ANOTHER UPDATE. Long term syringe feeding?

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izzyLizzy

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I've posted before about Izzy not eating anymore and lying around most of the time. The only time he's awake and moving is when he's outside, which I try to do every chance I get.

Anyway, I've been syringe feeding him baby food squash and greens. He's pooped twice since I've been doing that, but his weight is still fluctuating a bit. He was 348g last Friday (the 19th), pooped on Saturday (on my bed lol) and Sunday was 322g. I weighed him this past Friday (26th) and he's at 325g. Keeping in mind he's only 13". His UVB has been changed , temps are where they should be. So I really don't know what to do anymore. Besides the vet which I don't have the money for just yet.

Does anyone have suggestions on foods I can mix up to syringe feed him? Any tips? Dos and donts, pros and cons, etc. I've also been feeding him crested gecko diet occasionally. The ingredients are somewhat similar to the bearded dragon food they sell. I ordered the one with insects for my gecko, but I may try some with him, since he's only had one dubia in weeks and that was force fed.

I feel like I'm babbling. I hope someone can help!
 

MsCarter

Juvie Member
You can pretty much use anything you would normally feed him but just crushed up real good to use in s syringe. Chicken baby food is good for protein, bee pollen would great to get just to mix in and give him valuable minerals and vitamins, butternut squash baby food is good for vitamins, you can also mix in his vitamins and calcium.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, how long has he not been eating ? And does Izzy have a tail nip and can you post some full body pics of Izzy and a pic of his set up ? I ask about the nip because 340 grams is a very high weight for a 13" dragon. His extreme lethargy is of concern....does he lay flat in one spot or do you mean he just basks + doesn't move much ? Hopefully he's O.K, but the weight pretty high unless he has a tail nip and would actually be longer if his tail was intact. EDIT....since he s an adult it may be a brumation phase.
 

izzyLizzy

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MsCarter":2agzncac said:
You can pretty much use anything you would normally feed him but just crushed up real good to use in s syringe. Chicken baby food is good for protein, bee pollen would great to get just to mix in and give him valuable minerals and vitamins, butternut squash baby food is good for vitamins, you can also mix in his vitamins and calcium.


Cool. I didn't know they could have the chicken baby food, I'll definitely try it. He does seem to favor the squash.

Thanks!
 

izzyLizzy

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":3bazzqsn said:
Hi there, how long has he not been eating ? And does Izzy have a tail nip and can you post some full body pics of Izzy and a pic of his set up ? I ask about the nip because 340 grams is a very high weight for a 13" dragon. His extreme lethargy is of concern....does he lay flat in one spot or do you mean he just basks + doesn't move much ? Hopefully he's O.K, but the weight pretty high unless he has a tail nip and would actually be longer if his tail was intact. EDIT....since he s an adult it may be a brumation phase.


He's been this way since mid-July. He'll perk up and kind of follow crickets with his eye, but once they're out of his field of vision he stops. Hand feeding hasn't worked either. He is missing part of his tail and one of his eyes. Not sure how it happened as he was already full grown when we got him.
He doesn't always lay completely flat. He'll have his head held up, he does move around sometimes. In the mornings I put him under his lights, by the time I get home he's either under the hammock or halfway up a tree we have in there.
I just got home and looks like he's moved around a bit.. the carpet is all crazy. Whenever I have him on the bed, he roams a bit until he finds a comfortable spot, which is usually a neck pillow. Lol

84195-7054351447.jpg
This was a few days ago

84195-7080507357.jpg
He's actually 13.5".

84195-3061815910.jpg
These were this morning, so he was even more asleep.

84195-4726532456.jpg
His set up is a little bare. I used to move everything to one side and block off part of the enclosure when he ate crickets in there. The smaller space was easier for him to catch crickets.
 

MsCarter

Juvie Member
izzyLizzy":3g0nt5eb said:
Cool. I didn't know they could have the chicken baby food, I'll definitely try it. He does seem to favor the squash.

Thanks!

This is really intended for sick dragons in order to provide a source of protein. It's main purpose is to be mixed with other things to form a slurry. However you can use slurries for healthy dragons every so often to provide extra nutrition. As long as you use it moderation (you don't want to upset his belly) it should be fine. Hopefully we can get to the root of the problem and figure out why he is refusing food on his own in the first place
 

MsCarter

Juvie Member
Can you tell us what his actual temps are? And the actual brand of his UVB? His mass looks very healthy imo, he's not over weight or under weight but a very nice size. Is he going to the bath room regularly? If so how is that looking?
 

izzyLizzy

Member
Original Poster
MsCarter":ro1585kj said:
Can you tell us what his actual temps are? And the actual brand of his UVB? His mass looks very healthy imo, he's not over weight or under weight but a very nice size. Is he going to the bath room regularly? If so how is that looking?

Temps are usually between 95-105°. 80s on the cool side, but at night that drop to about 70. The UVB is a Zilla T8 tube from PetCo.

He's only pooped twice this month, then again he hasn't eaten as much as usual. His first poop this month was a lot. This last time wasn't as much. It wasn't completely solid, but not too runny either. Urate was white, I remember that.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
He would probably be about 18" if he had his full tail. He is a bit thin, you can see the slight boniness of his pelvic area where his tail begins. Hopefully you can get some nutrition in him with a syringe. Besides the baby food maybe you can make smoothies with greens, bugs + fruit.

As for the Zilla bulb, check to be sure that there's no plastic shield over the bulb if you haven't already. The plastic would block all uvb.
 

MsCarter

Juvie Member
Yes in the last pic I do see the hip bones slightly now that it was pointed out. But overall he doesn't appear to be horribly malnourished. I would do the slurries just to get something in his system. Like mentioned you can mash up insects or just simply use baby food if you would be more comfortable with that. Bee pollen is absolutely wonderful to mix in. You can purchase this at beautiful dragons.com it is naturally packed full of minerals and vitamins that could be really beneficial to him. I would do this until I could get him in to see a vet. While he's not looking too bad off yet you don't want it to get to that point. It may also be wise to use a little pedelyte just to put some electrolytes into him and help keep him hydrated.
I'm sorry your guy is having such a hard time. Overall your temps sound good and though zilla bulbs are not my personal favorite, it should still provide him with UVB as long as the plastic is removed as previously suggested. I would consider brumation to be a possibility but not if he is losing weight and never eatting on his own. This could be parasite related which a vet will be able to treat for him.
 

izzyLizzy

Member
Original Poster
Zilla isn't my favorite either, I did remove the plastic when I got it, though. I'm saving for one from Light Your Reptiles? I think is where I got one for my chameleon. And also for a vet visit. The vet I've gone to is a bit more expensive than others, but he's only there two days out of the week and it's hard for me to take off work. So I'm trying to find someone within my price range. And I figure if they're going to do a fecal, I'm gonna need Izzy to poop.

I tried searching for the bee pollen on that site , but couldn't find it. Is it under a different name?


I tried the chicken today and it was a disaster. The syringe got stuck, I pushed it a little harder and managed to empty the whole thing on his face. Lol. It also didn't help that he was just trying to get away from me, which he never does. Then we tried force feeding a dubia, he chewed about half and then spit it out. =/ I let him roam around for a bit, he seemed pretty lively, no stress marks. He walked around and licked the air then laid down.


Thanks, you guys, for your help.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
You're welcome. :) So Izzy was in a food fight ? Poor guy [ and poor you ! ] The Zilla bulb is decent if it's within 8-10". For extra uvb if you can get him out in the sun a few hours a week it will be very beneficial, just sit him out in the grass. And I think MsCarter meant a different website....beardeddragon.co. They sell tons of lights food, supplements, dewormers, beardies, etc.
 

MsCarter

Juvie Member
My apologizes, the above user is right I meant that site. I often get the two confused because I purchase things from both places.
And as AHBD also mentioned, zilla bulbs aren't horrible. If you can ever get a reptisun 10.0 UVB or a MVB both are great options. but right now he's getting his UVB so no worries there. Taking him outside for a few minutes everyday would certainly be great, natural sunlight is the best.
Yes they will need to test his feces. You can call your vet and see if he/she will just preform a fecal if you bring in a sample when you can. If he does have a case of parasites you may be able to order the appropriate treatment off of that website as well which may be a cheaper option.
I'm sorry to here the baby food didn't work out. You can add water to it to make it less thick so it will go through the syringe a little easier next time. If your Beardie will not lick drops of it off of his nose you may have to stick it in his mouth and inject little bits at a time. i know that's not always easy to get into their mouths. If you very gently pinch the middle of his beard this will force the corner of his mouth to open slightly. You can inject a little bit of the mixture this way. Hope this helps, sorry you are going through this. Please keep us updated and ask any more questions or concerns you may have. Wishing your Beardie the very best!
 

izzyLizzy

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":19i016v5 said:
You're welcome. :) So Izzy was in a food fight ? Poor guy [ and poor you ! ] The Zilla bulb is decent if it's within 8-10". For extra uvb if you can get him out in the sun a few hours a week it will be very beneficial, just sit him out in the grass. And I think MsCarter meant a different website....beardeddragon.co. They sell tons of lights food, supplements, dewormers, beardies, etc.

Thanks for the site. I will definitely be using it. We're building a new enclosure for our juvenile beardies who need to be separated, so we'll need new lights. The new enclosure is actually turning out better than I thought lol
 

izzyLizzy

Member
Original Poster
MsCarter":3qtwfwzq said:
My apologizes, the above user is right I meant that site. I often get the two confused because I purchase things from both places.
And as AHBD also mentioned, zilla bulbs aren't horrible. If you can ever get a reptisun 10.0 UVB or a MVB both are great options. but right now he's getting his UVB so no worries there. Taking him outside for a few minutes everyday would certainly be great, natural sunlight is the best.
Yes they will need to test his feces. You can call your vet and see if he/she will just preform a fecal if you bring in a sample when you can. If he does have a case of parasites you may be able to order the appropriate treatment off of that website as well which may be a cheaper option.
I'm sorry to here the baby food didn't work out. You can add water to it to make it less thick so it will go through the syringe a little easier next time. If your Beardie will not lick drops of it off of his nose you may have to stick it in his mouth and inject little bits at a time. i know that's not always easy to get into their mouths. If you very gently pinch the middle of his beard this will force the corner of his mouth to open slightly. You can inject a little bit of the mixture this way. Hope this helps, sorry you are going through this. Please keep us updated and ask any more questions or concerns you may have. Wishing your Beardie the very best!


He'll be getting lots of outside time before colder weather hits. I tried the chicken again and it was more successful. I also tried the new Pangea fruit + insects and he seemed to respond well to it. He ate quite a bit walking away and finding a spot on the bed for himself lol

Thank you guys for everything! Will surely keep you updated!!
 
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