injection, but if the later would also work, i would try the other first.


----------



## Candy

egyptiandan said:


> Where in the back have you been giving injections?
> 
> To give a shot in the back of the front leg you first grasp the front leg (top and bottom of the leg not front and back) with one hand. Than you pull it out and away from the body. Insert the needle above the wrist and parallel to the leg. This way you make sure the antibiotic gets into a muscle and not just under the skin.
> 
> Danny



I'm going to need pictures of this procedure please.  That's if you have any.


----------



## zeec

patrickstar said:


> is there anything else to use other than injection. i have 2 stars one is 5 months one is 3 years, neve been sick, but if they did, could i try to get some medicine in their mouth, or put it in some warm water, and let them soak, and there skin may absorb some of the med(baytril). just asking, in case, i could do the injection, but if the later would also work, i would try the other first.



You can try tube feeding the oral (not the injectable) medicine, but it will stress your animal even more and it will be hard to know exactly how much it actualy recieved. Soaking your tort in water with Baytril is useless .

Robert


----------



## patrickstar

then the big injection is the only thing left? hoe do you figure out doage when these guys are so small. when they weigh only ounces and not lbs yet?:shy:


----------



## zeec

patrickstar said:


> then the big injection is the only thing left? hoe do you figure out doage when these guys are so small. when they weigh only ounces and not lbs yet?:shy:



You can still base the dose on how much they weigh regardless of how small they are. Baytril is usually 5mg/kg daily. You would have to weigh the animal in grams and calculate the dose based on the strength (mg/ml) of the baytril formulation that you have.


----------



## teshadog

I can get baytril from #1 pharmacy online with no rx, just in case of an emerg. What size needles do I get. Anyone else know of a place to get it?


----------



## zeec

teshadog said:


> I can get baytril from #1 pharmacy online with no rx, just in case of an emerg. What size needles do I get. Anyone else know of a place to get it?



You need a prescription for the injectable Baytril so I'm not sure what this online place is offering, maybe its the oral, Otic or ophthalmic solution (which obviously you wouldn't want to inject your tort with). You would want to use the smallest guage needle you can find, usually 27 or 29 guage, but you can use a bigger guage as well.

Robert


----------

