babyfood for uros?

ann0306 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-20-2005, 10:22 PM

I recently adopted a pair of mali uros through a friend who runs a rescue. They are about 2 years old- the female is CB and the male was WC as a baby. The female is quite fat and laid back, but the male is very active and skinny. He has an open wound on his chin from rubbing on the glass and I suspect is not eating as much as he should because it hurts. I'd really like to put some weight on him without waiting for his chin to heal (apparently this is an old, old wound that just won't heal). I was thinking some baby food (vegetable) might do the trick. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

NicoleRussell · #2 (**permalink**) 04-20-2005, 10:35 PM

how are you (or are you) treating the wound?
I think a fecal would rule out parasites.
You can try a variety of things....baby food is a great treat ,especially if you can't get him to eat on his own...a syringe full of mixed veggies and fruit will help. Also some jumpstart will probably help alot too until he gets his appetite back. Does he appear dehydrated?

ann0306 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-20-2005, 10:42 PM

I'm treating the wound with a betadine wash and SSD cream. It's so frustrating- it will scab over and then two days later he rubs it off and we have this big gaping wound again.

Fecal was clean.
He has an interest in food- he just doesn't eat very much. It's like he forgets it will hurt. He takes a few big bites, then gets mad and scratches all the food out of the bowl. The female just looks at him like, come ON. I swear if she could look at me and roll her eyes she would.
He doesn't appear dehydrated, but I soak him once a week as I'm worried he doesn't eat enough greens to get the moisture he needs.

NicoleRussell · #4 (**permalink**) 04-20-2005, 11:34 PM

do you have a syringe? And access to some jumpstart?

NicoleRussell · #5 (**permalink**) 04-20-2005, 11:35 PM

also what type of cage are you keeping him in? does he rub the scab off the sides of the cage?

ann0306 · #6 (**permalink**) 04-21-2005, 01:49 AM

I have a syringe, and I've heard of Jumpstart but don't know where to get it. They're in a 75 gallon aquarium right now. I think he's actually getting the scab off on his basking rock. I've discoveded that he rubs less when there's a dish of food in there all the time- sounds weird, but I've spent a lot of time just watching them. I don't know a lot about uros beyond what I've read, and I really feel just watching will teach me a lot.

ann0306 · #7 (**permalink**) 04-21-2005, 01:56 AM

Okay, found the Jump Start.

NicoleRussell · #8 (**permalink**) 04-21-2005, 11:30 AM

bert at agama was working with uros last year....you can email him (it's his busy time so he might be slow to answer) and it's worth hearing his imput. You can tell him your a friend of mine.
The jumpstart will put weight on him while he's having a problem eating---how large is he?

Advertisement