Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have stopped syringe feeding again for another try.
This is what she has eaten on her own in the last 4 days.
These are pieces that are just over a mouthful

Day 1 12 pieces
Day 2 5 pieces
Day 3 5 pieces
Day 4 8 pieces (I gave in and fed her 5 more by hand)
She has not eaten anything other than her greens.

Is this enough for her in your opinion? Should I go ahead
and feed her again for a few days or wait it out? I have
been giving her some water via syringe even though she will
drink when thirsty. I noticed her urates were much more
pronounced in her potty pan today. Usually, I don't even
notice them.

Thanks in advance and any and all opinions would be greatly
appreciated.
Linda

i would say let it go a few more days.. as long as she is getting her water than she should be fine... it will take her a little while to get used to eating on her own again.. and if she hasnt had solid food in a long time it will take her time to get used to it
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0.0.1 rescued petco iguana
1.0.0 water dragon
0.0.1 mali uromastyx
0.1.0 painted turtle
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misc fish
hermit crabs
rat
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Linda, thats a huge improvement!! I'd say let her keep going for at least a few days yet, maybe put extra yummy stuff in there like banana, or even just put the mix you've been syringing into her as a top dressing on greens, so its something familiar on the plate. Tempest didn't eat for 4 weeks when I first got him, and he was so terribly thin to start with! He started by picking a bit at a time, I don't think he realized what he was offered was food, but once he got over the initial no-eating turned into a total pig. With the days getting longer, she might have more drive to eat on her own as well. Good luck, and keep us posted!

Linda, you sure have had your trials and tribulations with Beanie! I have to commend you on your committment...you are a wonderful iguana parent. I would continue to do as you are doing, maybe add some finely minced green beans and juicy fruits to the pieces of greens. As long as there is no drastic weight loss and she is hydrated well she can sustain health on little food for quite a while. If she continues to eat on her own you may consider chopping the greens into smaller pieces. They can pack more into their stomachs that way before feeling full. Keep up the good work!

I have a suggestion that might or might not help. I don't know what it is about canned green beans right out of the can, but my iggys will do anything to get them. I can't explain good enough how they go nuts over them. I don't feed canned green beans to them all the time just every now and then because I'm not sure how good they are for them. I posted a while back about them and some people said they were ok and others said not really, but no one said they were bad. What I am thinking is if there was anything she would try to eat it might be canned green beans. As much as my iggys love butternut squash and I thought they went nuts over that, they go 100 times more nuts for canned green beans. It's really crazy how they act( mostly my 2 year old female)when I give them one. If I set a bowl of them in their cage and give them one out of it they will run down and eat the whole bowl in a matter of seconds. I haven't let them eat the whole bowl, but they would. The only other problem if it did work would be she might just want canned green beans and nothing else. If that was the case it might be easier to get her to eat something else after she begins eating. Anyway, maybe some more experienced owners would have a thought about my idea. You have done a great job hanging in there with her for all this time. I wish you both luck.

I am willing to try all suggestions. For those who have
had an ig refuse to eat you know how worried it makes you.
Now imagine worrying about this for a year. Next month
marks her year anniversary. I worry about her all the
time and it really bothers me to see her so thin. What
really has gotten us through, is how her and I have bonded.
I must be doing something right I just wish I could
find the key to make her eat again.

I will keep you posted and most likely will ask for
opinions again.

Thanks,
Linda