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Posted by iZ's mom (back + rambling away as usual) on January 08, 2001 at 22:31:04:
In Reply to: How do i force feed my Iguana? posted by Gleb on January 08, 2001 at 11:45:26:
wow ~ y'all make me realize how lucky i am with iZ ~ he's always been super cooperative with taking all the dratted meds he's had to take this last 18 mo ...
Gleb ~ if at all possible, hide the med in a bit of your ig's most favorite food ~ *chomp* and it's in there! i hide iZ's meds in a chunk of orange ... (shhhhhhhhh! don't tell him!)
if ya gotta do the oral syringe route ~ wear blue jeans, a thick sweat shirt and wrap the ig in a nice thick bath towel ... sit her on your lap with her back legs about at your hips so you can use that arm/elbow to kinda hold her tail/body against your side ...
~ even while you're restraining her, the object REALLY is to get her to "relax" or at least be still for a short while ... you really don't want to try to squirt stuff in her mouth while she's freaking out and snorting and gasping at you ...
wrap her in the towel, cover her head ... the total dark *should* quiet her a bit ...
important that YOU stay very calm during all this and talk softly and reassuringly to her! once she's quiets down a bit, uncover just her head ... make sure all legs are cozily swaddled in the towel ...
iZ does NOT like his dewlap pulled ~ but he's always cooperated with me as i take his lower jaw between thumb + forefinger of one hand and he'll let me open his mouth *just a bit* ...
i always let him know what to expect ~ once he's calmed, i put the syringe by his nose and tell him what it is *before* it goes anywhere near his mouth ... (he now knows that *medicine* IS going to taste baaaaaad) ...
igs tend to want to stick their nose up in the air in an attempt to get away from you ... try + keep her nose level with the floor, if not pointed down a bit ... that way the fluid won't hit the back of her throat and make it feel like she's drowning ... she'll have a chance to realize there's liquid in her mouth *before* she inhales ... aim for the side of the back of the tongue ...
make it as small amount of fluid as possible, especially if it's gonna taste bad ... for a grown ig, the maximum amount i'd squirt in with one squirt is 1cc ... more than that, you risk either her inaling (aspirating it into her lungs) OR plain old spewing it out ... if it's something that does taste bad, have another syringe ready that has just plain warm water in it and as soon as she has the meds in her, tell her *drink* and squirt some water in on her tongue to rinse her mouth out ...
ROTF at the thought of the football team trying to hold down an ig!!! *grin* ... it wouldn't work!!!! LOL ... seriously ~ you don't want to *force* her as much as you want to convince her that she needs to let you do this small thing to her ... then get it done + over with as quickly as possible so it doesn't feel like a punishment and give her a big piece of fruit for putting up with you being a silly humon ...
oh ... also helps to give the meds with a strict routine so she knows when to expect it ... otherwise, she'll just be paranoid all the time ... make sense?
but really ... if it's in pill form ... hide it in a piece of orange or melon or bread that she'll chomp down in one bite ...
Bon. + iZ (the dreadful as ever dragon!)
