Still confused on feeding :(

Camhabit · Mar 24, 2018

Hello all, I adopted Zora on December 4th last year, and have still been stressed ever since I’m feeding her. No matter what I do, she will not eat her veggies. I’ve tried different types of greens, different fruits/vegetables in it, and she will only pick out red bell peppers. I’ve read mixed opinions on using super worms as a staple feeder. Since I got her I have been using them, as Dubias are a no, and she doesn’t chase crickets, although she will eat them if I bring them to her. If I shouldn’t use supers anymore as a staple, what worm would be best, and how many to feed her at a time/how often?

I don’t know how I could get her to eat her greens as I tried every trick/tip possible, that I seen on the internet, and none have worked.
(Btw Zora is 2 years old, supposedly)
She is housed in a 40 breeder with a mega-ray 100w MVB

Any tips on feeding her are very much appreciated. Thanks.

VenusAndSaturn · Mar 24, 2018

I'd suggest taking the superworms out of the diet for a long while, they can cause addiction in beardies which for me that took about 5 months to get two of my eldest beardies off of them and onto crickets and other staple feeders, and then took another 5 months or so for me to even get them to try their salad. Their still iffy on it and only occasionally touch it but they seem to do a lot better with superworms as rare/occasional treats.

With my sub-adult beardie she never had superworms until she was about 10-12 months of age, and she has always had a strong interest in her salad. She gets superworms 2x a week mixed with her crickets and black soldier fly larvae. I usually only do 4-5 max for a feeding day.

As far as worms go the only good staples I can think of are silkworms and black soldier fly larvae.

Camhabit · Mar 24, 2018

VenusAndSaturn":1ifvbfjp said:
I'd suggest taking the superworms out of the diet for a long while, they can cause addiction in beardies which for me that took about 5 months to get two of my eldest beardies off of them and onto crickets and other staple feeders, and then took another 5 months or so for me to even get them to try their salad. Their still iffy on it and only occasionally touch it but they seem to do a lot better with superworms as rare/occasional treats.

With my sub-adult beardie she never had superworms until she was about 10-12 months of age, and she has always had a strong interest in her salad. She gets superworms 2x a week mixed with her crickets and black soldier fly larvae. I usually only do 4-5 max for a feeding day.

As far as worms go the only good staples I can think of are silkworms and black soldier fly larvae.

So what would be a good way to ‘detox’ her off of super worms and encourage her to eat salads and other insects? I’ve tried not giving her super worms, but offering fresh salads daily, and she beat me

she went 5 or 6 days and I gave up :/

VenusAndSaturn · Mar 24, 2018

I had to completely stop feeding mine insects for about two weeks before I could even get them to eat anything else, every two days or every other day I'd offer crickets, black soldier fly larvae but no treats. I believe my adult male caved in first and began eating what I offered, although he only touched his salad once or twice during that time and not very much of it.
I've only got my adult female to start eating salad somewhat regularly a few weeks ago, but with what happened recently with her she has no interest in salad and just wants her bugs. Which is fine, she needs to gain back some weight anyway as she lost nearly 100 grams laying eggs.

I was scared to stop feeding them for so long which is why I struggled for 5 months as at the age they were, they weren't fully grown, they were getting up there but were only sub-adults. They are now about 2 years of age and I have no problem withholding treats from them if needed.

For superworms all you have to do is completely stop feeding them until she eats veggies regularly, hold out the insects for a larger amount of time (Not like a month but a week or two), and always offer veggies daily. Try adding bright colored safe fruits once or twice a week to it like red raspberries, mangos, bananas, blueberries, kiwi, ect.
(If you need to you could also hand feed the veggies)

However that is if she's above a year old or so, I wouldn't hold back food like this for a young sub-adult/juvenile/hatchling.

Camhabit · Mar 24, 2018

VenusAndSaturn":87k6a0jz said:
I had to completely stop feeding mine insects for about two weeks before I could even get them to eat anything else, every two days or every other day I'd offer crickets, black soldier fly larvae but no treats. I believe my adult male caved in first and began eating what I offered, although he only touched his salad once or twice during that time and not very much of it.
I've only got my adult female to start eating salad somewhat regularly a few weeks ago, but with what happened recently with her she has no interest in salad and just wants her bugs. Which is fine, she needs to gain back some weight anyway as she lost nearly 100 grams laying eggs.

I was scared to stop feeding them for so long which is why I struggled for 5 months as at the age they were, they weren't fully grown, they were getting up there but were only sub-adults. They are now about 2 years of age and I have no problem withholding treats from them if needed.

For superworms all you have to do is completely stop feeding them until she eats veggies regularly, hold out the insects for a larger amount of time (Not like a month but a week or two), and always offer veggies daily. Try adding bright colored safe fruits once or twice a week to it like red raspberries, mangos, bananas, blueberries, kiwi, ect.
(If you need to you could also hand feed the veggies)

However that is if she's above a year old or so, I wouldn't hold back food like this for a young sub-adult/juvenile/hatchling.

Alright, I fed her some supers today, so I’ll try it out. So do not surpass 2 weeks right? And she will be fine? Like it won’t hurt her or anything?

VenusAndSaturn · Mar 24, 2018

It definitely wont hurt her, my adult male didn't eat for about 6-7 months (Burmation) so a few weeks is definitely not going to hurt a healthy adult beardie.

Camhabit · Mar 29, 2018

VenusAndSaturn":310dah02 said:
It definitely wont hurt her, my adult male didn't eat for about 6-7 months (Burmation) so a few weeks is definitely not going to hurt a healthy adult beardie.

It’s been about 6 days since I’ve fed her any insects... 1 days before I stopped feeding her insects she didn’t poop, and then didn’t poop for 5 days straight (I was very worried) but it turns out she was just stopped up and pooped A LOT out the other day. After that, she ate more greens than she ever has (I left a good amount in there on a paper towel while at work). But then today she only ate like 3 or 4 pieces and is still being stubborn

I might try some bearded dragon salad dressing, or some bee pollen, if she doesn’t crack soon lol I’m so worried that she will never eat her greens like she should. When your beardie took 2 weeks to eat them, did he slowly eat more and more or was it like a sudden change where one day he just ate a good amount?

kingofnobbys · Mar 29, 2018

This is the way I structure my feeding and diet for my big girl Peppa : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=236074

Her staples are crickets (up to 8 large per day) & silkworms (up to 2 large per day) & greens when I can coax her eat them.

beardedlady1 · Apr 4, 2018

Ranger is still such a picky eater. He wont DARE touch his food unless there is a fricken dandelion involved. day after day his food sits and rots. he wont chase bugs of any kind anymore either. BUT I have found a quick fix to getting him to eat veggies! Muahahahahaha!!!! now its for short term use not a slave diet. but I found the best way to introduce him to veggies was through baby food and a baby spoon. When I got ranger he had some MBD in his jaw its stopped spreading but during that time he wouldnt eat. every time he opened his mouth it sounded like a pop rocks or a knuckle crack. I spoon fed him baby food till the MBD stopped spreading. I went from soft baby food to baby food with shredded greens to solid cut greens. hence the love of dandelion. It's not just great for introduction of veggies but its great for sick beardies that cant chew. Ranger is fine now. He has fairly decent mouth opening ability. still cracks but at least its stopped spreading. Good luck!

Camhabit · Apr 4, 2018

beardedlady1":4fawszu8 said:
Ranger is still such a picky eater. He wont DARE touch his food unless there is a fricken dandelion involved. day after day his food sits and rots. he wont chase bugs of any kind anymore either. BUT I have found a quick fix to getting him to eat veggies! Muahahahahaha!!!! now its for short term use not a slave diet. but I found the best way to introduce him to veggies was through baby food and a baby spoon. When I got ranger he had some MBD in his jaw its stopped spreading but during that time he wouldnt eat. every time he opened his mouth it sounded like a pop rocks or a knuckle crack. I spoon fed him baby food till the MBD stopped spreading. I went from soft baby food to baby food with shredded greens to solid cut greens. hence the love of dandelion. It's not just great for introduction of veggies but its great for sick beardies that cant chew. Ranger is fine now. He has fairly decent mouth opening ability. still cracks but at least its stopped spreading. Good luck!

Wow you’re amazing! Great job!! Hope he keeps getting better and better. What brand/kind do you recommend? Like what is the best kind that has all the nutrients that they get from veggies, so I try what you did and introduce it slowly and try shredding it in the baby food. Great advice btw

Still confused on feeding :(

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