Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a dwarf caiman that was diagnosed with a blood parasite when i took her to the vet a couple of weeks ago because she wasn't eating. he gave me 5 half pills to give her. i tried to put them in her food and she didn't eat. then i tried forcing them down her throat which didn't work either. then i tried just placing them there and putting her back in her tank. and i don't know if that worked. she still is not eating consistantly so i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions. thanks for any answers.
mike

If the medication has to be delivered orally and the caiman will not feed on it's own then it will have to be force fed. This is not something to be taken lightly with an animal as shy as the dwarf caiman as the act of doing it can make the animal even less likely to feed on it's own.

First I would ask the vet if there are other options for delivery of the medication. If not, this is the way I do it:
Put the med in a frozen/thawed mouse (of appropriate size). Get the animal to open it's mouth (not usually too hard with a dwarf caiman). If you are doing this but yourself (much more difficult) then what I do is place an appropriately sized rubber ball at the front of the mouth - the caiman will usually bite down on it - an then bind it tight enough to hold the ball in place, Being careful not to cover the nostrils. I use the rubber ball to prevent damaging the teeth. Now you should have an opening large enough to be able to place the mouse inside the mouth. I use a blunt object (my favorite is a chop stick with a rounded end) and *gently* push the mouse past the palatal valve in the back of the mouth. Make sure you are not pushing the mouse down the airway. I stop pushing once the mouse gets just past the valve. Then I remove the ball and hold the mouth closed until the caiman swallows it - sort of like giving a pill to a dog. You can put a little vegetable oil on the mouse to allow it to slide easier but I usually prefer not to. The procedure is much easier with a second person to keep the animal's head from moving back and forth.

To reiterate, this is a technique that works for me, but you would be better off if you don't have to resort to force-feeding.

Bill

If you'll let me know what kind of parasite it is, I can offer some professional advice on treatments.
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