Posted by:
Rosebuds
at Fri Dec 5 13:48:23 2008 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Rosebuds ]
After that long, you might be dealing with issues of dehydration. His initial anorexia might have been stress related, but dehydration might be a bigger issue now. How does he tolerate handling?
I haven't worked with rhinos per se, but I rehab herps, and have sucessfully rehabbed a few other iguana species. I would guess that similar techniques will work for rhinos. You can try this: get some ReptIAid herbivore stress recovery forumla, mix it on the thinnish side, mix it with just a little soy yogurt or fruit baby food puree, and see if you can get him to lap it. You might need to put a dab on the end of his nose or even work a drop into his mouth to begin. Once he laps or licks, take advantage and add more. The fruit taste should appeal to him. Try to get a litle down him several times a day until he starts looking better or regains his apetite.
Beyond that, if bugs make him eat, feed bugs in the salad, at least for now! You can wean him off of them later, I promise! But I would make it more nutritious bugs than crix. I got a young rescue spiny tail to eat using silk worms. Those are super good nutrition, high in moisture, and are very easy to digest if he does have a dehydration issue. This spiny tail started eating salad within a week of getting hydration therapy and the silks. Now he gets bugs maybe once a week IF he's a good boy and eats his salad. 
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