Bearded Dragon Liver disease what to gutload insects with

[Fellowdt23]

Hi im not really sure what section this topic should be in, its more health related so i chose this section.

My bearded dragon as some of you will know was diagnosed with fatty liver disease 10 months ago hes doing reasonably well, i was told by vet to force feed him to make sure he ate everyday so that his liver kept going. Well after 10 months of this ive slowed down slighlty an not feeding as much because he just wont stop putting the weight on but he is in pretty good health considering what hes been through and reasonably active.

Anyway to my question, the vet gave me a liver supplement that contains milkthistle and a few other things he also told me to feed foods high in vitamin E and Dandelion greens.

Thing is he wont eat these things without me shoving in his mouth when basking so i had a thought surely if you gutload your feeders in normal circumstances then surely you can gut load them differently to suit the needs of a lizard with fatty liver?

I created a chow similar to that you feed to silk worms, it contains milk thistle powder vit E powder and powder dandelion an flower extract which i mixed together created the chow and fed to crickets and the devoured it. Do you think my dragon will get the benefit from this?

Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

[AHBD]

That' sounds like a great idea, and the fact that the crickets are eagerly chowing on it is a real bonus. Those ingredients are the ones recommended to promote liver health, so it doesn't sound like it needs any improvement. Someone else may think of other goodies to add, but good job !

 

[Fellowdt23]

Thanks i hoping this makes things a little easier when feeding its been stressful force feeding, i will still feed him greens when hes basking with mouth open but the fact he will happily eat live food no questions asked i hope this way he gains the benefit of it.

 

[icelore]

That's definitely a reasonable solution! The only thing I would worry about is that he's getting less of the supplements then if he was just eating them straight. As long as you have a general idea of how much is going into him, then I think it's all good.

 

[Fellowdt23]

Hi Icelore

Im still going to be giving the supplement that the vet gave me i never made that clear sorry i understand your concern its only to be given at 0.1 ml per day which is easy to administer it contains some milkthistle and other beneficial medical liver supplements
The chow i made with the milkthistle and dandelion and vit E....... Is the extra things vet said he would benefit from in his diet.

It will be interesting to know if the crickets are still Alive in the morning as the ate alot of it, if they are i will glad that i may have found a way for crickets to benefit him