Rygel - 20wks old and hard uratus

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BrightStar

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thank you, you've all been very helpful and reassuring.

Is Rygel old enough for me to try to encourage him to eat more greens? He's about 21 weeks now. When I first got him, his breeder told me not to let him fill up on greens. Can I worry less about this now he's older? If I offer him more veg, should I reduce his protein?
 

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member
Others may disagree, but I always offer greenls as the first meal irregardless of age. Young dragons usually refuse them anyway. It's unlikely your dragon would eat so much of them that he would refuse bugs.
But like I said, we all develop our own husbandry practices...one thing that works for me may not work for someone else. Reptile husbandry sometimes requires a bit of experimentation to see what works for you.
I do know some owners have said exactly what your breeder said. So I'm good with either way. Still try to keep ratios to 80% bugs, 20% greens for young dragons though..
 

MsCarter

Juvie Member
I 100% agree with Rankins^
I found if you begin offering them asap it can increase the likelihood of them eating them in healthy amount as adults. Plus greens are full of good beneficial nutrients I think every growing dragon can benefit from. This will also help add more moisture to your beardies diet as well. I would put a small bowl full of greens in his Viv first thing in the morning he may or may not touch them at first but it will help him become more familiar with them. And throughout the day offer insects just as you always have.
 

BrightStar

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Since I got him, I've always offered Rygel his salad before the feeders. I usually feed him the salad, then get his feeders out, which takes about five minutes, and then offer him the feeders. When he reached about 18wks, I started offering salad in the bowl with his feeders - hoping they'd encourage him to try his veggies, even if just by accident. I still keep a bowl separate that's just salad and feed him that a few minutes before the live feeders.

I'm keen he has a varied diet, so I try to buy him something new to try each week, and I rotate his staple veg between mustard greens, collards and escarole. Should I be waiting longer between feeding his salad, and offering his first feeders of the day?

I've seen him checking out his salad bowl if he's hungry and waiting for his feeders. I don't think he's eating much greens, but occasionally I find bits of green scattered on the cage floor, so I'm hoping that means he does try them occasionally. I usually spray his salad with water to help with his hydration.
 

MsCarter

Juvie Member
It sounds like your doing everything just right. Every dragon is different the key is figuring out which routine works best for your baby. My female gets salads in the am but she's extremely stubborn and usually doesn't eat any until the late afternoon. I know if I slip and give her insects before then there will be a 0% chance of her eating any greens that day. Sounds like your routine is working well for your guy. After his salad he will let you know if he's full at the moment and not ready for insects just yet. In that case try again later, but it sounds like he's perfectly happy with that :)
 

BrightStar

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the reassurance. I try not to panic every time Rygel does something a little "different", but he's become so very special to me and I want to make sure he's as happy and healthy as can be. He had silkworms today, now they've finally gotten big enough to feed. His poops have been fairly normal now since I got in my order of hornworms and added those to his daily menu. I don't think he's a big fan of greens yet, but I do feel encouraged that he checks them out occasionally.
 

MsCarter

Juvie Member
BrightStar":4kp61j1v said:
Thanks for the reassurance. I try not to panic every time Rygel does something a little "different", but he's become so very special to me and I want to make sure he's as happy and healthy as can be. He had silkworms today, now they've finally gotten big enough to feed. His poops have been fairly normal now since I got in my order of hornworms and added those to his daily menu. I don't think he's a big fan of greens yet, but I do feel encouraged that he checks them out occasionally.

They love to worry us humans from time to time lol. From the sounds of things Rygel is a very loved dragon and I think he's in really good hands with you. Just like with us humans not everything will be 100% perfect all the time and that's okay. In time he will teach you so much and you'll know exactly what it is he needs when/if he runs into minor complications.

Silkworms are one of the best feeders on the market for growing dragons so it's great that your able to provide them for him. He will eventually come around to his greens in time. Until then you can always gut load his insects with the greens. Since I have a picky eater I gut load everything I possibly can.
 

BrightStar

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
MsCarter":16fsebqt said:
Silkworms are one of the best feeders on the market for growing dragons so it's great that your able to provide them for him. He will eventually come around to his greens in time. Until then you can always gut load his insects with the greens. Since I have a picky eater I gut load everything I possibly can.

I gut load the roaches - I just got in a bunch of orange head roaches, and I'm letting them fill up on healthy veg for a few days until I offer them to Rygel. It was my understanding that Phoenix worms, hornworms and silkworms only eat a certain food? I only feed them the diet sold for them - except PWs, which I read not to feed. Is that correct?
 

Skipper7

Juvie Member
BrightStar- I would reccomend attempting breed the orange heads. Rankins (a member on here) could tell you everything you need to know about doing that. They tend to be expensive so if you get a large enough quality going you can save a lot of money and even sell them to make some extra dough.
 

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member
Awsome!! You probably noticed the orange heads are more plump that the Dubia's. You made a good choice. I think you will like them
(Edit...they also are prettier :) )
 

BrightStar

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I am actually looking into breeding the orange heads. I brought 50 adults and set them up in a separate bin from the smaller ones. Any tips on breeding would be great. I also have a breeding colony of dubia just started a few weeks back.
 

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member
Sure thing :)
Let's move this over to the "Dubia Roaches" thread.
(Edit: BrightStar I just provided more info on orange heads on the "Dubia Roaches" thread, hope you find it over there :) )
 
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