the secret of getting Dill to eat....

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Posted by icequeen on May 05, 2003 at 07:39:55:

In Reply to: ?'s about: unshed bands of skin...and not eating for 2 days. posted by Brian-SFCRC on May 05, 2003 at 06:55:28:

She is SUCH a suck!! I have discovered what it takes to get her to eat...
It's sitting with her, on my lap, and feeding her from a spoon! I kid you not!!! I have been giving her greens chopped up fine, mixed in with organic baby food...peas, carrots, green beans, and the like...I don't mix the baby food flavours, just the greens in with it. If I'm holding her, and hold the spoon at an angle so she doesn't have to lean down to eat...she gobbles it up.
I don't give her JUST baby food...I also give her chopped fresh veggies too, and fruit. So far though, the only fruit she shows any interest in at all is cantaloupe melon.
Peas, beans, sweet potatoes, and squash are her absolute favourites.
This morning she took on a camels share of water, while sitting on my lap, drinking from a syringe (without the needle)! I've never seen her drink like that! She shows little to no interest in water while in her enclosure.
I'd say she's spoiled rotten...or else I'm just easily trained!!

I just don't know if I can do the razor blade thing! I'd be devastated if I hurt her!!! I don't want her to associate me with unpleasant experiences...especially since she likes to cuddle with me, down in my sleeve.

I have not taken her to the vet as the vets here aren't even going to know what she is.
These are the same vets that described my vieled chameleon as "cuddly" and loving to be held! And then prescribed antibiotics because they didn't know what else to do with him.
I don't know...maybe Dill would benefit from a "preventative" course of antibiotics, just in case there is an underlying infection because of her toes?

:SOUTHERN FLORIDA CORUCIA RESEARCH CENTER (SFCRC)

:HI Kim, It's Brian.

:Have you tried soaking the dead skink to soften it? It sounds like Dill has gone through much dehydration during her Ontario experience. You might want to get a partner for this-after softening, carefully cut the banded dead skin with a razor blade and with applied water to soften it underneath as you peel, you should be able to remove it. How is Dill functioning with her missing toes? Is she able to climb at all? Try increasing the humidity in her enclosure which might induce feeding. I have found Corucia will fast for a time if the Humidity drops. If you find it necessary to forcefeed, to reduce stress for you and Dill, use green beans. The Reason: The cylindrical shape will go down easier and quicker- which is what you want. Has she been Vet- checked? She may still harbor pathogens and parasites.

:Please post Dill's progress or E-mail Sherri or Me.

:Good Luck,

:Sincerely,
:Brian
:SFCRC

::I have had a PTS (named Dill) since Easter weekend. She is the one I posted awhile back about that is missing so many toes.
::The question I have is...how do I deal with the couple bands of skin still left on her toes?

::The one I am most concerned about is very tight on her front toe, it bleeds slightly sometimes when she is using her feet aggressively (such as trying to get out of her bath!)but I have not seen any pus like discharge. The nail on the tip of the toe doesn't grow, and is deformed, the tip of the toe itself is much paler than the rest of her foot, and it does appear to be slightly puffy.

::Do I just leave it alone at this point and let nature take its course? Do I try to remove it? If so...HOW?? It's so tight, and she gets really aggitated when I try to touch her feet at all...and I don't blame her!

::How do I prevent this from happening again?

::Also...she hasnt really eaten for the last two days. This morning she nibbled a bit on some sweet potatoes...and yesterday she had a couple bites of cantaloupe melon but other than that it's been two days since she had a really good feed. Should I be concerned? She's been a good eater since I've gotten her...but could that of been just because she was ravenous then, and now she knows there's a constant supply of fresh food, and she's relaxed about it a little bit?

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