Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I rescued a water dragon from soeone who had him in a fish tank and didn't supplement with calcium or have proper lighting. He has MBD and an arm that was broken awhile ago. I took him to the vet today and he is now supposed to be hand fed with a syringe minus needle 2x a day, in addition to oral antibiotics and a liquid vitamin supplement( and a creme to go on his ripped up snout). To syringe feed him, whats the best way to do this? I want to keep handling to a minimum so he doesn't get too stressed out and don't want to cause any further complications by having him inhale food.
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1 crested gecko
1 RES
1 leucistic texas ratsnake
3 bullfrogs
1 dusky conure
4 australian shepherds
3 cats

any time i've had to force feed i found the easiest way to open the mouth was to gently pry it open using a credit card, or even better a plastic business card ( because they're thinner) if it is not neccesary to pry the mouth open then i would just suggest setting the syringe on the snout until it starts eating. many of my animals will just start licking the syringe when it touches their mouth and that gets them started. i syringe feed all of my female geckos atleast 1 time a week to make sure they're getting enough calcium .

I usually use a small plastic card or thin piece of cardboard. Slide it into the side of the mouth the twist it slightly until the mouth opens.

VERY IMPORTANT: Do not try to pry the mouth open witht he syringe. And be VERY gentle when opening it with anything. Especially if he has MBD becuase his bones will be fragile and you can easily break the jaw.
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican kingsnake
1.0.2 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula
1.0 BTS
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats