Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my little guy Micha for about 10 months now and I am still having problems with him eating. When I got him I had him checked for parasites, which he had, and went through the panacur and flagyl treatments. He was tested again and was clean. At that point I was also giving him electrolytes with water and liquid calcium in a syringe. He would eat worms when I dangled them in front of him some of the time.
He seemed to be doing well and then in the summer he developed a type of boil in his mouth and I had to treat him with Baytril and another antibiotic I can't recall now. During this time I was treating him again with the electrolytes/water/calcium and he was eating a bit.
About 2 weeks after that he would not eat at all. After a couple weeks I started force feeding him crickets, waxworms, earthworms and superworms to get his weight up and then decided I would leave him be for a month to see if he would eat out of a bowl himself. I changed the food in the bowl every couple days. But it doesn't seem to have worked.
His enclosure is 4' x 2.5' and temperatures range from 70 at the bottom to about 82 at the top. He seems to stay about the middle. The humidity is usually at 70 and up to 90 when I spray 2x a day. I've covered the front of the terrarium most of the way thinking maybe he was nervous. I've again started with force feeding about once a week and giving him electrolytes/water/calcium every other day. He always has some kind of food in his bowl. I've purchased some butter worms and silk worms to see if they were interesting enough but nope.
I'm worried sick about the little guy, he is losing weight slowly. Should I be feeding him every day or every other day again and give up on the idea that he should eat on his own??
I hate the thought of having to stress him out so much with that. He is pretty fiesty and does move quick and display when I do have to take him out which actually makes me happy since I know he's not lethargic.
I've been reading this board since I got him and everyone else doesn't seem to have problems with eating for this long. Can anyone share some ideas?? I'll try anything at this point.
Thanks so much

have U done a fecal since he finished is antibiotics?
Tank sounds good (about the size of mine, but you did not say about height)
does he have running water?
does he have dirt to dig in?
what kind of food dishes do you have? I use deepish tupperware and clear dishes made to go under plants
is the food under any dirt (my Erowen cannot find the worms if they are not on TOP of the dirt)

My Erowen did not seem to like eating food hung in front of her sometimes, she just closes her eyes

U R giving pedialyte, are you giving baby food (meat) as well?

U sound like a VERY invested caring person, and that U R working hard to make sure he is doing well
Good that U came here for advice, I M sure U will get some good advice here
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

Thanks so much for your reply! I have had a fecal done since the antibiotics and it came out negative. The terrarium is about 3' high and he has a pond with a bubble stone in it that is changed every other day. (He doesn't seem to ever use it) The bottom of the terrarium has 6" of coconut fiber and I have a ceramic dog food bowl about 4.5" deep sunk into the earth for the food to go in. I never put any dirt in the bowl unless I put worms in, but even then there isn't enough to cover the worms.
I haven't tried giving him baby food yet with the syringe as he does eat insects if I open his mouth and pop them in, but I think I might try that as feeding him more that a couple insects starts to stress him out too much. I'll try the babyfood route and hope for the best! Thanks again.

sounds like you have a handle on what you need to do. I would question the possibility of bacterial infection at this point too if he doesn't turn around. First I would try the baby food as Ecb suggested. I like to mix in a little mashed banana for the potassium and you may want to add just a hint of unflavored yogurt to boost his natural intestinal fauna. If this doesn't turn him around you may want to have your vet do a smear to check for bacterial causes.

While I'm thinking about this, there are some symptoms to watch for. The mouth of a healthy MHD is a bluish black on the roof of the mouth and the tongue and gums should be a light pink. When your MHD opens his mouth there should be no stringy mucous. If when he opens his mouth there is mucous stringing or sheeting from the upper to lower jaw there is something going on. If the parasites have been ruled out then this would leave us with the possibility of a systemic infection. You can do a visual check for this yourself easily.

Hope he perks up soon, with the care you are giving he should!
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

Thanks for the ideas! I will check his mouth out again tonight when I get home. I know the color is good but I don't recall if there was any mucus at all before he chews up the food I give him. There is some after but I'm thinking thats from all the bug insides being chewed up. ick. I'll let you all know how things are looking.
Thanks again!

I M not the only one thinking you are doing a great job with him

Keep up the good work
and U better keep us informed, I (for one) will worry
and me worrying is not a pretty site
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*