Reptile & Amphibian Forums

eat more veggies (salad base = collard, mustard, turnip, endive, escarole....I've tried them all, many times)?

I've diced them, I've chopped them, I've shredded them, I've mixed them with the "approved" flowers like day lillies, pansies, rose petals, dandelions (which she actually would eat once in a while), and stuff like shaved carrots, zucchini, even pears, strawberries, blueberries, apples, etc.

The most I've ever seen her eat is about 4 bites of her salad. I've even quit feeding her bugs for 3 days, with no affect. On the 4th day she ate about 20 large crickets and 3 supers so I KNOW she was hungry.

Someone needs to tell me it's OK or I'm gonna blow a gasket. I don't mind fixing meals for my kids if they eat them, but finding a dried flower arrangement in her dish every day when I get home from work is quite annoying.

I've got one of those too! My oldest dragon (2 year old male) is a very picky eater. The vet says he's fine, his fecal came back negative ... I'm at a loss as to what I'm doing wrong. He hardly ever touches his salad. My other two beardies love their greens, fruit, and fresh flowers! But Ojay is different. I wish he could talk to me and tell me what he wants.

I'm sorry I don't have any words of wisdom for you. I just wanted you to know that someone else feels your pain! I've done everything you have tried and this has been going on for almost a year now. I'm beginning to think that this is just the way he is.

I've even tried the pellet food. Nothing works. He loves super worms, meal worms, crickets, pinkie mice, and wax worms. I think he'd live on that if I let him.

So, if anyone has any ideas for us to try, please let us know.

Veronica
Link

This may work if your beadies have learned to drink from a dropper.....
I had a similar stubborn beardie. I blended the greens in a blender and added water until it would go easily through the dropper. Eventually, she aquired the taste for greens and eats them on her own. I was prepared to give her greens via eyedropper everyday if I had to, cuz it worked that way.
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TheClassyLizard

good at the syringe feeding when she had coccidia and I was feeding slurries of baby bird food and nutribac. I'll give that a try. Mmmmmmm, pureed collards.

I've got one of those too! My oldest dragon (2 year old male) is a very picky eater. The vet says he's fine, his fecal came back negative ... I'm at a loss as to what I'm doing wrong. He hardly ever touches his salad. My other two beardies love their greens, fruit, and fresh flowers! But Ojay is different. I wish he could talk to me and tell me what he wants.

I'm sorry I don't have any words of wisdom for you. I just wanted you to know that someone else feels your pain! I've done everything you have tried and this has been going on for almost a year now. I'm beginning to think that this is just the way he is.

I've even tried the pellet food. Nothing works. He loves super worms, meal worms, crickets, pinkie mice, and wax worms. I think he'd live on that if I let him.

So, if anyone has any ideas for us to try, please let us know.

Veronica
Link

I've got one of those too! My oldest dragon (2 year old male) is a very picky eater. The vet says he's fine, his fecal came back negative ... I'm at a loss as to what I'm doing wrong. He hardly ever touches his salad. My other two beardies love their greens, fruit, and fresh flowers! But Ojay is different. I wish he could talk to me and tell me what he wants.

I'm sorry I don't have any words of wisdom for you. I just wanted you to know that someone else feels your pain! I've done everything you have tried and this has been going on for almost a year now. I'm beginning to think that this is just the way he is.

I've even tried the pellet food. Nothing works. He loves super worms, meal worms, crickets, pinkie mice, and wax worms. I think he'd live on that if I let him.

So, if anyone has any ideas for us to try, please let us know.

Veronica
Link

!

actually generated some traffic.

!

a little trick that worked well for me was to use a bowl that is maybe an inch or two deep. put your greens in it and then place in cage. drop some worms in one at a time to attract your dragons attention. the worms will burrow into the salad and as the dragon tries to get them they inadvertantly eat some salad. you can also use cricks if you break the hind legs so they can't jump.

make sure the bowl is deep enough to hold the bugs and salad but not to deep that the dragon can't see inside it. you may need to give the dragon something to stand on on to raise him high enough to see in or recess the bowl.

good luck
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Bennett
www.beardiedragon.com

I thought that would help, too. Believe it or not she WILL stand and wait patiently for the stupid worms to dig themselves out....or until I run out of patience and either dig it out myself for her, or dig it out and put it back into it's container. You should see the look I get when I do that!