First Time Owner (Is this okay?)

[Beardy815]

So I bought my bearded dragon about 2 weeks ago. I would put in some crickets which he would eat, but if he didn't catch them on his first lunge and they hopped away he wouldn't really pursue them. Looking into other feeders I saw that Dubia roaches everyone seemed to like, and I couldn't agree more. They just are so much easier to feed since they don't hop all over the place and not only that but he seems to like them more than crickets.

I had a few crickets left I wanted to get rid of and he wouldn't really touch them so I put in some roaches to see if it was because he wasn't hungry, but he ended up gobbling the roaches up quickly. HOWEVER he doesn't seem to really want to touch the collared greens I put in very often. He may nibble on a few pieces a day but that's it.

Is it bad he seems to have a strong preference to roaches? Mainly worried about him not wanting the vegetables than not wanting crickets. I don't think I'm ever buying crickets again if roaches are just as good nutritionally.

 

[DaisyDragon123]

A young dragon's diet is mainly live feeder protein with minimal veggie intake. Roaches are good. You can also add phoenix worms, silkworms and small hornworms for variety. It is good that he is eating some of his collard greens. Be sure to offer him a good salad: turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, spring mix, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, green/red/yellow peppers, carrots and any other veggie that is acceptable. You can give small amounts of berries once a week.

As an adult his diet will be mainly veggies with minimal live feeders.

Young: 80% / 20%
feeders / veggies

Adult: 80% / 20%
veggies / feeders

 

[Beardy815]

Okay thanks for the reply. I was just looking into Phoenix worms actually!

Am I going to need to try to entice him to have vegetables or they'll naturally start eating them? He literally will only have 2-3 tiny pieces of the greens a day if that, usually waits for roaches to eat.

 

[DaisyDragon123]

Some dragons like veggies more than others. If he is young he doesn't need as many veggies as an adult. Some people will offer veggies first and then feeders a couple of hours later. If he is really young you need to feed him live feeders several times a day but can leave the salad in his cage and remove it late afternoon.