Best way to force feed?

[Basilisk09]

Hey guys,

So my male panther chameleon Costello STILL hasn't eaten... and I'm getting fed up with him. I've tried crickets, superworms, wax worms and roaches and he won't touch any of them. His stomatitis is also coming back, so I'm going to be taking him to the vet again really soon. He's dropped from 154g to 148g in a month and a half, and I've just decided to force feed him waxworms by dropping them in his mouth while holding him. But so far, he hasn't swallowed the one i dropped in his mouth, and I don't know how to get him food. I've tried using a syringe and squeezing crickets into paste and hand feeding, but that didn't work. What should I do? I'm getting fed up...

P.S. I haven't tried many other insects such as locusts, painted ladies, mantids, or silkworms because I'm in Arizona and all 5 reptile stores in the area won't carry them because it's too hot and it's just started cooling down now. So we'll see.

 

[brandychams]

try not offering him anything for a couple of days and then try maybe thatll end the hunger strike

 

[Psi]

The heat would be better for stores to grow up Hornworms(They grow insane in good heat).
I'd be trying to find those, and Silkworms as well.

Definitely explore some more options, it's really hard to get a stressed animal to swallow any food you're forcing it.

 

[reptoman]

Go to a feild and catch some grasshoppers. They are a good hunger strike remedy. I have not seen too many panthers that wont go after supers if you get them crawling on the screen. Those are easy to gutload as well.

 

[antithesis123]

There's this stuff called "Zilla Jump start" that comes with a syringe (no needle) I've mashed up hornworm guts, mealworms, crickets and mixed it with the paste with just a little water. when my panther opens his mouth I squirt a little in at a time. It's a last resort. I had a guy that was mailed to me and didn't eat for 5 days so I started with that- unfortunately he now prefers to be fed that way and just opens his mouth like I'm supposed to feed him like this for the rest of his life.
Force feeding is really a last resort and it stresses out alot of chameleons!

Be sure that he's not eating - Sometimes they're just shy too! If there's a finished product at the bottom of the cage and you haven't seen him eat, trust me, he's eating. I've never seen one of my females eat. Onetime I saw a hornworm in her mouth.. but she paused as soon as she noticed me.

 

[kinyonga]

If you put the waxworm in his mouth and he didn't eat it then he is likely really sick...or his mouth is hurting him so bad because of the mouth rot that it hurts to chew. I would get him to a vet ASAP...not just soon.