Is Nystatin a controlled substance?

Nystatin is not federally scheduled in the US. Controlled-drug status differs by country — verify your local rules.

Nystatin

US brand names:Mycostatin

Sourced from published veterinary references. Awaiting credentialed clinical reviewer — our editorial process.

Nystatin is dosed at 100000 IU/kg PO q24h in ball pythons, per Carpenter JW, Klaphake E, Gibbons PM, et al. Reptile formulary. In: Divers SJ, Stahl SJ, eds. Mader's Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery, 3rd ed., Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2019:1191-1211. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.222. Verify against current literature before clinical use.

Drug Class

Antifungal

Routes

POTopical

Indications

Candidiasisenteric yeast infectionGastrointestinal candidiasisGastrointestinal mycosesYeast infections

Mechanism of Action

Binds ergosterol in fungal cell membranes causing membrane disruption and cell death. Not absorbed from GI tract.

Side effects & warnings

Not absorbed systemically — effective only for local/topical or GI tract infections. Bitter taste may reduce compliance. Safe in most species.

Species with Nystatin dosing data (16 dose rules)

African Pygmy Hedgehog Ball Python Blue-tongue Skink Canary Corn Snake Domestic Pigeon Eastern Box Turtle Gerbil Lovebird Russian Tortoise Sugar Glider Sulcata Tortoise Umbrella Cockatoo Zebra Finch

Species references:All African Pygmy Hedgehog drugs

Evidence levels across 16 dose rules

Weak×8Moderate×8

Each ExoticRx dose rule is graded by the strength of its primary evidence — see the editorial process.

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Backed by 13 published sourcesShow

· 143. Jacobson ER. Use of chemotherapeutics in reptile medicine. In: Jacobson ER, Kollias GV Jr, eds. Exotic Animals. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1988:35-48. — Source: Mader's Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery, 3rd Ed, p.1405
· 175. Coles BH. Cage and aviary birds. In: Beynon PH, Cooper JE, eds. Manual of Exotic Pets; British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Worthing, UK; 1991:150-179. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.427 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.2 (Antifungal Agents Used in Birds).
· 377. Harlin RW. Pigeons. Proc Annu Conf Assoc Avian Vet; 1995:361-373. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.427 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.2 (Antifungal Agents Used in Birds).
· 45. Lightfoot T. Therapeutics of African pygmy hedgehogs and prairie dogs. Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2000;3:155-172. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.735 doi:10.1016/s1094-9194(17)30099-3 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 8.2 (Antifungal Agents Used in Hedgehogs).

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Crop Stasis, Sour Crop and Crop Burns in Hand-Fed Cockatiel Chicks
A practical approach to the hand-fed chick whose crop will not empty: the husbandry errors behind most cases, how to take and read crop cytology, candidiasis versus bacterial ingluvitis, safe crop emptying and fluid support, where nystatin and fluconazole fit, and why crop burns need patience before surgery.

Calculate Dosage for Nystatin

· 57. Bauck L. Nutritional problems in pet birds. Semin Avian Exot Pet Med. 1995;4:3-8 doi:10.1016/s1055-937x(05)80003-9. | 58. Bauck L, Brash M. Survey of diseases of the Lady Gouldian finch. Proc Annu Conf Assoc Avian Vet; 1999:204-212. | 239. Dorrestein GM. Infectious diseases and their therapy in Passeriformes Antimicrobial Therapy in Caged Birds and Exotic Pets, Veterinary Learning Systems, Trenton, NJ; 1995:11-27. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.427 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.2 (Antifungal Agents Used in Birds).

· 63. Carpenter JW, Klaphake E, Gibbons PM, et al. Reptile formulary. In: Divers SJ, Stahl SJ, eds. Mader's Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery, 3rd ed., Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2019:1191-1211. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.222 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 4.3 (Antifungal Agents Used in Reptiles).

· 89. Beynon PH, Forbes NA, Harcourt-Brown NH. Manual of Raptors, Pigeons and Waterfowl, Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA; 1996. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.427 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.2 (Antifungal Agents Used in Birds).

· 98. Bishop Y, eds. The Veterinary Formulary, 5th ed., Pharmaceutical Press, London, UK; 2001. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.427 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.2 (Antifungal Agents Used in Birds).

· Brust DM. Sugar Gliders: A Complete Veterinary Care Guide, Veterinary Interactive Publications, Sugarland, TX; 2009. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.704 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 7.1 (Antimicrobial and Antifungal Agents Used in Sugar Gliders).

· Carpenter JW, Klaphake E, Gibbons PM, et al. Reptile formulary. In: Divers SJ, Stahl SJ, eds. Mader's Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery, 3rd ed., Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2019:1191-1211. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.222

· Dorrestein GM. Infectious diseases and their therapy in Passeriformes Antimicrobial Therapy in Caged Birds and Exotic Pets, Veterinary Learning Systems, Trenton, NJ; 1995:11-27. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.427 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 5.2 (Antifungal Agents Used in Birds).

· Meredith A. BSAVA Small Animal Formulary: Part B: Exotic Pets, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Quedgeley, Gloucester, UK; 2015. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.773 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 9.1 (Antimicrobial and Antifungal Agents Used in Rodents.a).

· Ness RD, Johnson-Delaney C. Sugar gliders. In: Quesenberry KE, Carpenter JW, eds. Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery, 3rd ed., Saunders/Elsevier, St. Louis, MO; 2012:393-410. — Source: Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary, 6th Ed, p.704 — Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary 6th ed, Table 7.1 (Antimicrobial and Antifungal Agents Used in Sugar Gliders).