Strategies to get beardie to eat again after syringe feeding

[mactac]

Ok so you have good UVB -- 8-10 inches directly above the basking decor piece please

Robot or human?

No I dont think the eye issue would cause her not to be eating- is she eating at all ? Please take the probe thermometer and place on the hammock under the basking light- get the surface basking temp from there- it should be 105-110- how long has she been off the meds? This could be effecting the appetite- are you still force feeding her or is she eating anything on her own?

Yes, that is how I measured the temp at the basking spot. We moved the probe over to get it out of the way, but the exact basking spot is in the temperature range.

She will not eat on her own at all, just force feeding (I described what we have been doing with the feeding in my original post up at the top of this thread). We even sneak bugs and worms into her mouth to "remind her", but no luck. She is literally not interested in food, but is clearly hungry as she doesn't really fight the force feeding. The question I'm trying to figure out is strategies for getting her to eat on her own again, as my worry is the longer the force feeding goes on, the harder it will be to change. We have tried not feeding her at all for a couple of days and still nothing.

She's been off the meds for about 2 weeks. She is still hungry, and even opens her mouth sometimes, but expecting the food to be there. Its like she has forgotten that she has to eat as I described above - or lost the will. Before this she was a really good eater, much better than our other beardie.

 

[AHBD]

Wow, you brought her back from the brink , good job ! She just may not have the energy to go for insects and she's just gotten used to the syringe like you mentioned. Does she crawl up on the hammock or to the top of the basking branch ? I'm thinking that with the tank being so tall and the uvb being way over on one side that she's not getting much uvb. She might do better in a shorter temp. tank like a plastic tote that's about 20" high. Then you can be sure she gets good uvb exposure and can try letting the insects crawl near her without her being held or having to jump down from way up there with her weak eye not being able to focus well.

 

[KarrieRee]

Yes, that is how I measured the temp at the basking spot. We moved the probe over to get it out of the way, but the exact basking spot is in the temperature range.

She will not eat on her own at all, just force feeding (I described what we have been doing with the feeding in my original post up at the top of this thread). We even sneak bugs and worms into her mouth to "remind her", but no luck. She is literally not interested in food, but is clearly hungry as she doesn't really fight the force feeding. The question I'm trying to figure out is strategies for getting her to eat on her own again, as my worry is the longer the force feeding goes on, the harder it will be to change. We have tried not feeding her at all for a couple of days and still nothing.

She's been off the meds for about 2 weeks. She is still hungry, and even opens her mouth sometimes, but expecting the food to be there. Its like she has forgotten that she has to eat as I described above - or lost the will. Before this she was a really good eater, much better than our other beardie.

Ok so lets try enticing her to the food bowl - please get some BSFL from www.symtonbsf.com they are a great staple feeder and compliment to the dubias feed as many as you want on top of her salads- first feeding of the day - https://www.amazon.com/MACGOAL-Reptile-Ceramic-Leopard-Bearded/dp/B084VJJWTV?pf_rd_r=R0HNPKXJ2ZARWAT5MPAH&pf_rd_p=c5b6893a-24f2-4a59-9d4b-aff5065c90ec&pd_rd_r=0173f98f-f39b-4d44-9f76-
6ae4d88c419b&pd_rd_w=AuGQB&pd_rd_wg=tLkwE&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d
when you get the BSFL drop them in the salad bowl in front of her - see if that entices the curiosity - hand feed a couple to her then drop them in --

 

[mactac]

Wow, you brought her back from the brink , good job ! She just may not have the energy to go for insects and she's just gotten used to the syringe like you mentioned. Does she crawl up on the hammock or to the top of the basking branch ? I'm thinking that with the tank being so tall and the uvb being way over on one side that she's not getting much uvb. She might do better in a shorter temp. tank like a plastic tote that's about 20" high. Then you can be sure she gets good uvb exposure and can try letting the insects crawl near her without her being held or having to jump down from way up there with her weak eye not being able to focus well.

Thanks! She does crawl up to the basking spot no problem, and does move around in it, closer or farther away from the UV, so I *think* her being able to access it is ok. She will not eat insects unless I force feed them into her. I can put it right in front of her face and she completely ignores it - we're a a long way from worrying if she can see them from up top

 

[mactac]

Ok so lets try enticing her to the food bowl - please get some BSFL from www.symtonbsf.com they are a great staple feeder and compliment to the dubias feed as many as you want on top of her salads- first feeding of the day - https://www.amazon.com/MACGOAL-Reptile-Ceramic-Leopard-Bearded/dp/B084VJJWTV?pf_rd_r=R0HNPKXJ2ZARWAT5MPAH&pf_rd_p=c5b6893a-24f2-4a59-9d4b-aff5065c90ec&pd_rd_r=0173f98f-f39b-4d44-9f76-
6ae4d88c419b&pd_rd_w=AuGQB&pd_rd_wg=tLkwE&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d
when you get the BSFL drop them in the salad bowl in front of her - see if that entices the curiosity - hand feed a couple to her then drop them in --

We feed her soldier fly larvae, but only forced. We can put it right in front of her face, and no interest. If I put it under her gums, she will eat it. So, hand feeding isn't a possibility right now (even though I offer her this at every feeding). So, we are a long way from her being interested in a bowl. She literally ignores food. Unfortunately we cannot get dubias - we are in Canada and they are not legal to import for feeding.

 

[KarrieRee]

We feed her soldier fly larvae, but only forced. We can put it right in front of her face, and no interest. If I put it under her gums, she will eat it. So, hand feeding isn't a possibility right now (even though I offer her this at every feeding). So, we are a long way from her being interested in a bowl. She literally ignores food. Unfortunately we cannot get dubias - we are in Canada and they are not legal to import for feeding.

Ok-- I am at a loss for getting her to eat- maybe getting some repashy grub pie would get her to start eating again

 

[mactac]

Ok-- I am at a loss for getting her to eat- maybe getting some repashy grub pie would get her to start eating again

OK, thanks for your time!

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. I would get some probiotics since those antibiotics kill the good gut flora. Try soy yogurt plain or you can order online. I hope she continues to improve. She's very pretty.