Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think this may be a touchy thing and will only do it if advised by my vet but Bob is still not eating right and has been on medication for 3 days now. He has lost a little bit of weight as well and unless i can get him to eat I may need to force him to eat. The vet showed me a safe way to get him to open his mouth and have had todo that when i give him his meds, she sugjested that i can sneek a cricket in there as well. Has anyone had experance with this? would there be a better less invasive way to feed him? (i.e liquid type food I can squirt onto his gums and he can lick it up?)

I have used a bleded food for force feeding before. I used mustard greens, crickets, and pedialite for electrolites. Buzz it in the food processor for a minute and give with an eye dropper or syrenge (without the needle of course). Throw the mixture away each day you have to make fresh because it can go bad quickly. It is a great way to get a dragon back on food, however it isn't magic. I also add Parazap to the mix to boost the digestive system and get rid of any potential parasites if any are present. Good luck and keep up the good work, dragons take a lot of time to care for but are well worth it!

Regards,

Jason Couch
Jason@beardeddragons.biz
509-985-6510
www.beardeddragons.biz

I am having to feed mine through a syringe(sp?) right now and its pretty easy once you get the hang of it...mostly he just laps his stuff up so its not a problem but i have discovered it is easier to go to the side of the mouth as opposed to trying to force it open...but like i said...they seem to get the hang of it along with you

I am force feeding a baby lizard too - it is about 6 grams and after two weeks is still not eating on its on but is perky and active.

I was feeding it strawberry ensure as rec by my herp vet through a syringe with a soft dropper appended to it and it worked nicely. my vet recommended getting him to eat pieces of cricket which i am now feeding him almost exclusively.

I separate the crickets head from it body and then remove its legs i then rub the cricket on the side of its mouth and tip of it nose - i then slightly apply pressure to the cricket with the tip of the syringe which is removable.

he now opens his mouth readily for this and chews up the cricket. the crickets gut loaded with greens and so he is getting a good meal this way.

i am hoping that any day now he will be eating his own.

Karen