Bearded dragon never eats greens or veggies

I know i made this topic before but is it possible for an adult bearded dragon to never eat greens or veggies for the rest of their life? No matter what you have tried or have done to interest him in eating his salads? My dragon will not touch any greens or veggies at all. I have tried to put the super worms underneath, i have tried to sneak a piece of green or any veggies while he is eating an insect, seeing if he likes it but i literally have tried everything... my lighting situation is fine, he definitely loves his bugs for sure. His original owner never gave him much of anything. So is it bad if he doesn’t always get greens or veggies in his diet, unless if i sneak a piece in his mouth when chewing? Is it okay to switch up the bugs because i know adult bearded dragons eat more veggies than protein. I know that adults get bugs 3 days a week but i try and feed him every day so whats the best way to feed him? Like i said i have tried every single vegetable, made him salads, He went 8 days straight without eating any bugs but i would offer fresh salads every day, he didn’t care for it..

CastielTheBeardy":39uyt4ya said:

He went 8 days straight without eating any bugs but i would offer fresh salads every day, he didn’t care for it..

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Go longer, until he eats his salad.

How old is he?

Yes, it is bad for them (especially adults) to never touch salads.

He knows it is food, he will eat the salad once he gets hungry enough. But he knows if he holds out long enough, you will cave before he does.

It's not uncommon for dragons to go long periods in the wild with little to absolutely no food. While a week without eating might sound tough for a human, I've seen dragons go multiple weeks without eating. As long as the dragon is healthy, it will eat the salad. Like I said, he knows its food, he's just being stubborn.

-Brandon

Claudiusx":2lxj7rp3 said:

CastielTheBeardy":2lxj7rp3 said:

He went 8 days straight without eating any bugs but i would offer fresh salads every day, he didn’t care for it..

Click to expand...

Go longer, until he eats his salad.

How old is he?

Yes, it is bad for them (especially adults) to never touch salads.

He knows it is food, he will eat the salad once he gets hungry enough. But he knows if he holds out long enough, you will cave before he does.

It's not uncommon for dragons to go long periods in the wild with little to absolutely no food. While a week without eating might sound tough for a human, I've seen dragons go multiple weeks without eating. As long as the dragon is healthy, it will eat the salad. Like I said, he knows its food, he's just being stubborn.

-Brandon

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So whats the longest i should wait before i get worried, like i said i tried it and it lasted about 8 days and i felt bad so i gave him a few superworms. He is about 3 or 4 years old, when i got him mid November he looked terrible and skinny and had not as much color as what he has now. But i do spoil him to death though, so would you say two weeks and he should give in? Can he go more than two weeks?

I've seen some owners take up to 3 weeks before their dragon finally gave in. While not ideal, they really can go quite some time without food. And, since food will always be available, you aren't starving him, he can eat whenever he wants.

I would say don't even start worrying about it until into the second week. And even then, the only worry i'd say you need to do is just make sure he isn't getting lethargic into the second and third week. I've helped dozens and dozens of owners do this, and not once have I ever seen a dragon starve itself into sickness, let alone starve itself to death. They always give in, assuming husbandry is proper and the dragon is otherwise healthy.

A lot of times too, they will nibble at the salad and eat small amounts when you aren't around.

I'm not kidding you when I tell you they are smart creatures. Smart enough to know how to get what they want from their owners haha.

-Brandon

Claudiusx":2zdiaz6q said:

I've seen some owners take up to 3 weeks before their dragon finally gave in. While not ideal, they really can go quite some time without food. And, since food will always be available, you aren't starving him, he can eat whenever he wants.

I would say don't even start worrying about it until into the second week. And even then, the only worry i'd say you need to do is just make sure he isn't getting lethargic into the second and third week. I've helped dozens and dozens of owners do this, and not once have I ever seen a dragon starve itself into sickness, let alone starve itself to death. They always give in, assuming husbandry is proper and the dragon is otherwise healthy.

A lot of times too, they will nibble at the salad and eat small amounts when you aren't around.

I'm not kidding you when I tell you they are smart creatures. Smart enough to know how to get what they want from their owners haha.

-Brandon

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Haha so possibly mid second week i should worry or no? I mean the only other thing is i feed him before i go to work and before i leave he is basking on his driftwood when i come home he is underneath the driftwood where it has shade but he is also in a larger tank (125 gallons) and he has a little cave to go into, im using a 125w solarglo mvb i check the temps (temp gun) and the highest its been is 103-104 and i had the 160 before and it got up to 120 degrees ? but it was only 12 inches away, i was originally using a 100w powersun zoo med mvb, but it didnt get hot enough so i thought 160 wouldve been fine from a different brand haha but nooo, they do make an 80w but im not to sure how good the uvb is, i know its better than powersun but not good like megaray, i was hesitant on megaray because ive seen dragons get burnt from to much uvb/uva and like i said hes about 12 inches from the basking light which is on a exo terra screen lid.