Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 29, Number 2;   February, 2002

Force Feeding Lizards

by Amanda Fenrick

First it is very important not to force an animal to swallow anything if they are showing neurological signs. If there are any tremors, seizures, or other problems with muscle control, then swallowing would either be impossible or dangerous. Animals with these problems need to be fed with a tube which is put down their throat all the way into their stomach. This is something which is not difficult to learn, and many vets are willing to teach it.

If you are lucky the animal can be fed by syringe. Getting the mouth open without damaging the gums or teeth is a bit of an art and comes with practice. The easiest is to use the syringe tip to ease the mouth open.

Squirt the food in towards the back of the throat. If you go in sideways, you may just squirt in one side and out the other. The thing to avoid is the trachea, which is a little tube attached to the base of the tongue. Squirt in as much food as the lizard can handle. Some bigger ones can take the whole shot at once, and some need little bits at a time. Trying to feed crickets or vegetables by force feeding is a good supplement to syringe feeding to keep the food response going and to observe whether their appetite is coming back. Not only is it more difficult, however, but it is also less sustaining for a sick lizard. The benefits of a liquid force feeding diet are: it is easier to digest, it is a more complete diet, and it is easier to get an adequate volume into the lizard.

The most popular types of liquid diet for syringe feeding are strawberry Ensure and baby food. Some like to puree vegetables but even this may not be as easy to digest or as complete a diet. Ensure is mixed with pureed banana to add calories (1 banana per can) and baby food can be a mix of several varieties. Both can have calcium and vitamins added. (Liquid calcium seems to curdle Ensure though). Both can be fed at a rate of 20 ml per 1 kg of body weight every 12, 24, or 48 hour period, depending on the individual's needs (e.g.- an emaciated lizard or a baby have higher needs for food). It is always better to divide feedings into multiple small feedings rather than one large one. This keeps the metabolism running at optimal levels.

With omnivorous animals a good baby food is "chicken casserole". Carnivorous animals do well with Hill's a/d, a kind of cat food for sick animals that is available at most vet's. Herbivorous animals should have veggie baby foods or strawberry Ensure with banana.