Is it time to FORCE FEED???

[Jason H]

I have Lafonda a 8 month old veiled female that has not eaten in 30 days. I knew she had eggs and it was her first time, aparently she didn't like her laying bin and had to go to a much larger one for her to lay them. I took her to the vet and had xrays done to make sure she had good bone density and she did on 2-10-09. She finally layed 57 eggs yesterday and was finished around 7:00 pm. I put her back in her cage along with 4 crickets and when I got home tonight they were all still in there. I talked to the vet and she told me to go ahead and force feed here. I have read a lot of negative remarks on this site about force feeding but I think it's time, am I doing the right thing??

 

[blackbetty]

I am not an expert nor do I offer any advice. I did try this with Betty before she passed as vet told me to and I found it impossible.. I could not get her to open her jaw for anything and I felt like I was going to domore damage to her, so I opted not to. I wish you the best and hope she pulls outta it (even better if on her own!)


Have you tried other food sources? Dubias? hornworms? Silkies? Supers?

 

[Titan]

I wouldnt force feed the Cham, good chance of it going into the Airway, and sure Death after that. You would really need to know how to do it. and ensure it gets into the stomach. She may be to tired from laying that many eggs to eat yet. Just make sure she is offered plenty of water. and food Items every so often, try more things than Just Crickets, sometimes Horn and Silkworms my get the saliva flowing for them!

If in another day or so she still dont eat (which I'm fairly sure by then) the Vet has the Experties Hopefully to Nurish and hydrate a Cham. Kind of like a human I.V.

 

[zelink14]

If you have a syringe you could try offering her some baby food. The vet recommended this to get some nourishment into them.

I haven't tried this; I've only done it with water. You could try doing some reading about it... or see if anyone else has some opinions on the matter?

 

[Jason H]

My wife and I fed her a few minuets ago, it was much easier than I thought it would be. I gently opened her mouth and my wife put the well dusted cricket just in the front of Lafonda's mouth. She then chewed them up and swallowed them, we fed her 3. I don't know how sufficent the amout of food is, how long should I wait for her to eat on her own before I should consider feeding her this way again??

 

[Titan]

So she must have been willing somewhat? good deal! I'd wait abit and see if she'll take them on her own next time. You most likely got her stimulated to eat?

 

[ToniandGizmo]

My wife and I fed her a few minuets ago, it was much easier than I thought it would be. I gently opened her mouth and my wife put the well dusted cricket just in the front of Lafonda's mouth. She then chewed them up and swallowed them, we fed her 3. I don't know how sufficent the amout of food is, how long should I wait for her to eat on her own before I should consider feeding her this way again??

Less is more (I think). Remember, she hasn't eaten for a while and her digestive system needs to get back up and running again. Just my opinion. Senior Members?

 

[Dave Weldon]

I have Lafonda a 8 month old veiled female that has not eaten in 30 days...

She finally layed 57 eggs yesterday and was finished around 7:00 pm.

I have read a lot of negative remarks on this site about force feeding but I think it's time, am I doing the right thing??

Howdy Jason,

Your vet may be right but it has only been about 24 hours since she laid the eggs. She just might need another day. Try a tap on her nose to see if she will open-up and be ready to either toss-in a feeder or squirt a 1/2cc of something like Ensure (some vets recommend it for chameleon emergencies) and if that works, try it again. Maybe up to 1-2cc's worth in a session. If you have one of the emergency liquid reptile foods, use that instead. It won't take much food to begin to get her turned around from not having any food for 30 days. Take things slow and easy. If you have to resort to a more intrusive force feeding technique, use a syringe and a few inches of small diameter, soft tubing (hobby store or hardware store) attached to the tip. This will keep the hard syringe plastic away from her jaw. If she should clamp-down, teeth and jawbone could be broken . I have used "Tomcat catheter" tubing with success too.

What part of the world are you located?

EDIT: I just saw your posting that you were able to get her to eat crickets! She may eat on her own in a few hours. If not, give her more time and/or try feeding her the same way again in a day. Don't rush things but make sure she is getting water. Dribble with a syringe or a hand mister with warm water.

 

[BocaJan]

It always takes my girls 24-48 hours to get back into the swing of the eating thing after laying eggs. Patience is a virtue.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I'm glad it was easy and (hopefully) not too stressful for her.
I would not have done it.
However, she should have more energy tomorrow and start to feed on her own because of it ... water (as previously stated) is hugely important right now.
They can survive a surprisingly long time without food. Now that you have nourished her, give her some time to bounce back.

-Brad

 

[kinyonga]

Glad she took the insects and chewed them! I never just toss one in. I want to be sure they are chewing them.

Also, be careful not to get any fluids down into the lungs. I ease the fluids in a bit at a time or drip water on the tip of the chameleon's nose to get it to drink.

Hope she will be okay!