First aid before the vet

What you can do

Move the animal to a clean, warm, quiet box at the correct temperature for the species. A cold reptile does not clot, digest, or fight an infection well. If a wound is bleeding, press with clean gauze. Rinse a dirty wound with sterile saline if you have it. Then go to a reptile veterinarian.

What to skip

Do not give dog or cat medicine, essential oils, alcohol, or a "reptile antibiotic" from a shelf. Do not try to drain an abscess. Do not pull a stuck shed off an eye. Do not induce vomiting. Doses that are safe for a mammal can kill a gecko.

Burns and heat

If a heat mat or lamp burned the animal, turn that heat off, move the animal to the right temperature another way, and cool only a fresh burn with brief lukewarm water if the vet tells you the trip will take time. Deep burns need a clinic, not a cream.

Prolapse and egg-binding

A tissue prolapse from the vent, or a female that has been straining and is now limp, is an emergency. Keep the tissue moist with damp gauze and saline. Do not push it back in unless a veterinarian has shown you how.

The bag you keep

Saline, gauze, a thermometer, the animal's weight log, and the clinic's after-hours number. The vet directory on Repticentra is a list of clinics keepers submitted. It is not a guarantee of an emergency slot.

People

Wash your hands. Reptiles can carry Salmonella. That is a reason for hygiene, not a reason to abandon a sick animal.