feeding the blind

choriona · 09-30-03, 10:37 AM

Does anyone have suggestions for food to hand feed my partially blind cham. He does eat mealies out of a bowl, but those are the slowest most squiggly insects i can offer him. It takes him a few tries to capture them, as his depth perception is all messed up. They need to move around so that he is interested in them, but can't be vicious and bite him back like superworms. Crickets are way too fast.
He will eat from a syringe.....for about 2 tries, then closes up tight. The vet suggested I feed him baby-food that had meat in it for protein but he has lost weight since our last visit. I've been mixing "chicken caserole" with water for him, but he dosen't really enjoy it. Plus, I am afraid he is not getting all the vitamens he needs.
So, if anyone has any creative suggestions, or new mixtures I can put in the syringe that may be better for him, let me know!

DarkHunter · 09-30-03, 10:42 AM

try taking the legs off the crickets so they cant move? I worked in a pet store and this is what they did in the reptile dept. when we had problem feeders. If hes not taking what the vet said he should be eating then give it to him in a better way. Try putting it on whatever he will eat. Are you giving him any fruits or veggies???

betsyjean79 · 09-30-03, 10:58 AM

I think silkworms would be worth a try. They don't move very fast. You can buy them in smaller quantities on ebay, or try to find them locally.

snakemann87 · 09-30-03, 11:04 AM

Hmm thats a touch one.....why dont you just hold the crix and wiggle them around infront of him? A Chameleon tounge aint gonna hurt ya!

Trace · 09-30-03, 01:58 PM

Snakemann87: Come now, what DO you know about chameleons? I dare you to come here, pick up my C.J. and you'll see what a chameleon tongue AND BITE feels like. It's not fun.

Choriona: I can't remember what thread I read it on, but this is the old Veiled right? The one that hates Silkies? Beyond waxies and hornworms I can't think of too many other slow moving insects for you. Personally I don't like using baby food for chameleons, although many people have used it with great success. I don't like it because some of the flavours have a lot of additives like salt that chameleons don't really need. Kim (Icequeen) is using the Repti-Aide powder stuff you can buy in most pet stores for her non-feeding Male Veiled. She can probably give you better details than myself on this product. For a few of my stubborn eaters, rescues and the like, I use Emeraid Nutri-Support. It's another powdered food product only available through your vet. (At least in Ontario anyways) It's chock full of good vitamins, natural ingredients and no additives. Maybe call your vet and ask him/her is this product would work.

Hope this helps in some small way.

Trace

choriona · 10-01-03, 08:57 AM

thanks for the suggestions- I'll give it a try.

As for silkies, I was looking forward to purchasing them at the Calgary or Red Deer shows, but didn't see any. There aren't any stores that carry them regularily either. But silkies don't wiggle enough to catch his good eye.
I haven't heard of hornworms yet - so I'll look into that.

And I like the idea of taking the legs off the crickets - how do you do that? Do you have to hold them, then pull the legs off? (YUCK)

As for holding anything for him to shoot his tongue at - he can't really. He shoots not far enough, or in the wrong range. This would take way tooo long.

And thanks Trace for giving me a reason to be suspicious of this baby-food diet. I know its good for babies, but I don't think a zoo would use it to nurse an abandoned baby insectivoire, get my drift?