Reptile & Amphibian Forums

On Thursday it will be 7 days since I force fed food and water
to Beanie. She keeps giving me the "stink eye" but will not
eat. Should I give in or check her weight and continue the
fast if she has had no weight loss?

Please don't bash me, I am only trying to do what is best
for her in the long run.

Thanks
Linda

>>On Thursday it will be 7 days since I force fed food and water
>>to Beanie. She keeps giving me the "stink eye" but will not
>>eat. Should I give in or check her weight and continue the
>>fast if she has had no weight loss?
>>

If it was me I'd check her weight and go from there. Have you considered popping her mouth and putting 'real' food in? Also does she have a private spot to eat? When Marley first started to eat on his own he wouldn't do it if anyone was in the room. Now he could care less who is there.
I'd try putting food in her mouth. No blenders, no syringes. That is what I had to do with Marley. Just my very limited experience on the subject.
Hope you get passed this soon! You have been thru so much with her already!! Hang in there!!
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Lin & Marley

my iguana is about 5 years old and he goes without eating every now and then and what i do is give him a food that is very tempting. like in my case i use banannas. then he will eat. but i put the banannas in with his regular food so he has no choice but to eat. or you could also try putting his food up higher. like by a ledge or something and then put something over his cage so he cant see out and you cant see in and then check on him every few hours or so. hope that helps you. good luck

Most of all, don't give in to the syringe feeding unless you really really have to, I know its tough. A couple of things you could try is seeing if Beanie will eat from a plate you're holding, or as suggested above putting food in her mouth but "whole" food, not blendered or mushed. Holding her while hand feeding veggies and lettuce might be a good mini-step, she might be hungry enough now she'll eat proper food that way.

I'm thinking maybe you will have to gradually work yourself out of the picture, Beanie is a stubborn girl! So maybe hand feed lettuce and veggies chopped/prepared how you'd feed normally, then maybe try off a plate that you're holding, then plate on the ground but you're there, etc. etc. Even rolling up greens and putting them in her mouth might be enough to trigger her to chew and swallow on her own. Eating the syringe mush from a plate you're holding might be a step or style to work in too.

Other than her eating, how's Beanie doing? Healing up nicely from surgery?

Her surgery was back in June so she has healed and already
shed that entire area.

I have fed her with whole green leaves and she does chew
and swallow it. She does most definately seem to let me
feed her more of the syringe food. I just can't figure her
out. I will continue the fast but I am thinking about having
my husband give her the plate of food in the morning to see
if I can get a better response. I don't know though, she is
already pissed at me by the looks I am getting. This may make
her even more pissed.

Thanks for all of your responses
Linda

I am no expert but maybe having your husband feed her might jump start her in to eating. If she doesn't eat for him maybe ask other people. She might think you don't care and give it up and start eating. Good luck.
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Iguanas are just children with scales and long tails.
Iguanas - Not Just For Kids Anymore.