Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am planning on brumating Bart, just in a few weeks. The problem is, he hasn't eaten very much in a while, and he is kind of thin right now to brumate, but he seems intent on brumationg NOW. Even if that was acceptable, he can't brumate right now, he is to thin. Does anybody know a good method of force feeding? I wish I didn't have to do that, but his fat stores can't keep depleting without him eating.
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Let there be Lizardz
- Scott

In my VERY limited experience of successful force feeding (animals survived= successful) I found that making a cricket puree or just using baby food and offering with a syringe is the easiest and least stressful. Be careful with the syringe of overfeeding. especially if they haven't eaten in a while. I estimated the number of crickets usually taken in one feeding and I fed half of that volume. If he used to eat 8 crix, puree only four.You could add wax worms to up the fat content. Make sure he is warm enough to digest, esp if he isn't basking. LIke I said earlier, I do not have a lot of experinece with force feeding but the syringe worked for the few animals that I have FF. Good luck and keep us posted!

Laura

How do you puree crickets? just put them in a little bag and mash with a heavy object or something? I'll see if he'll eat any today and if he doesn't, then I'll do that.
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Let there be Lizardz
- Scott

I always used baby food. Crushing crix is way too gross for me!

Laura

What kind?
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Let there be Lizardz
- Scott

I used pumpkin and squash, but it was for an iguana. For a collared you can get beef or chicken or some kind of meat. Just make sure there are as few preservatives and additives as possible. That stuff can shock a fasting lizard's system.
Good luck

Laura