Bearded Having greens issues

[LilPup]

So I got this bearded on the 19 of this month. He is 8 months old and was eating his greens and insects fine. Well, not he barely eats his greens and eats his insects more. If I try to with hold the insects to get him to eat the greens he just wont eat. He has two different heat spots in his cage. One is 103 degrees, the other is 110-114 degrees. The insects I feed are Silk worms, Horn worms, crickets, super worms, and dubia roaches. His greens are a mix of Organic Spring Greens with copped carrots in it. When I go to the store today I plan on getting some different greens with veggies to cop into them to see if a different mix of greens would make him want to eat greens again. I also feed him once a day a mix of Greens and insects. Should I try changing how often I feed him and what I feed him?

 

[ruben0311]

hello! try feeding him the items separate, I provide the greens first thing in the morning and in the afternoon give him the insects. Is your guy completely ignoring the greens? or just having a few? think of it like having a nice steak/cheeseburger/etc and a salad to choose for dinner... hmmm yeah I go with meat everytime.

 

[LilPup]

Well he was having a few at the first few days. Then it took me to play with the food and move it to get him to eat it. Now he isn't even eating it anymore. Im tempted to stop giving feeders til he starts to eat salad again.

 

[ruben0311]

I don't think anyone sees any problems in showing a little tough love. gotta get your greens in. Fred loves dandelion greens and flowers, each little dude is different but definitely needs to be eating at least a little bit of something. if you are gonna split the times between greens and meat just make sure that you feed the meat at least 1 hour prior to lights out so he can get basking to digest the food.

 

[LilPup]

I normally feed greens an hour after the lights have been on. Now I plan to feed meats three hours before he goes to sleep just to make sure.

 

[z0mbiebabykiller]

110-114*F is a bit on the hot side. he should be good with one that's 103 but he could be overheating. what are the other temps (cool side, night, etc)? do you have any of those colored night lights? what sort of uvb? lights can really have adverse effects on feeding/appetite.

 

[LilPup]

His cool size is 80F and his top hot spot is 110-115F and his bottom hot spot is 103-108F. At night I dont have a light at all. I have a under tank heater that is his bottom hot spot. He sleeps on that at night. My rooms says about the temp of his age so about 80F. UVB is a 10.0 watt. And I seem to have fixed the problem. He was being a fussy eater. The Breeder I got him from fed his Collar greens and mustard greens. I was feeding him a mix of spring greens with carrots. I switch to Collar and Mustard greens with a mix of red, yellow, and orange peppers. He loves it. I fed him the salad this morning and he ate almost all of it. And tonight two hours before his bed time I gave him some horn worms and super worms. Im trying to breed dubias so I can feed him those, but for now he is getting a mix of insects.

 

[z0mbiebabykiller]

some times mine won't eat greens til I sprinkle calcium dust on it. try experimenting different greens. the breeder had mine only on collards which he ate but when I introduced turnip greens he really seemed to enjoy it more. also squash (butternet, zucchini, chayote) cut into slivers was a hit. u still may want to get that temp down a bit. is he gaping a lot?

 

[ruben0311]

way to go lilpup!

 

[LilPup]

He gapes a bit which I have noticed so I switch the bulb from a 75 watt to a 50 watt. He seems to be doing better now, but I will watch over the tank and temps for the next few days or so. But I am hoping tomorrow I can fix his new Tank with with excavator clay and new decor. I wanna make his take as natural as possible with the least amount of sand as possible. I will only be using a very small bit of sand which should be find seeing as he's a huge 19 inches and still growing fast. I just got him and he is already going into shed on his tail. Oh Im also switching his UVB light to a Zilla Slimline Desert 50 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture instead. I did a nono and got a coiled bulb for him and I'm extremely worried about it burning his eyes. I've hear a lot about that happening so Im gonna change it out ASAP

 

[z0mbiebabykiller]

most people are going to recommend zoo-med reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia for uvb. www.pet mountain.com has bulbs for half of petstore price. get rid of the coil asap

 

[CooperDragon]

The ReptiSun 10.0 and Arcadia bulbs are excellent and consistent. The Zilla Desert 50s are OK too though. If you mount it in a fixture with a reflector (Zilla Slimline will work well) it will have best output at about 6-8'' above the basking area with no mesh top in the way. Remember to remove the clear plastic cover from the fixture before you use it because that will intercept all of the UVB.

 

[LilPup]

Yeah I researched on the light and saw I'd need to remove the cover, but Im cool with that. I would get better bulbs but for now, the Zilla will have to do. I just really wanna get that coil out. The light should be here by tomorrow.