Tube feeding question

[ZEROPILOT]

As many of you may know, I have a RF tortoise fighting for life that has an Esophagostomy tube.
She gets Oxbow Critical care and Unflavored Pedialite each day.
The Critical Care seems to be very packed full of nutrients. My question is: Has anyone else had good luck adding anything additional to this slurry? Like baby food? It is for herbavores and RF are omnivores...
I haven't added anything to her routine yet. I'm just curious knowing if anyone has deviated from this and their success. If any.

 

[Yvonne G]

I generally mix in a bit of either sweet potato, squash or carrot baby food, just for the added vitamin a.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I could very easily do that.
Online all of the testimonials are for hamsters.
None for tortoises.

 

[deadheadvet]

You can add soaked Mazuri with extra water to go through the feeding tube and flush with water after.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Thanks. Yes. I always flush the tube.
I have a lot of Mazuri...

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Back before Critical Care was available. I used NutriCal and the cooked strained sweet potato. Then NurtiCal and the kinds of baby foods that are flakes that get mixed with water. No surgically implanted tube but straight gavage. I pulled many animals through that difficlut period where they did not want to eat and would have wasted away otherwise. NutriCal is a high caloric nutrient rich gel that comes in a tube.

http://www.drugs.com/vet/nutri-cal.html for at least one reference

 

[Yvonne G]

Be careful using something like Mazuri. Unless you can grind it up into powder or dust, you might have particles too big to go through the tube. It's easy to flush a gavage tube under the kitchen faucet to clear out a large particle, but very hard to flush a tube surgically fitted into the tortoise's neck.

 

[Nanchantress]

Don't get grossed out, but I used organic sweet potato baby food, a little pedialyte to thin, and live earthworms. Blended them up in my personal smoothie blender until smooth. I syringed it into my little guy's mouth and I thought he would appreciate the worm flavor....

 

[deadheadvet]

We use pureed mazuri all the time. As long as you flush after, no issues. All the other diets are meant for mammals ,not reptiles. The mazuri only needs to be done a couple times a week.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

We use pureed mazuri all the time. As long as you flush after, no issues. All the other diets are meant for mammals ,not reptiles. The mazuri only needs to be done a couple times a week.

Critical Care by Oxbow is indeed intended for reptiles

"Feeding Directions
Shake well before using. Mix 1 part Critical Care® with 2 parts warm water to the desired consistency. The volume of water may be adjusted depending on feeding method. Herbivorous mammals: Mix 3 Tbsp per kg of body weight daily. (1 Tbsp is equal to approximately 9 grams.) Herbivorous reptiles: Mix 1 Tbsp per kg of body weight daily. Amounts are general guidelines. Divide into 4 to 6 feedings unless specified by your veterinarian. Water should be available to the animal at all times. Prepare fresh at each feeding; discard after 24 hours. Store in a cool, dry place."

From http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/vets/products/critical_care

NutriCal has been recommended by vets I have gone to as an okay supplement to reacquire hunger in reptiles, and as a vehicle for the administration of powdered meds. Mixing can be problematic, but once mixed accurate dosage for multiple animals in a single setting works great.

Yvonne's advice about particles clogging a feeding tube is really important to acknowledge, no matter what you are passing through a feeding tube. I have resolved this by passing the prepared substance through the feeding tube back into the mixing container multiple times. It's amazing how that fiber, so critical for gut health, can block a feeding tube.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My feeding mixture has to be very thin because of the tube diameter. I've given about 15-18 mg every day.
I've been cautious about injecting more. And I always flush the tube. I use pedialite as the flush, also.
She is under ten pounds.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I crushed a single Mazuri pellet inside of a coffee mug with a metal spoon. I made it into a fine powder then added water and let it sit.
Even after a half hour it was still too granular to be sucked up into my syringe and therefor be injected.
So, for this method of feeding, Mazuri is out.
However, I will use a bit baby food starting this weekend and report back.
It's for the vitamins and not for taste. The tube is in the stomach. There is no taste involved.

 

[Yvonne G]

See...that's exactly what I was cautioning you about. Unless you can put the dry kibble though a grinder that would grind it up into a fine powder, I doubt you will be able to use it in your tube.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

You were 100% correct as usual.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I fed a solution that contained about 20% sweet potato baby food.
I'll do this maybe once a week? Maybe twice.
It goes in nice and smoothly.