Feeding Options for beardie

[warac67]

I wasn't really sure how to title this one. I have about a 5 month old beardie and he is a nonstop eating machine. He eats almost everything I put in his cage which is great because I see stories on here about how their beardies won't eat their greens. I usually give Onyx(my beardie) an assortment of greens from mustard greens, dandelion greens, collard greens, escarole, and once and a while kale. What I do is I buy one thing of lets say a bundle of collard greens and then give it to him until it is finished then I buy something different and use it until it is finished and so on and so forth. But I see people making their beardies salads with different greens and bits of vegetables on it. I tried a couple times giving Onyx different vegetables like butternut squash and carrots but he didn't have any of it. My problem is that obviously when you buy greens/vegetables they have a limited time before they go bad and when I have more than one green about 70% of it goes bad before I can use it and it smells horribly and its a waste of food. So is it okay to do it as I've been doing it with just one green at a time but constantly switching which greens I am giving him? Also what types of vegetables would you suggest to a beardie who will only eat greens? Oh and other than greens I give him about 20 crickets 2-3 times a day plus about 10 phoenix worms a day. Thanks so much for all your help I just wanna make sure my beardie is getting the best diet he can he so he can grow up big and strong. He is already getting so big when I brought him into my local reptile store they said he was a handsome chubby beardie. :lol:

This is my baby Onyx! Sorry I just like to show him off to the world.

 

[021414]

Have you tried yellow squash, parsnip, or zucchini?

 

[jackiesmama]

u are very lucky . my beardies will eat it when they feel like it lol.i put them in there evey day but alot of times it goes to waste

 

[warac67]

Yes I know how lucky I am the last beardie I had would never eat his greens. And also I have tried zucchini and isn't yellow squash pretty much the same as butternut squash? Thanks so much for all your help guys!

 

[021414]

Yes I know how lucky I am the last beardie I had would never eat his greens. And also I have tried zucchini and isn't yellow squash pretty much the same as butternut squash? Thanks so much for all your help guys!

Butternut and yellow squash are different in taste (in my opinion) so it would be worth trying. Yellow squash is also smaller so its easier to keep in the fridge. All you have to do is cut it on one side into a few slices and then wrap the remaining fresh side (not the whole squash) with plastic wrap and shove it in the vegetable drawer of your fridge. I think its easier than dealing with butternut squash. Zucchini squash can be kept the same way.

 

[warac67]

Alright thank you I will try the yellow squash. But is it alright the way I have been giving him the greens? I am just worried that he is not getting enough different vitamins because as I said in the other post I do not give him a mixed salad everyday.

 

[joea]

bd food chart...

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[021414]

Alright thank you I will try the yellow squash. But is it alright the way I have been giving him the greens? I am just worried that he is not getting enough different vitamins because as I said in the other post I do not give him a mixed salad everyday.

I am inclined to say no, there isn't enough variety in your feeding regimen. I like to offer two staple leafy greens, a variety of squashes (yellow, zucchini, grey, pattypan), and a few different "sides" such as parsnip, carrot and yam every day. Just as with humans, if we only ate apples, even though they are healthy, we still wouldn't be getting the nutritional balance we need.

 

[warac67]

I tried doing that at first but like 80% of everything rotted. How do you get yours to stay good for so long?

 

[021414]

I tried doing that at first but like 80% of everything rotted. How do you get yours to stay good for so long?

Well, how much produce are you buying per week, what specific items, and how are you keeping them now?

 

[warac67]

Well right now I buy one or two bundles of greens and use it for about a week or so. What I have adapted to do lately is I wash a bunch of greens I rip it up to his size and put it into a plastic bag that I keep on top of his tank so that it is really easy to just refill his greens for him. Because he is located pretty much on the opposite side of my house from the fridge so its difficult to constantly get the greens wash them cut them and bring them to him. I feel like my fridge doesn't really extend the life of the greens I know it sounds stupid but just my experience. Please I am open to any suggestions as to how to keep my greens and prepare them I am a newb at this. What I usually buy for him mustard greens, collard greens, escarole, dandelion greens, kale/swiss chard once and a while. Thanks so much for your help everyone really I appreciate it.

 

[021414]

Well right now I buy one or two bundles of greens and use it for about a week or so. What I have adapted to do lately is I wash a bunch of greens I rip it up to his size and put it into a plastic bag that I keep on top of his tank so that it is really easy to just refill his greens for him. Because he is located pretty much on the opposite side of my house from the fridge so its difficult to constantly get the greens wash them cut them and bring them to him. I feel like my fridge doesn't really extend the life of the greens I know it sounds stupid but just my experience. Please I am open to any suggestions as to how to keep my greens and prepare them I am a newb at this. What I usually buy for him mustard greens, collard greens, escarole, dandelion greens, kale/swiss chard once and a while. Thanks so much for your help everyone really I appreciate it.

I think I know what's going wrong with your veggie keeping, greens need to be kept cold under controlled humidity. Dandelion greens and mustard greens notoriously spoil quicker than collard greens, so I wouldn't buy both types at once. How you store your greens is extremely important; I have had success keeping mine in the vegetable drawer with the humidity vent closed. I will break down how I store certain staples with success.

Dandelion greens: Remove twist ties from around the bunch and be sure to remove any browning leaves and stems. Cut about half an inch from the bottom of the stems and pat the whole set of greens dry with a paper towel and then put them back in the bag. Store without tons of things stacked on top of them. Check them every day and remove the spoiling pieces then repeat.

Mustard greens and collard greens: remove twist ties from the bunches and cut half an inch from the bottoms of the stems. Place loosely in their bags and put in the veggie drawer. Check daily and remove browning areas. Collard greens last longer than mustard greens, so you want to feed those first.

Squashes: cut slices from one side (for zucchini and yellow squashes) and leave the stems on the opposite ends intact. Cover the cut side with plastic wrap allowing the stem side to "breathe" while in the fridge.

Carrots: these last forever, so just shave off pieces from the sides to reach a fine point at the tip.

I think I will make a post soon with pictures in case I'm not making sense. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[warac67]

Yes, thank you so much that really helps alot! I just bought collard greens, endive and yellow squash for him and I also still have dandelion greens, mustard greens and a little kale. I have carrots as well and I read on the beautifuldragons website that he can have pineapple which I have fresh but how would I prepare that for him? Should I cut it into tiny cubes? And same question for the squash do I cut it into cubes or slices should I grate it with a cheese grater? Thank you SO much if you are planning to take the pictures they would help and I would appreciate it but if not don't go out of your way really you've helped so much already.

 

[021414]

Yes, thank you so much that really helps alot! I just bought collard greens, endive and yellow squash for him and I also still have dandelion greens, mustard greens and a little kale. I have carrots as well and I read on the beautifuldragons website that he can have pineapple which I have fresh but how would I prepare that for him? Should I cut it into tiny cubes? And same question for the squash do I cut it into cubes or slices should I grate it with a cheese grater? Thank you SO much if you are planning to take the pictures they would help and I would appreciate it but if not don't go out of your way really you've helped so much already.

The size of the veggies will depend on how big and how old he is. Please remind me of his size.

 

[warac67]

He's about 6 months old almost half his full size I'd say. I did post a picture of him on my original post he is a little bigger now but not much.