Syringe Feeding

[Stephanie76]

So little Leroux is on his medications that the vet gave us. He ate about 5 kibble last night of his food.

Before I gave him his morning dose of the medications, I syringe fed him about 3 pea size doses of a/d formula.

Since he isn't eating, how often do I need to syringe feed him and about how much?

[Kalandra]

It can vary from hedgehog to hedgehog in how much they will eat. You will want to gauge how much based on your hedgehog's reactions to being fed.

For me, with those that are only eating from a syringe, if I get 5-7 CCs 3 times a day into them, they are doing ok. Roughly 5 cc = 1 tsp. I shoot for that amount, but keep in mind that not all of that will usually make it into the hedgehog.

The downside of them eating that much, is that they may not want to eat their dry food. Their tummy's are full all of the time.

You can also monitor his weight to help determine if you need to get more into him or not.

[krbshappy71]

Thought this might help you, sorry you are dealing with this.

http://hedgehogcentral.com/oralmed.shtml

Describes how to hold them, etc.

[Nancy]

Ideally, 3-4 mls of food, 3-4 times per day is best. The more he eats at one sitting, the less he needs at the next but try to get as much in him each time as possible without totally stressing him. If he doesn't eat much at one sitting, try again in an hour. The less he eats, the more often you need to try.

Also, leave loose (counted first) kibble in his bed with him because often if they don't feel like getting up to eat, they will eat if it's right in bed. Royal Canin Baby cat is well liked so try it.

[Stephanie76]

Sounds good. I will grab some of the Kitten Royal Canin on my way home from work. I will probably go home at lunch here, and try to give him a little a/d. He doesn't seem to even want to eat the a/d at all.. He fights me on it..

[shetland]

Oh Stephanie! I am so sorry about our the little one! I will keep him in my thoughts. I think he does this to keep you on your toes!!!

[Nancy]

Sometimes it takes a few tries to get them to catch on to syringe feeding, especially when they are already getting yucky meds. Perhaps he doesn't like A/D. Most of the time they do, but there are some that don't.

You can try a different type of canned food but regular food does need some preparation to make it syringe-able. The lumps get caught in the tip so you really need to strain it well, use a blender or something to get all lumps out of it. Even the smallest lump will get caught.

The main thing is getting food into him so FLD doesn't start.

[LarryT]

Sounds good. I will grab some of the Kitten Royal Canin on my way home from work.

I would get the Royal Canin Baby Cat formula instead of the Royal Canin Kitten.

[Stephanie76]

Perfect. Thanks for that clarification Larry. I didn't realize there were two formulas for young cats. Makes sense though.

Baby cat it is.

[krbshappy71]

How's Leroux doing?