Force feeding whites ?'s

[IrishRonin]

Ok so I've got one of my 4 whites who wont eat. I have seen him/her heat a few times, but not in the last 3 days and he/she is getting thin. Now its come to the point that I need to start force feeding or im afriad I'm gonna loose him/her. So my ? is has anyone had to do this? If so what did you use? How did you open there mouth with out hurting them. This one is about the size of a silver dollor. in the past when I've force feed, I've used a blend of the food, with some water and used a syringe (needless or course) to shoot it down the affected animals throat. That should work right? I've never done this to a frog so... any help would be great

[Sasha]

Sorry about your frog. When Fiona was sick I had to give her oral medicine. I have a small metal measuring spoon that has a very flat rounded handle and I would just slide it between her jaw and turn it slightly to open her mouth. The boyfriend would then put the syringe down her throat and squirt. I watched the vet do it and he used a pair of dull tweezers and he actually put the end of the syringe in his mouth so that when he got her mouth open he put the syringe in and pushed the plunger with his tongue! I think a puree of their food mixed with some pedialiyte or some reptiboost should be fine.

Just take your time and have patience. Each time we had to do it, it took at least 10 minutes. I actually think it was more traumatizing to us than to her!

[IrishRonin]

Thanks for the response, it definitely takes time and patience.

[KingCam]

It's only been 3 days since your frog last ate? I hardly think that is enough time to consider force feeding. Force feeding is incredibly stressful for the frog and can easily result in injury. It is to be used as a last resort only.

What are you offering as food? How are you offering it? Have you tried other insects instead? You need to explore every option before prying your frog's mouth open to cram cricekts down its throat.

Do you have a picture of how thin your frog is? Unless it is seriously underweight I would hold off on the force feeding.

[IrishRonin]

Ok so I have feed 2 types of roaches, crickets, mealworms... I dont have any other insects to feed. As of yesterday morning it had been 3 maybe 4 days so taday is 5-6 days. He is very small, could sit on a half dollar, and hes lost a lot of weight. To the point where it looks as if hes gonna regrow a tail. This would never be my 1st resort.

[KingCam]

Ok so I have feed 2 types of roaches, crickets, mealworms... I dont have any other insects to feed. As of yesterday morning it had been 3 maybe 4 days so taday is 5-6 days. He is very small, could sit on a half dollar, and hes lost a lot of weight. To the point where it looks as if hes gonna regrow a tail. This would never be my 1st resort.

Oh, okay. That's a more serious situation I would say. The only other thing I would suggest trying is a small moth. You can catch one side at night by a porch light or something. Tree frogs LOVE moths, and sometimes it will trigger a feeding response when nothing else will.

[KingCam]

Have you tried any luke warm soaks? I've had people tell me honey baths turned around their animals feeding response. That's not the intended purpose of a honey bath, but it couldn't hurt to try.



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[Sasha]

How's the frog?

[IrishRonin]

Well funny enough Cam I gave the little one a warm honey bath yesterday, and it did improve his/hers demeanor a little bit, and it helped the little one poop. Well as of now he/she seems to feel a little better, more active and alert but still isn't eating one its own yet. As far as weight goes its not looking as thin which is good. I'm gonna try to let em eat on his/her own tonight but idono well see