Help getting a baby rescue to eat live prey!

[girllovingbeardies]

So, my new rescue that had the hump on his back is doing much better, but I'm still having to syringe feed him & force feed him Phoenix worms. He had his vet visit last Friday, & he said that his hump was probably due to some sort of trauma like being dropped or falling of a tank ornament & not having enough calcium. He also said that with the correct care it should heal itself & looked to already be healing compared to the pictures I had shown him of when I had rescued him. He is in a 20 gallon long tank with newspaper until I can get his carpet ordered tomorrow, he has a powersun for his basking side (which goes between 90-100) & a reptisun 10.0 for his cool side (which stays between 80-90), & he only has 3 log ramps to climb on so he doesn't fall. He also has regular bowel movements & is pretty active. My only issue now is that he won't eat without me syringe feeding or force feeding him his live prey. By force feeding I mean gently opening his mouth & putting the Phoenix worms in his mouth. Once they are in his mouth, he eats them right up. I honestly think he's scared of the live prey because I've tried small crickets, small phoenix worms, & mini mealworms. The first time I gave him crickets he ate 2 then freaked out & started running from them ever since then all he does is run from them & that was over a week ago. He seems curious about the worms & watches them, but he won't go anywhere near them & if I put him by the bowl, he runs away from it. I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do to entice him to eat the worms, as I don't think he'll eat the crickets because of how scared of them he is? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks so much.
I've decided to stop the force feeding of worms because he now has a sore spot on the tip of his nose/mouth & I think that's due to me having to open his mouth & stick with syringe feeding until I can get him to eat live on his own, but still any advice on methods or other feeders I can try would be great. Also, when I say baby he is (I'm guessing based on how long he was at the store before they'd adopt him out to me) that he is about 1- 1 1/2 months old & is only 7 grams & about 5 inches. Thanks.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your new baby doing? He certainly is tiny! What baby food are you feeding him, chicken, turkey or squash? Are you just dropping food on the end of his nose to let him lick the food off?
I am glad the hump is doing better. So the vet thinks it was due to trauma & it caused swelling from compromised bones? Is he on liquid calcium?
The Powersun & the Reptisun 10 combination sounds great for him right now. That should give him plenty of UVB exposure.
Poor thing, he must have been traumatized by prey previously, if they left food in the tank with him. Keep trying with the worms, maybe he will eventually eat them on his own. He will eat a cricket from your hand though but not on his own? Patience is a big thing, it may take him some time to get adjusted & to get over his fear of insects. There are small silkworms you could try, but it may be hard to find just the right size since he is a baby. I don't really recommend mealworms for babies. He wont eat the phoenix worms on his own?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie