Two Products Useful for Tube-Feeding Herbivorous Reptiles
Assoc Reptilian Amphibian Vet 7[3]:5-6 Winter'97 In My Experience (unrefereed material) 2 Refs

- Tube-feeding of herbivorous reptiles has been problematic, since many potential formulae with sufficient fiber (e.g. soaked rabbit pellets) yield a consistency that is too chunky to flow through the bore of all but the largest catheters, or other feeding tubes. Two products the author has used include Alfalfa Powder and Green Powder (NOW Foods, Glendale Heights, IL). The Alfalfa Powder resembles finely ground alfalfa-based rabbit pellets and is labeled as a product composed of alfalfa that has been harvested, dried and powdered. Green Powder is labeled as a product composed of barley grass that has been harvested, dried and powdered. Nutrient composition for similar products from the United States-Canadian Tables of Feed Composition are listed in Table 1. The forage powders can be used, short term, as the sole component for a tube-feeding diet, but additional formulas may need to be developed depending on the state of the anorectic patient. The alfalfa powder is typically used for most anorectic reptiles. It is especially useful for reptiles suffering from metabolic bone disease due to its positive calcium-phosphorus ratio, its overall low content of phosphorus and its levels of crude protein, all of which will help support repair of pathologic fractures. Animals with metabolic bone disease receive an alfalfa-based formula with additional calcium and vitamin D3. Calcium glubionate can be added to the formula at 2 ml/kg body weight every day, while vitamin D3 is added once weekly to the formula to achieve an intake of 1000 IU D3/kg body weight. When compared to alfalfa powder, barley powder has a slightly higher level of crude fiber, a substantially lower level of crude protein and overall lower levels of calcium and phosphorus, so is suggested for reptiles with suspected or confirmed renal failure and/or gout. On a daily basis the author typically provides a volume of formula that is between 2% and 10% of the animal's body weight, adjusted as needed for the patient's condition.