a food and impaction recovery question

[khartley]

Anyone who followed my er thread knows that I took in a baby that was impacted two weeks ago, finally getting him to pass a large blockage today, followed by another smaller one hours later (gritty with sand ) He is absolutely exhausted. He has eaten a little every day, morning and night. But today, he ate a little this morning, but is not wanting anything tonight. He drinks water one or two times a day, and I've been giving him some flukers repta boost daily as well.

Question is, after that much pain and stress, how long would it be "normal" for him to refuse food? I can't blame him for not eating tonight, so I didn't push it, after bath he climbed my arm and is sleeping on my neck as I write this. Also, I've been feeding a lot of baby food and mashed/softened fruits and veggies. Do these foods require the same time and temp for digestion? I ask because due to the extra TLC he's been getting a bit spoiled and prefers to be out of his cage. I have a heated blanket he likes to lay on and I keep him at about 95 when he's on me because I cover him also ( temp read with infrared gun) and so just wondering if that temp is ok for proper digestion of soft foods.

 

[CooperDragon]

It could take a while for appetite to come back. Measure his weight and try to keep that steady or slowly increasing. If you see a downward trend, try to get him eating a bit more. It's OK for them to have time outside of the tank. His energy and curiosity is a very good sign. He will still need UVB and higher heat at least 100 or so to digest veggies and mashed foods. I usually give my guy some "cooking time" under his lights for a couple of hours after a meal (roughly). He gets lots of outside the tank time too though. As long as you provide several hours of basking time during the day, it should be fine. Evidence of this will be good energy levels and regular, well formed pooping (eventually).