Sourced from published veterinary references. Awaiting credentialed clinical reviewer — our editorial process.
Ceftazidime is dosed at 20 mg/kg IM q72h in ball pythons, per Lawrence K, Muggleton PW, Needham JR. Preliminary study on the use of ceftazidime, a broad spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic, in snakes. Res Vet Sci. 1984;36:16-20. doi:10.1016/s0034-5288(18)31994-5 — Verified against Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.213 (2026-08-01).. Verify against current literature before clinical use.
Each ExoticRx dose rule is graded by the strength of its primary evidence — see the editorial process.
Backed by 11 published sources
· Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed
· Cerreta AJ, Lewbart GA, Dise DR, et al. Population pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime after a single intramuscular injection in wild turtles. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2018;41:495-501. doi:10.1111/jvp.12500 — Verified against Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.213 (2026-08-01).
· Funk RS. A formulary for lizards, snakes, and crocodilians. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2000;3:333-358. doi:10.1016/s1094-9194(17)30105-6; Lawrence K, Muggleton PW, Needham JR. Preliminary study on the use of ceftazidime, a broad spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic, in snakes. Res Vet Sci. 1984;36:16-20. doi:10.1016/s0034-5288(18)31994-5 — Verified against Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.213 (2026-08-01).
· Funk RS. A formulary for lizards, snakes, and crocodilians. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2000;3:333-358. doi:10.1016/s1094-9194(17)30105-6; Stahl SJ. Pet lizard conditions and syndromes. Semin Avian Exot Pet Med. 2003;12:162-182. — Verified against Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.213 (2026-08-01).
Sample dosing (2 of 16 cited rules)
A dog/cat sample is shown here. Cited dosing for all 10 species — reptiles, birds, pocket pets, livestock, and equine — is free on the per-species pages above. Pro adds the weight-based calculator for every species.
Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 9th Ed, Ceftazidime, printed p.220 (corpus p.247), CATS — '30 mg/kg IM every 8 hours'. Superscript 4 = Albarellos GA, Ambros LA, Landoni MF. Pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime after intravenous and intramuscular administration to domestic cats. Vet J. 2008;178(2):238-243 (resolved in the Plumb's companion reference archive).
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· Funk RS. A formulary for lizards, snakes, and crocodilians. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2000;3:333-358. doi:10.1016/s1094-9194(17)30105-6; Stahl SJ. Pet lizard conditions and syndromes. Semin Avian Exot Pet Med. 2003;12:162-182. doi:10.1053/saep.2003.00019-7; White SD, Bourdeau P, Bruet V, et al. Reptiles with dermatological lesions: a retrospective study of 301 cases at two university veterinary teaching hospitals (1992-2008). Vet Dermatol. 2010;22:150-161. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3164.2010.00926.x — Verified against Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.213 (2026-08-01).
· Lawrence K, Muggleton PW, Needham JR. Preliminary study on the use of ceftazidime, a broad spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic, in snakes. Res Vet Sci. 1984;36:16-20. doi:10.1016/s0034-5288(18)31994-5 — Verified against Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.213 (2026-08-01).
· Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 9th Ed
· Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 9th Ed, Ceftazidime, printed p.220 (corpus p.247), CATS — '30 mg/kg IM every 8 hours'. Superscript 4 = Albarellos GA, Ambros LA, Landoni MF. Pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime after intravenous and intramuscular administration to domestic cats. Vet J. 2008;178(2):238-243 (resolved in the Plumb's companion reference archive).
· Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, 9th Ed, Ceftazidime, printed p.220 (corpus p.247), DOGS item 2 — '25 mg/kg IM, SC every 8 hours'. Superscript 3 = Monfrinotti A, Ambros L, Prados AP, Kreil V, Rebuelto M. Pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime after intravenous, intramuscular and subcutaneous administration to dogs. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2010;33(2):204-207 (resolved in the Plumb's companion reference archive).
· White SD, Bourdeau P, Bruet V, et al. Reptiles with dermatological lesions: a retrospective study of 301 cases at two university veterinary teaching hospitals (1992-2008). Vet Dermatol. 2010;22:150-161. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3164.2010.00926.x; Funk RS. A formulary for lizards, snakes, and crocodilians. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2000;3:333-358. doi:10.1016/s1094-9194(17)30105-6 — Verified against Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.213 (2026-08-01).
Ceftazidime (Fortaz) Dosage for Rabbits | ExoticRx