Giving Reptiles Medication Via Feeders

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Giving Reptiles Medication Via Feeders

Q. Can we give medication to our reptiles by putting the meds inside feeders, such as a pinky mouse? Dan Folsum v

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Q. Can we give medication to our reptiles by putting the meds inside feeders, such as a pinky mouse?
Dan Folsum
via the Internet

A. It depends on the type of medication you're giving your reptile. It would certainly be easier and safer, for both you and the reptile, to place medications in food, such as feeders.

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You need to be sure that the medication is designed to be given orally to the reptiles. Many reptile medications lose their potency when they pass through stomach acid.

Also, be aware that mixing some bad-tasting reptile medications with food could cause a reptile to stop eating. Every time your reptiles eat a medicated feeder, such as a pinky mouse, they taste the medicine. Soon the reptile associates the bad taste with what would otherwise be a normal food item, and then they might refuse to eat it — even when there is no reptile medication inside.

Check with your reptile veterinarian before you try hiding medications in your reptiles’ food.