In the event that your precious frog becomes ill and refuses to eat any food that you offer it, however tantalizing, you may eventually be faced with the daunting task of force feeding it to keep it alive.
Notes before reading:
This article can apply to caudates and small reptiles as well.
Do not force feed your frog if it has Red Leg disease. Doing so will only make matters worse. Force feeding is only effective for a few other diseases.
Do not force feed your frog if it initially refuses food. New animals are still settling in from stress, and need time to recuperate from their transportation ordeal. Wait for it to settle in before attempting to feed it again.
Only force feed an animal to eat if it is sickly thin and looks very feeble. Force feeding should only be a last resort.
Warnings:
Take caution when force feeding. Be very gentle. Do you remember your last dental apointment? Did you like the dentist poking your gums? Treat your frog carefully. It is very easy to break a small frog's (tree frogs in particular) jaw.
Wear gloves. The muck from an anuran's skin and mouth isn't particularly nasty (apart from potential salmonella) but there are things on your hands (natural oils, sweat residue and lotions) that can irritate the frog. Frog slime also takes a while to wash off your hands, and stings your cuts. Been there, done that.
What you will need:
Your fingers
A credit card or some rigid card or paper (optional)
Gloves
Food item
Tissue Paper or paper towel (non scented or chemically treated)
Method:
Get all your equipment out ready before you take the frog out of it's tank.
Dampen the tissue.
Gently take your frog out of the enclosure. With your less dominant hand, hold the frog with your fingers (how many depends on the size of the frog) on it's back and your thumb on it's belly. DON'T wet your frog. It only makes things slippery.
With your thumb, gently pull the skin on the lower jaw of the frog downwards. Using your free hand, carefully pry open the frog's mouth with the credit card or your fingers. I prefer to use my fingers.
Once the frog has had it's mouth forced open, transfer the thumb that is holding the frog into it's mouth to keep it open.
With your now free hand, take the food item and place it into the frog's mouth, withdrawing your thumb.
Set the frog down on the damp tissue and let the frog finish swallowing the meal. If the frog tries to remove the food from it's mouth, don't try force feeding again.
Hope this helps!
This article is a repeat from http://exoticsfromaquaria.net.tc - a new community for the discussion of exotic aquarium animals such as stomatopods, cephalopods, oddball fish and predators.
Notes before reading:
This article can apply to caudates and small reptiles as well.
Do not force feed your frog if it has Red Leg disease. Doing so will only make matters worse. Force feeding is only effective for a few other diseases.
Do not force feed your frog if it initially refuses food. New animals are still settling in from stress, and need time to recuperate from their transportation ordeal. Wait for it to settle in before attempting to feed it again.
Only force feed an animal to eat if it is sickly thin and looks very feeble. Force feeding should only be a last resort.
Warnings:
Take caution when force feeding. Be very gentle. Do you remember your last dental apointment? Did you like the dentist poking your gums? Treat your frog carefully. It is very easy to break a small frog's (tree frogs in particular) jaw.
Wear gloves. The muck from an anuran's skin and mouth isn't particularly nasty (apart from potential salmonella) but there are things on your hands (natural oils, sweat residue and lotions) that can irritate the frog. Frog slime also takes a while to wash off your hands, and stings your cuts. Been there, done that.
What you will need:
Your fingers
A credit card or some rigid card or paper (optional)
Gloves
Food item
Tissue Paper or paper towel (non scented or chemically treated)
Method:
Get all your equipment out ready before you take the frog out of it's tank.
Dampen the tissue.
Gently take your frog out of the enclosure. With your less dominant hand, hold the frog with your fingers (how many depends on the size of the frog) on it's back and your thumb on it's belly. DON'T wet your frog. It only makes things slippery.
With your thumb, gently pull the skin on the lower jaw of the frog downwards. Using your free hand, carefully pry open the frog's mouth with the credit card or your fingers. I prefer to use my fingers.
Once the frog has had it's mouth forced open, transfer the thumb that is holding the frog into it's mouth to keep it open.
With your now free hand, take the food item and place it into the frog's mouth, withdrawing your thumb.
Set the frog down on the damp tissue and let the frog finish swallowing the meal. If the frog tries to remove the food from it's mouth, don't try force feeding again.
Hope this helps!
This article is a repeat from http://exoticsfromaquaria.net.tc - a new community for the discussion of exotic aquarium animals such as stomatopods, cephalopods, oddball fish and predators.
