How do you syringe feed a baby?

[Derobmi]

I rescued a baby beardie yesterday from Petsmart. He hasn't been eating for about a week, he's lethargic, and he's very thin. One of his back toes appears broken and is turning dark. One of his front hands is generally bent under, so he is standing on the back of his hand.

I have a lot of experience syringe feeding, but never a baby like this. My usual method of getting the syringe tip in between the lips and moving it forward just isn't working - his head is too small and honestly, I'm afraid of breaking him. I've tried dripping it on his nose and he isn't taking that. I'm hoping that getting UVB and proper temps will stimulate his appetite, but I don't think he'll make it another few days without food - he's so skinny and weak.

He didn't have UVB at Petsmart and when I asked about the temps, my friend (who works there) said she could stick a dial thermometer in the tank to get the temps, so I'm assuming the temps were off. Currently under a new Reptisun 10.0 tube, 105-110F basking, on paper towels. I've tried feeding him Critical Care (herbivore), baby food chicken, and a mixture of the two with no interest on his part. I bathed him last night and this morning - I'm figuring on bathing him a few more times today after I grab some pedialyte.

Any ideas on how to syringe feed the little guy? Anything else I could do?

 

[Esther19]

My dragons are all grown now, but I have two who won't lick until I let them know what they're missing. I gently pull down the lower lip at the side of the mouth and squirt a few drops in to give them a taste. Unless they're being exceptionally stubborn, that gets them to licking. I hope he's not too small for this to work. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Derobmi]

Thank you, Esther. I tried that last night, but I couldn't tell if any of the food made it through. I'm going to give it another try right now - he is so far gone that I'm having a hard time discerning if he is still alive without picking him up.

 

[Derobmi]

Hey, Esther, it worked! I was more aggressive because I figure he's got nothing to lose at this point, but he ended up opening his mouth and drinking just a few drops. I'll keep trying throughout the day.

 

[Esther19]

Keep up the good work, dear! Sometimes a bit of gentle tough love is necessary. Thanks for not giving up.
How does he respond to his baths? Great that you're bathing him. Hydration is so important.

 

[parodyofagirl]

I am so happy to see that you got some food into him. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you two.

 

[Derobmi]

I tried using a piece of collard greens to pry his mouth open and by doing that, I managed to get about .5 ml of chicken/critical care mix into him!

He perked up after that and moved around his tank and I saw that both his front hands are turned upside down when he walks. As far as I know, that indicates MBD. I don't know how to tell age, but he is really tiny - he's about 4.5 inches total length. Is it common for a beardie that small to develop MBD?

I can see him breathing now - earlier I couldn't, so that seems like a good sign.

 

[parodyofagirl]

He is so tiny. Could it maybe be a birth defect?

 

[Derobmi]

He is so tiny. Could it maybe be a birth defect?

I don't know.

He seems to spend a lot of time looking straight up, but I don't *think* it is stargazing because his head isn't bent back past 90 degrees.. I'm not sure. He's still alive today, though. I got a little more food in him and added some pedialyte to his bath but his eyes look more sunken in today than yesterday and I know that is a bad sign.

Poor little guy. I wish I could take him to the vet, but I can't afford it. I took him on as a rescue because I was told he was probably going to be euthanized the next day and I figured I might be able to give him a chance, at least.

 

[parodyofagirl]

*hugs*

I am sorry to hear that he has taken a turn for the worst. Sunken in eyes are not a good sign in a beardie.

Please keep him as comfortable as possible. You are giving him a chance he wouldn't have had otherwise. I'm sure he knows he is loved.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Geez, sorry to hear he is having a hard time. The babies are so fragile & hard to feed also.
I hope he turns around for you. How do his eyes look today?

Tracie

 

[Derobmi]

Thank you for your replies.

He's still alive today but I think he is on his way out. I can't get him to accept any food today no matter what and his stress marks are darker today. His eyes are still sunken. He has pooped twice, it is almost all urate, once yesterday and again this morning. His dying toe fell off in the bath earlier so I put some neosporin on the nub.

I don't know what else to do. I'm going to bathe him again in a pedialyte bath. Syringe feeding has been pretty much a failure and I think it is stressing him out even more - I'm not sure I should try again today or just hydrate him and hope for the best.

I'm very much open to suggestions.

 

[Derobmi]

A friend of mine has rescued baby birds and she managed to pry his mouth open and I got a full ml of critical care and chicken baby food in him!

I'm not at all sure that prying his mouth open like that won't cause damage... I figured I might as well try anything at this point.

We are going to try again in a few hours because I didn't want to overfeed and cause him to vomit. She used her fingernails to get past the lips to the teeth and then gently pulled his mouth open by applying pressure up and down. If that is a really dangerous thing to do, please let me know!

 

[Derobmi]

He died this afternoon.

I didn't give him a second feeding last night because his belly was so big. I fed him today and he was taking it without me having to force his mouth open. I fed about .75 ml. I'm not sure if the force-feeding had something to do with him dying today. I'd like to know for future reference, so if anyone has some insight, even if it will make me feel bad, please share it.

He was in bad shape when I got him and I figured his chances were slim. He looked so much better last night after eating but this morning he was even worse. He looked better after I fed him today, but he died about an hour later.

Thank you to everybody who offered advice and support. <3

 

[AHBD]

Hi Mary....I'm sorry about the baby. At least someone cared enough to try to help him. It sounds like he was in really bad shape, and at that size it's always touch + go with a very sick baby. The under turned hands mean that he probably had MBD, or at least a severe calcium deficiency and he may have had atadenovirus as well. Lots of potential things that could have added to his demise, I'don't think it was the small amount of food you got in to him. Again, I'm so sorry !