Beardie Won't Open Mouth for Meds

[justalittleguy]

Hey! My beardie is on two meds right now that I have to give daily with a syringe and I cannot get her to open her mouth for them. I've been putting them in her gum but some of it always dribbles out and I'm worried shes not getting enough of the doses. I'm also syringe feeding her and she licks that up off her nose no problem, unless I have another syringe in her line of sight. Then she wont open her mouth at all. I've tried putting it in her gum and moving it to the front but she never opens her mouth, shell sit there for minutes with her eyes closed looking super uncomfortable. I'm really worried I'm not giving her enough of her meds and that shes not going to get any better. Any tips???

 

[KarrieRee]

Hey! My beardie is on two meds right now that I have to give daily with a syringe and I cannot get her to open her mouth for them. I've been putting them in her gum but some of it always dribbles out and I'm worried shes not getting enough of the doses. I'm also syringe feeding her and she licks that up off her nose no problem, unless I have another syringe in her line of sight. Then she wont open her mouth at all. I've tried putting it in her gum and moving it to the front but she never opens her mouth, shell sit there for minutes with her eyes closed looking super uncomfortable. I'm really worried I'm not giving her enough of her meds and that shes not going to get any better. Any tips???

Go in on the side of her mouth- you may haft to pry administer real slow so she swallows what you put in - is it a liquid that you can mix w/ the food your feeding

 

[xp29]

If its hit where you are, you can take her in the sun and wait for her to gape. Thats how we had to trick on of mine. It took two of use to give her meds. When she was in her habitat she would always close her mouth before we could get it in, but out in tbe sun we had more success

 

[justalittleguy]

Go in on the side of her mouth- you may haft to pry administer real slow so she swallows what you put in - is it a liquid that you can mix w/ the food your feeding

By pry administer do you mean like just putting little amounts in her gums so she gets it all? And yes! I could squirt the dose into the food but she doesn't always eat all of the food since a lot of it ends up dripping down her beard so I'm worried I still wouldn't know if shes getting all of the dose it's definitely something to consider tho! Thank you!!

 

[justalittleguy]

If its hit where you are, you can take her in the sun and wait for her to gape. Thats how we had to trick on of mine. It took two of use to give her meds. When she was in her habitat she would always close her mouth before we could get it in, but out in tbe sun we had more success

That's a good idea!! Thank you so much, I'll see if I can get her to gape

 

[KarrieRee]

By pry administer do you mean like just putting little amounts in her gums so she gets it all? And yes! I could squirt the dose into the food but she doesn't always eat all of the food since a lot of it ends up dripping down her beard so I'm worried I still wouldn't know if shes getting all of the dose it's definitely something to consider tho! Thank you!!

You can try it see how it goes w/ the food - usually if you put the syringe in on the side to they will open so you can get the syringe in then slowly feed the med - do the best you can

 

[justalittleguy]

You can try it see how it goes w/ the food - usually if you put the syringe in on the side to they will open so you can get the syringe in then slowly feed the med - do the best you can

Thank you!!!

 

[Jessss]

I would be very careful with the gaping method,if she’s gaping she’s breathing and will aspirate/choke on it.I use the method of putting a small amount of the gum then moving the syringe forward to the tip of the mouth which should get her to open it.I’ve also found honey (raw unpasteurised is what I use,a brand called black bee honey)really helps them if you place a little on her lips once she tastes it she’ll more than likely start licking.You could also try mixing with food/other stuff as mentioned above but I understand the worry of her not getting enough of the dose.However you manage to get her to take the meds do it very slowly and allow her to swallow and take breaks between.While gaping they’re breathing and regulating their temperature,if you squirt it in her mouth it’ll go straight down her windpipe,she will most likely choke and aspirate it imo,which is a very scary experience.

 

[xp29]

I would be very careful with the gaping method,if she’s gaping she’s breathing and will aspirate/choke on it.I use the method of putting a small amount of the gum then moving the syringe forward to the tip of the mouth which should get her to open it.I’ve also found honey (raw unpasteurised is what I use,a brand called black bee honey)really helps them if you place a little on her lips once she tastes it she’ll more than likely start licking.You could also try mixing with food/other stuff as mentioned above but I understand the worry of her not getting enough of the dose.However you manage to get her to take the meds do it very slowly and allow her to swallow and take breaks between.While gaping they’re breathing and regulating their temperature,if you squirt it in her mouth it’ll go straight down her windpipe,she will most likely choke and aspirate it imo,which is a very scary experience.

I agree with what your saying, i should have been more specific. I was not suggesting to squirt the whole syringe in at one go. When i used that method on mine i aimed between her tongue and teeth and only administratored a small amount at a time. It was slow go but it worked. Im not a big fan of trying to pry their mouth open, and just putting outside her gums did not work.

 

[Jessss]

I agree with what your saying, i should have been more specific. I was not suggesting to squirt the whole syringe in at one go. When i used that method on mine i aimed between her tongue and teeth and only administratored a small amount at a time. It was slow go but it worked. Im not a big fan of trying to pry their mouth open, and just putting outside her gums did not work.

I get what you’re saying about trying to pry the mouth and put it on the gums,it can cause damage as well to the teeth/mouth.I didn’t think you meant the whole amount of meds at once but wanted to double check just to be safe Whatever way works best for the person administrating and dragon is always the way to go,I prefer the gum method but then again I’ve had one aspirate once and that was with the gum method but she is a special needs girl and struggles to swallow any amount of liquid,she was on 0.12ml and I gave 0.02ml each time yet she still aspirated.As you said it’s a slow go but always best to take the time to do it safely.

 

[justalittleguy]

I would be very careful with the gaping method,if she’s gaping she’s breathing and will aspirate/choke on it.I use the method of putting a small amount of the gum then moving the syringe forward to the tip of the mouth which should get her to open it.I’ve also found honey (raw unpasteurised is what I use,a brand called black bee honey)really helps them if you place a little on her lips once she tastes it she’ll more than likely start licking.You could also try mixing with food/other stuff as mentioned above but I understand the worry of her not getting enough of the dose.However you manage to get her to take the meds do it very slowly and allow her to swallow and take breaks between.While gaping they’re breathing and regulating their temperature,if you squirt it in her mouth it’ll go straight down her windpipe,she will most likely choke and aspirate it imo,which is a very scary experience.

thank you for this v important info!! I've tried the little in gum, moving syringe forward method but it has yet to work. I'll try honey!