Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have fed Beanie 5 days straight about 20 cc's/day. She just
sits there and lets me open her mouth, no restraints or
anything..."sigh". Starting tomorrow, I will not feed for
at least 7 days maybe longer (I will continue to give water
though via syringe, as she will not drink from a bowl).

My husband does not think I will be able to do it! Not feed
her I mean. Everyone keep your fingers crossed. I am hoping
that she will begin to eat on her own again so that I can
stop worrying about her. I am also hoping that I will not
give into her!

I will update soon

Linda

I like that you'll keep him hydrated. At the same time I realize that thirst must be part of their desire to eat, per their specialized, mostly water, leaf diet.

Similarly we have two imulses to make us breathe: one is low oxygen (hypoxia), and the other is build up of carbon dioxide. With those two impulses, we stay well oxygenated and our blood gasses stay within healhy limits.

I guess I'm getting around to suggesting that you hold back water for about four days as part of the test. Maybe I should duck now.

Anyway, good luck and all of that, as they say.

Roger

Roger

I never thought of that. For the last 4 months I have been
giving 3-5cc water via syringe. Maybe she has not eaten due
in part that she is well hydrated.

I will also stop giving water as you mentioned

Thanks
Linda

I agree with the withold water part, but I would leave a shallow dish of water in her enclosure or where she can get to it. That way if she wants, she can drink, and she will! There's not an animal that I know of that will not drink water when they get seriously thirsty. There's the VERY occasional animal that will refuse to eat to starvation, the household cat being one, but they are few and far between and even then, rare cases within the species.

Good luck! And you can do it Linda, I know you can Keep us posted if it helps, even if it is you just stressing