Got so excited to see him at the veggie dish!

I left him alone immediately because he doesnt like to eat his veggies in front of anybody. I came back in about 20 min later and didnt see much change in the veggie dish. He did, however, leave me this (spoiler...gross content haha).

 

[ChileanTaco]

When my dragon was younger, he also didn't like eating in front of others - he immediately stopped and went hiding. Even with bugs. Since he was with me for about half a year, he allowed me to watch.
I hope yours also gets more relaxed regarding this Now he even dares pooping while I watch.

 

[Sue E.]

Update: I caught him eating veggies!! I had some gorgeous fresh turnip greens in there (hard to get around here when its not summer or early fall). I think thats what he went for. I ordered him some prickly pear pads too that are coming Monday. We'll see if he likes those as well. Bougie dragon haha.

 

[xp29]

Update: I caught him eating veggies!! I had some gorgeous fresh turnip greens in there (hard to get around here when its not summer or early fall). I think thats what he went for. I ordered him some prickly pear pads too that are coming Monday. We'll see if he likes those as well. Bougie dragon haha.

My guys tend to eat turnip greens the best also they eat kale ok, collard and mustard not so much.

 

[ChileanTaco]

Now he even dares pooping while I watch.

Yes, really It might seem funny, but as somebody interested very much in all kinds "animals", I was always wondering how it works, with their vent looking so much different from a mammal's.
I saw him doing so a few times, but when he was younger he only did it when nobody was looking.

I had the impression when he was younger, he hid certain behavior by instinct as not so easily being tracked by a potential predator.

 

[Sue E.]

@ChileanTaco .Interesting...could also be a territorial thing? You know beardies are very territorial. Now Kai picks a poop spot and so does your Taco, both in their cage. Male animals like to mark territory;of course, the enclosure is "their" territory. At the same time, they are both (relatively) shy (submissive?). They dont foot stomp or black beard. They trust us enough now to poop in front of us, yet Kai never poops outside his cage and you mentioned Taco does so only rarely if ever. Adult animals prefer not to poop where they sleep; hence Kai and Taco dont poop in spots they use, esp not sleep spots.Makes me wonder if those beardies that wont poop in their cages are the foot stompin', head bobbin', dominant ones lol, marking their owners' spots as theirs to defend. The veggie eating in private Kai does and Taco did could also be a wish not to eat what is yours until you leave them and walk away, just in case those veggies might also be yours. With bugs that predatory instinct takes over and they just cant help themselves lol. Just me musing...

 

[ChileanTaco]

Regarding being territorial:
At least he was never hissing, biting or anything like that.
From how I observed him, he was very shy in the beginning and a "if in doubt, rather not" personality. Also not being "bribed" with food, so it was not possible to tame him with food but rather the other way, he had to become tame to dare to take food during hand-feeding, looks for me very much like "shy, rather not".

They dont foot stomp or black beard.

Indeed, mine never did so far. Also no pretending to mate.
He for sure is male: I saw the sperm plugs.

Adult animals prefer not to poop where they sleep; hence Kai and Taco dont poop in spots they use, esp not sleep spots

Indeed, this is his behavior. The spot where he poops, it's the most "boring" and "useless" in his enclosure, so to say: Not good for basking, sleeping, climbing, eating.

The veggie eating in private Kai does and Taco did could also be a wish not to eat what is yours until you leave them and walk away, just in case those veggies might also be yours

Possibly. With not taking insects from my hand for months, I'm sure very much. After he dared to take the first one (a mealworm), and there was obviously no angry reaction by me but more mealworms offered, he then almost always took some. With "almost" I mean: Sometimes he just isn't not hungry, and he isn't somebody who wolfs down everything. But not daring taking it, I never saw this after.

With bugs that predatory instinct takes over and they just cant help themselves lol. Just me musing...

For Taco, this was clearly not the case. He didn't dare taking them.
But also generally, Taco can easily leave some insects in his bowl. He does not necessarily empty it.