Getting Him to Eat More Veggies

[PogoLover]

I have had Lucky for about 5 1/2 months. He is about 9 months old, weighs 520 grams and is 20 inches. He came from a breeder. He is a red, translucent, leatherback (and had one hypo parent, I believe) - not sure if that is relevant.

I am having trouble getting him to eat his veggies/fruits. Growing up his bugs were primarily dubia and phoenix worms, but now that he is bigger, I have traded the phoenix worms for superworms (because he often just eats the phoenix worms whole and poops them out whole, but he chews up the superworms). He also gets wax worms for a few days about once a month. Dubia and superworms are calcium dusted 5x per week and vitamin dusted 2x per week.

I leave a collard salad in his cage almost every day and he won't touch it. I have tried mustard greens, turnip greens, bok choy, carrot shavings, grated squash (different types), bananas and strawberries. He spits it all out or won't even lick it, except he will chew up collards if I stick them in his mouth while he is chewing his bugs. He does love baby food squash - he will eat a couple dropperfuls of that without an issue, but won't lick it off a plate. Too much baby food squash, however, leads to runny poop.

He is spoiled and has been hand fed most of his life (I had a really sickly beardie before him, so I was used to hand feeding three times a day).

At 9 months, I am not that worried since he is still not a full adult, but if there is something I can do to start encouraging more veggie eating, I would like to start doing it sooner rather than later. I am thinking about trying to figure out how to make baby food greens and dropper feed it to him if necessary.

He still loves his bugs, but I know he can't keep eating at this level or he will become a big, fat fatty. He looks fine so far - runs around a lot (with his belly off the ground and his tail in the air) - but I have never had an adult beardie so I don't know the drill.

Here are some pics:

Thanks for any advice!
-Kim

 

[CooperDragon]

He looks very healthy so he is probably being stubborn. Try offering a salad with different items switched in every day for a week or two and see if he starts to dig in. It's not critical yet but he is a good weight and some tough love to help him transition may not be a bad idea to try. The supers become especially addictive and will keep them off of other food unless they get really hungry.

 

[PogoLover]

Yes, he is stubborn. AND Supers are addictive . . . he is starting to turn his nose up at his dubia. The only thing that trumps supers for Lucky is wax worms (and I know that those should not be a staple, especially not for a big boy who doesn't need to gain weight). I will try switching types of veggies/offering more variety on his salad plate.

The tough love will be on the horizon if he keeps gaining at his current rate (either that or a treadmill! LOL).