beardie being fussy eater

[shaun]

Had my 2 yr old beardie for couple of weeks now. He hasnt eaten much since arriving. But what he does eat .hes very choosey. Or seems to be .?? .he doesnt eat fruit or veg. He only eats a couple of crickets a few meal worms. He loves morio worms. I just need a few ideas .

 

[CooperDragon]

He should be on a mainly salad diet but that can be very difficult to bring about if he isn't used to it. It can take quite a bit of time and persistence. Offer a fresh salad daily with a few rotating options to try and get his interest. If his weight and overall health is stable, you can try withholding bugs for a few days to try and get him onto the salads. There are good options for ingredients here: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

I would use morio worms as a treat but rather than a staple feeder. For staple bugs, I'd use dubia roaches or large crickets. Fed once daily or once every other day. Silk worms are a good source of protein as well and are fairly healthy. There is more info on different worm options here: https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=197902

On top of diet, it's important that you have proper lighting and temperatures. You'll want to provide plenty of UVB along with a bright light and heat source. The basking temp for a 2 yr old should be around 100 or so surrounded by an area in the 90s and down to 75-85 on the cool side of the enclosure to allow self regulation of temperature. Getting the environment as close to ideal as you can will help with overall health and appetite.

 

[shaun]

Thankyou very much.so basically i need to change his food habits or rather change his idea of him being in charge of what he eats .
Thanku for the help .ill try what uve advised .

 

[Ofthelime]

The thing that finally got my dragon to eat veggies was the use of a green food dish for his superworms. He now will only eat green veggies but luckily collard greens and green beans are green and he loves green beans. I'm not sure if it would be easy (or successful) to do that but other things you could try is rolling up the veggies to look like worms, moving them around, or putting some in his mouth as he licks his chops to have him try it, and just being persistent.
good luck

 

[CooperDragon]

^ those are good ideas too. I cut squash into worm shapes and roll cooked sweet potato into worm shapes too. Sit them right on top of the salad.

 

[shaun]

Thankyou.very much