3 Year old Beardie won't eat veg

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cllorento

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Hi,
I just posted in another topic about some worrying behaviours my beardie is displaying, one of which is her refusal to eat any veg despite being at least 3 years old.
We got her aged around 1 year old from some owners who were a little less than. Wrong sized viv, kids handling her very roughly, kept with another beardie in a small viv resulting in fights and injuries.
I have had her for two years and judging by her reaction to veg (plus their own advice on only feeding her bugs) her previous owners never even bothered to introduce veg to her. Since I've had her I've tried with limited success to get her to eat her greens. However four months ago I made some real headway with her actually eating it with some enthusiasm although only ever if she was handfed. Her favourites were kale, broccoli and butternut squash and I offered her a rang of other veg such as bell pepper, parsnip, peeled cucumber and basil leaf. She never ate a lot but it as huge progress and she put on weight and started looking like a really health little girl.
However in the past two moths or so, along with other changed behaviour. She has completely refused to eat any veg. I am extremely worried as I have read that she her diet should be around 70-80% veg and at the moment it is none. That plus a decreased intake of bugs has led to a bit of weight loss and she just looks a bit less than.
I've seen beardies online and in pet stores running to their salads and I just really want to make sure I'm doing everything to keep her healthy and happy. How have you guys got your stubborn beardies to eat their greens.
(As a side note, when she was eating them she would often try to grab the pieces of cucumber or pepper with her tongue but not be able to actually pick them up. Is there any way to make them easier for her to grab?)
Thanks!!
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
What is her current weight? It can be very difficult to get them used to veges if it wasn't introduced early. If her weight is still up you could try offering only veges for a few weeks and see how that goes. It's common for them to have trouble picking up the slippery foods sometimes. I just try to hand feed those and encourage a couple of tries if they miss (they tend to get frustrated and give up). Mixing it with some drier greens can help them pick it up in batches too.
 

cllorento

New member
Original Poster
I'm currently having a hard time handling her as she is hiding away a lot so I will weigh her as soon as possible. She's definitely lost weight recently due to lack of appetite so I will try and get her weight up before I try this but it seems to be my only option.
Yes this is the case with Saturn, very frustrating because she's trying to eat the veg but gives up and runs off if she doesn't get it in a few tries! I think feeding her up and then only offering veg is the way forward, thanks for your help!
 
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