Zilla Reptile Health Supplies Jump-Start Appetite Stimulant, 4.25-oz.

Another customer wrote a negative review not understanding what the ingredients in this product are for. He didn't like the fact that there was so much sugar in it and that the company didn't use "fruit sugars" instead. It has to be plain "sugar". It works like a glucose IV. So, my review is to explain these things and to let everyone know this is something that should always be kept on hand. It is made primarily for reptiles, but can be used on many small animals.Jumpstart is an awesome product. I have saved many MANY sick/injured animals (not just reptiles either ) with it. You have to understand first off that Jumpstart is just what it is named. A "jumpstart" for anorexic/off food animals- hence the reason why it has so much stuff in it that has lots of sugar and calories (it is a HIGH CALORIE supplement). And you need to Think of it kind of like giving a patient an IV with glucose (dextrose with water solution), which a glucose IV is nothing but a sugar solution that achieves a good balance between starvation reactions and hyperglycemia. Once the sugars and other ingredients in the product give enough energy to help "jumpstart" the animal over a short period of time, other ingredients jump in to help stimulate their appetite and help them want to eat foods they need on their own again and get them on the road to recovery. This other customer that was appaled by the sugar ingredients was also unhappy that the product contained a laxitive- but methyl cellulose is not JUST a laxative. Sure, it can be used for constipation, but can also be used for diarrhea as well as other conditions. It is a fiber derived from the cellulose of vegetables and has many pratical uses actually. It is probably used in the jumpstart to help bind all the ingredients together in the sickly animal once consumed, so that it doesn't go straight through them, helping the animal reap the benefits of the ingredients. Afterall, the animal has been off food for awhile and is sickly, making it easy for diarrhea to kick in once anything hits the stomach. And, Jumpstart does have sources of nutrition but it's main objective is to help get the animal strong enough to start getting better so that other forms of nutrition can be offered once the appetite stimulant kicks in. By the time most people turn to the aid of Jumpstart, the animal is on the verge of organ shutdown and most everything else tried hasn't worked, or so it was in my first case of using Jumpstart. So, imagine my surprise when it worked and the iguana (which had been knocking on deaths door) got completely better- especially since I had tried EVERYTHING else before turning to Jumpstart. Now, it is the first thing I turn to when I see an animal not quite itself, not eating and starting to drop weight. And not just with reptiles- I've even saved rodents with this product. Hope this helps you understand more what this product is used for, and that the ingredients all have a purpose. This works GREAT for anorexic-off food animals in need of help.

This stuff just worked. I had a newly acquired designer leopard gecko who refused to eat. He was getting skinny and I was getting worried and nothing was working. I got him on this and he gobbled it up. Slowly introduced crickets one at a time untile he put back on weight. It was literally a life saver.

Saved my geckos life.My leopard geckos have gone off food for over 3 months it wasn’t burmation since they both where very active and obviously wanted to eat but the moment a bug touched them or they licked it they ignored it. (Not sure if they might have been bitten and that’s what did it or they just decided they’d be picky) but no matter what I tried, mealworms, crickets, (they ate a few Hornworms and waxworms but they even got tired of those) they wouldn’t eat!It was very scary as my one gecko lost 7 grams in 2 months. So I tried this stuff before getting them both to the vet....AND IT WORKED!! I put some on their nose and they licked it off (not all the time but persistence payed off) and now they’re both back to eating crickets and mealworms again and so far my one lady went from 56G all the way back to 63 grams!!!This saved so much money by paying only $8 for what could have been a $100 exotic vet visit.The stuff is thick and my gecko did fling it around off her nose a few times but if you don’t mind possible cleaning it off the walls of the tank this stuff worked miracles.I feel like since a lot of the ingredients aren’t what Leo’s would eat, trying to force large amounts is a bad idea since I’m sure it could make them sick, but just a drop or two on the nose did the trick for me And my Leo’s are back to being happy and healthy

I'll be updating this review, but for having it for just a few days now, I can at least comment on the user-friendly part of this. I have a leopard gecko that's been brumating since the end of October. She's still eliminating but she won't eat. She's shed several times as well, but her tail has gotten smaller. She doesn't look anorexic, and she was kind of overweight, so I'm hoping it's not anything serious and she's just in her usual cycle.I can't get her to open her mouth, but the syringe that comes with this makes it easy to put some on her nose, and she eventually licks it up. She doesn't care for it being there, of course, and it's not always easy, but I'm hoping it'll get her to eat on her own again.From what I can tell, it doesn't smell like anything, and it's easy to clean up if your reptile makes a mess.

This product was actually recommended by a local pet store, that happened to 'not carry it.' I purchased it for a very sick gecko, it was sort of a last ditch effort in trying to see if we could help with appetite stimulation and weight gain. Unfortunately, it did not work for our gecko and she passed away. However, the fact that a local store told me about it, impressed me. I will keep it in mind for future reptiles.

I bought this for my 10 year old mali uromastyx. She had stopped eating when our other mali died and she even had whatever condition it is where reptiles' eyes almost get stuck shut. I was certain she was going to die soon. I did some research and found out that her eye condition was directly linked to her lack of eating. She wouldn't eat anything else or even open her mouth...until I bought this stuff and rubbed some on her lips and got her to start licking by rubbing her throat area. She kept licking it and eventually opened her mouth so I could push more in (with the plastic syringe that comes with the product). Between this product and giving her a bath every other day, she got over her eye issue and started to eat real food again. It took roughly 2 weeks. Now, she's plumping back up and pretty much back to normal. She's got a healthy appetite and her eyes are as wide open and beautiful as ever. I'm sincerely glad that I gave this stuff a chance!