Stubborn Dragon Won't Eat Pellets

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My 18 month-old male absolutely refuses to eat the commercial diet foods in the pet stores. I've tried mixing it with lettuce, fruit, and everything he likes, but he'll just sit on his branch, give me a disgusted look, and refuse to eat. Does anyone else have this problem? If so, please help!
 

Skipper7

Juvie Member
Pellets are not necessary. As long as he is eating appropriate amounts of greens and bugs, don't worry about it.
 

BeardedDragon27

Member
Original Poster
I know they aren't necessary, but I was trying to use them instead of using bugs because he eats ridiculous amounts of them and I can't always run to the store
 

Taterbug

BD.org Addict
At 18months you can start to be less generous with insect portions and space them out throughout the week.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
None of my beardies or skinks are all that keen on pellets, but they still get them (via their live insects - I buy the pellets to help gutload and feed my crickets (they LOVE them !!).
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
My beardie has been known to go for dead ones if they look like they're moving (like when they fall out of the container along with the live ones), but I usually try to grab them first. ("Ew. Don't eat that!")
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
SHBailey":3hy4jyhp said:
My beardie has been known to go for dead ones if they look like they're moving (like when they fall out of the container along with the live ones), but I usually try to grab them first. ("Ew. Don't eat that!")

so long as the dead bugs isn't rotten or starting to go off, they are saved for the wild skinks who live in my garden and under my house . they make quick work of them and are tough little buggers so can even cope with roaches who are obviously dying after being sprayed by the neighbours or being in contact with surface sprays or bug baits.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Wow. I'd be afraid to knowingly allow any reptile (wild or otherwise) to eat a bug that had been sprayed with pesticides. Those skinks around your place must be tough indeed.

We don't use any pesticides or herbicides in our yard, but I'm not sure about the neighbors or the city. We're next door to a bike trail on one side, with lots of nice trees and grass that the city maintains. Once we got a notice that they were going to spray some kind of pesticide in the area but then we got a second notice that they were going to use something organic and non toxic, so I'm not sure if the first notice was an error, or if some environmental activist group got after them and actually got results.

Meanwhile, the cottonwood leaf beetles have been having a field day with the trees in our yard, but the trees seem to be large enough and healthy enough not to mind losing a few leaves, so we just let nature take its course...

Our yard will be full of dandelions in a few more weeks. My husband loves to be outside on a nice summer day, so I give him a big gallon ziploc bag and a little sandwich sized ziploc bag and send him out in the yard to pick dandelion greens -- big ones for himself and little ones for the beardie. :mrgreen: (I wish the beardie and I liked them as much as my husband does because I know they're good for us. :roll: ) We've even developed a mowing strategy that enables us to have at least one patch of nice fresh young dandelion greens somewhere in the yard throughout the summer.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
SHBailey":2px54xh5 said:
Wow. I'd be afraid to knowingly allow any reptile (wild or otherwise) to eat a bug that had been sprayed with pesticides. Those skinks around your place must be tough indeed.

<<<< I don't if I see the dead or dying bug first (it goes into the toilet and gets flushed....

We don't use any pesticides or herbicides in our yard, but I'm not sure about the neighbors or the city. We're next door to a bike trail on one side, with lots of nice trees and grass that the city maintains. Once we got a notice that they were going to spray some kind of pesticide in the area but then we got a second notice that they were going to use something organic and non toxic, so I'm not sure if the first notice was an error, or if some environmental activist group got after them and actually got results.

<<<< I haven't used insectocides (sprays, surface sprays, baits) since we had Lucky.
I have no control over what my neighbours use though and bugs do travel


Meanwhile, the cottonwood leaf beetles have been having a field day with the trees in our yard, but the trees seem to be large enough and healthy enough not to mind losing a few leaves, so we just let nature take its course...

Our yard will be full of dandelions in a few more weeks. My husband loves to be outside on a nice summer day, so I give him a big gallon ziploc bag and a little sandwich sized ziploc bag and send him out in the yard to pick dandelion greens -- big ones for himself and little ones for the beardie. :mrgreen: (I wish the beardie and I liked them as much as my husband does because I know they're good for us. :roll: ) We've even developed a mowing strategy that enables us to have at least one patch of nice fresh young dandelion greens somewhere in the yard throughout the summer.
<<< my lawn is very weedy too - lots of dandelions and even some thisles
We had a old couple as neighbours at one stage who were fastidious to the point of obsessive about getting rid of weeds , suddenly one summer I noticed all the grass along our boundary fence and about 6 ft into yard was dying, the old bugger had been spraying herbicides and other nasty toxic **** over the fence because we had weeds .... we had frequent visits of neighbourhood kids to play with our boy and I saw red, was at his front door and told him in no uncertain terms to keep his toxic and poisonous **** on his side of the fence or there would be consequences .... my boss when I told him about this reckoned I'd scared the living daylights out of the old fool.... he and his wife never spoke to my wife and I again after that , and never repeated the offence either.
The local rosellas , galahs and cockatoos love the dandelion flowers and their seed heads when they are green .... and we love seeing them in the yard walking about and grasing on these.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Around here, all the dandelions bloom at once, usually in late May, and we see whole lawns full of those beautiful yellow flowers everywhere. (I'm sorry, I don't think of them as "weeds".) :mrgreen:

We live in what I like to call a "pleasantly shabby" little neighborhood, and I guess we're lucky that most of our nearest neighbors aren't too picky about weeds, so as far as I know, no one nearby is using huge amounts of toxic stuff in their yards -- at least, I like to hope not.

I plan to try "Repashy Grub Pie" with our beardie -- heard some good things about it and got some on order. I'm trying to find something with a longer shelf life that I can keep around just in case we ever get into a situation where we can't get live bugs and/or fresh greens for a while, so he won't have to go hungry, since we can't convince him that the dry kibbles are supposed to be food. :roll:
 
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