When Lizards will not eat, they have to eat.
Like any animal, lizards at times in captivity will need to be
force fed. There are situations and conditions which will result
in a lizard not eating on their own.
Some diseases lizards can get will result in
seizures, or a similar condition. It is imperative not to feed
them during an incident like this. They will most likely not be
able to swallow the food. It is best to seek the help of a
veterinarian at this point. The animal will need to have a tube
placed into their stomach to feed. If the animal shows no signs
of seizures, they can be fed using a syringe. It is tricky to
get their mouth open, but should be possible using the syringe
itself.
Using the syringe, squeeze the processed food into the back of
the throat, taking great care to avoid the trachea at the back
of the tongue. Make sure to only offer as much food as the
animal can handle. Larger lizards can obviously handle
more food. It may also be possible to force-feed feeder insects.
If the lizard is having digestive problems however, the liquid
substitute is much easier to digest, as much of the work is
already done. Another advantage of liquid feeding is the fact
that you control exactly what the lizard is getting into its
diet.
For the vegetable part of the liquid diet, vegetable baby food
works very well. This food is high in vitamins and can easily be
digested by the lizard. Make sure to add in a calcium supplement
to the food. Younger lizards need to be fed more often but in
smaller quantities, while larger lizards will need to be fed
less often, but with higher quantities per feeding. You have to
follow the natural way your lizard eats its food, as not to upset
their natural metabolism. If your lizard eats both
insects and vegetables, you can use a type of cat food (used for
sick cats) if they will eat it. You can also try to add insect
matter (use fresh insects) into the liquid mix.