4 year old Beardies won't eat greens....

[MODragons]

Howdy guys, have had my two kids for a few weeks now, I was told by previous owner they NEVER ate anything but those Repti-somethingorother pellets moistened with water. I seen them eat one the very first day and they have never touched those pellets since. We give them a salad - we've tried several different ingredients including mustard, turnip, collard greens, assorted other veggies, and assorted fruits, romaine lettuce - these guys won't eat the stuff at all even after long attempts at hand feeding. A lick or two and then they become disinterested. Any tricks or suggestions on how to get my adults to eat their greens ? I've tried worms in the salad where they mistakenly eat a piece of green or two but that doesn't work twice. I've also tried chopped up and a bit larger, flat bowls, pieces on their basking log, etc.....I'm at my wits end.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

BTW....they love Dubia roaches and sometime crickets, Superworms too but I'm concernd about the chitin or whatever its called....

 

[Claudiusx]

You can try adding some bright colored or sweet smelling fruits to the mix. Sometimes that will entice them to eat their salads.

You can also try to trick them into a bite of salad by placing a superworm or dubia in the salad.

-Brandon

 

[LLLReptile]

How often do you feed them insects? We get this often with older beardies that customers can no longer keep; we are assured that the beardie never eats this, or that, or the other thing, but the beardie is fat and in good condition otherwise so it's not an issue.

After a week of some tough love (we have a fairly strict schedule, and if they don't eat what is offered that day then they don't eat at all), at most two, all beardies that come through the store will eat every type of insect offered, and 99% of them eat their greens like champs. Sometimes, caring owners just feed their beardies a little too much, or too often, and a beardie that's fed frequently often gets picky!

Try skipping a day or two of feeding, then offer some spring greens mixed with something fragrant, like cilantro, and/or something brightly colored, like rose petals or hibiscus flowers. That should do the trick!

-Jen

 

[MODragons]

Hi Jen, thanks for the reply.

I feed them insects once a day, in the evening.....sometimes 2-3 crickets having been dusted in Calcium, more often 6 or so Superworms sometimes dusted in Calcium. The boy Samson can't catch the crickets most of the time and gets disinterested, the girl Dahlila will eat 2-3 and then just lose interest. Usually after 4-6 worms each will lose interest.


They are given chopped or shredded "greens" approximately two hours after lights go on in the morning. They are given in a very flat bowl, maybe 3/4" tall. They never touch 'em even tromping through the bowl during feeding time.


Today, I managed to handfeed the girl 2 nickel size pieces of yellow squash and a 1" thin slice of carrot, she then promptly lost interest and wouldn't touch a leafy piece of Romaine lettuce I think it was - we've tried all sorts of greens and Romaine is just the latest attempt. One occasion she ate a small piece of peach but otherwise has turned her nose at bright red cherry, orange peach, off yellow pineapple, and I think a pear once. The boy won't eat any of it at all - neither will touch a moistened pellet either.

I'm bathing 3-4 times a week, I've closed off a 12' by 8' area with indoor/outdoor carpeting so they can excercise 3-4 times a week for an hour or so, have great heat gradient at 102 to 108 at basking spot under a Flukers MVB and 100w basking light, to 80 degrees on the other end of a 4' tank, and I've inspected poop but don't see anything in particular under a magnifying glass. The female does alot of glass dancing one end of her tank, the opposite end from which her old living partner now resides.

The boy is in a 3' 40 gallon breeder, not quite as hot basking spot at around 95 degrees but the bulb is like 6" away from highest point so I can't really get it any hotter. The opposite side again has about a 15 degree loss to 80 degrees. He appeared dehydrated when I got him, he usually drinks while bathing and looks better. He seems relatively happy moving around alot but never really glass dancing. Future plans include a light upgrade for him, and substrate change from playsand presently to ceramic tile with a rough "flagstone" like surface in both tanks.


My concern for the girl is she doesn't spend much time at all at the hotter basking point but mainly stays at the cooler side. She seems very healthy, able to walk around with no problems, she doesn't seem to like to climb up to her basking point. I mean the tank is 24" tall so to reach the 102-108 mark I have a tall piece of driftwood and the dual Zoomed fixture suspended by their "mast" is actually 3-4" below the top of the tank. I'm concerned she might not be digesting properly after eating, not to mention spending 4 years on playsand....anyways I'm rambling. I'll keep plugging and experimenting, my hope is that hand feeding will eventualy get them to like their greens and putting insects in their feeding bowls will let them learn what the bowl is for too.

I have thought about the tough love option of eat or else, but I'm thinking they're not eating enough....

Thanks again!

 

[LLLReptile]

To be honest, it just sounds like you're messing with them too much. Try leaving them alone completely, no hand feeding, no handling, no exercise time, just soak them once a week, then offer the greens for a day or two. Then, offer worms, but only in a dish, OR offer about 10 to 20 loose crickets. If you're worried about the crickets bugging the dragons, just leave some potato or carrot in the cage (or even just the wilted greens).

They're reptiles, not mammals, and your doting care (which is commendable) might just be too overwhelming for them when combined with all this cage change, home change, and attempted diet change.

Just keep it nice and simple for now, and then add things back as their appetite picks up. You don't take a dog you just adopted from the pound straight to the dog park and out and about the entire day, do you? Or expect it to love you the first day? There's a certain acclimation period that every animal requires before they can adjust to more advanced or intense care, such as exercise periods, hand feeding, and change in diet. As reptiles, beardies can and sometimes do require more time than your average mammal, and in this case it sounds like with all the changes in their lives it's taking them longer than usual to adjust.

Leave them alone, don't feed them for a day or two, and then offer them greens. If they are being housed properly (and in general, it sounds like they are), then they will not ignore greens to the point of starving themselves.

-Jen

 

[MODragons]

Well, thanks for the reply.

My attitude has been that these guys have been not taken care of at all....I mean two adult BDs living together for 4 years without any UV light, pathetic heating as two 75w bulbs were being used in Lowes utility light fixtures hung 30" off the floor of the tank, playsand substrate, nothing but pellet food, and signs they may not be all that healthy afterall.

Such as the male having sunken eyes and what appears to me as overly wrinkly skin - this said to me this guy needs a bath EVERY single day and needs water dropped into his mouth if necessary because he's dehydrated. Included in my observation was the female appearing to be almost twice the size of the male, and clearly the dominant one of the two, and we have imho the very possibility that the male wasn't getting any food and could have some serious health issues....either that or the original owner lied and these two have not been living together for the last 4 years.

I turn to the female and see a lizard that won't climb to a basking spot, and stays practically in the exact same spot from morning to evening, the coolest section I would add. I think why doesn't she hang out in the warmer area, is she physically impaired ? I'm told by the previous owner she may be pregnant, I put together a lay box and a "Youtube" cooler incubator thinking I better be prepared, is she not eating because she's gravid ?

I monitor poop in the cage and for a couple of days I don't see anything, is she impacted from eating Superworms and living on sand for 4 years ? Is she brumating ? Is she just stressed out ? Is she suffering from egg binding ? I mean heck, all signs point that these guys need more attention than I can give them not less. My work takes up 10 hours a day, its all I can do to get my wife to put together a salad for them....she really hates bugs. I'm thinking I need to find time to take 'em to a vet and get checked out, I'm stressing wondering when I'm gonna get time to fix up their Vivs properly and be rid of that sand, it was all I could do to spend even more money - afterall I wasn't given these guys and a Lizard Lounger tank for free - and I went and purchased Zoomed dual light fixture, expensive MVB, went out and got another tank and another set of lights and drive 90 minutes round trip to get them proper food.....so, I appreciate the advice, but I think in this case the ol' starve 'em till they learn approach is better suited for the youngsters in good health....even then, they're more apt to eat each other than greens. 8)

 

[LLLReptile]

The previous posts didn't mention them looking deathly ill; the natural thought when an animal is being picky with such a dedicated owner is that they are simply a little spoiled.

Best of luck to you!

-Jen

 

[MODragons]

Well, you probably shouldn't offer suggestions without having all the information.....its rather reckless imho

 

[theguns19726]

Well, you probably shouldn't offer suggestions without having all the information.....its rather reckless imho

Is it not also rather reckless to NOT offer the extra information when asking for help?

 

[Zeusmybeardie]

Or just feed veggies all day and insects 2 hours before bed that's what I do and Zeus will eat some he hasn't really hit the eat veggie like a champ yet but can him to eat some

 

[MODragons]

What did I ask for help about.....feeding greens to my Dragons. I didn't realize this simple question required any sort of health report. But when told.....

After a week of some tough love (we have a fairly strict schedule, and if they don't eat what is offered that day then they don't eat at all), at most two, all beardies that come through the store will eat every type of insect offered, and 99% of them eat their greens like champs. Sometimes, caring owners just feed their beardies a little too much, or too often, and a beardie that's fed frequently often gets picky!

My response was to tell "Jen" what I had been doing...i.e....feeding crickets, roaches, superworms, assorted greens, assorted fruits....why was this important ? Because for 4 years these BDs have eaten nothing but pellets, which I stated in my first post. I naturally assumed that any Beardie owner would of been concerned about a BD that had eaten nothing but manufactured pellets for 4 years and would like to be helpful. I also assumed that the more information I offered concerning what I had been doing, the more helpful that would be to anyone responding about what I had asked.....How do you get your dragons to eat greens ?

It all would of been good up to this point but for a somewhat condescending post which suggested I was coddling a couple of lizards as if they were dogs.....this came out of left field....this is helpful to my original post ? :roll:

To be honest, it just sounds like you're messing with them too much. Try leaving them alone completely, no hand feeding, no handling, no exercise time, just soak them once a week, then offer the greens for a day or two. Then, offer worms, but only in a dish, OR offer about 10 to 20 loose crickets. If you're worried about the crickets bugging the dragons, just leave some potato or carrot in the cage (or even just the wilted greens).

They're reptiles, not mammals, and your doting care (which is commendable) might just be too overwhelming for them when combined with all this cage change, home change, and attempted diet change.

Just keep it nice and simple for now, and then add things back as their appetite picks up. You don't take a dog you just adopted from the pound straight to the dog park and out and about the entire day, do you? Or expect it to love you the first day? There's a certain acclimation period that every animal requires before they can adjust to more advanced or intense care, such as exercise periods, hand feeding, and change in diet. As reptiles, beardies can and sometimes do require more time than your average mammal, and in this case it sounds like with all the changes in their lives it's taking them longer than usual to adjust.

Its my fault that someone jumped to conclusions and spewed information that could be harmful ? My goodness, how many "assumptions" and "conclusions" should I have to prepare for when asking a simple question ? And where did I say anything about being "deathly ill" ? Another dramatic assumption that is no way shape or form a "natural thought". A BD that has not eaten nothing but pellets is not spoiled....I assume it just needs to be taught how, what, and where to eat.

How 'bout we just let it go, its pretty obvious I've already done all I can other than starving them into submission.....which by the way was a suggestion on how to get them to eat greens.....just not a very good one in this particular case.

Thanks Zeus --- I figure thats the path I'll stay on which will eventually pay off. It was suggested elsewhere on this forum that hand feeding could be helpful in getting them to try new foods, I'll keep trying that too.

 

[Zeusmybeardie]

Be careful sometimes they mix up your finger for a worm and their bite can be bad do be careful