Greens or Live for main food??

[JeepMiller09]

My BD, Chance, is 1 years old. She just went to the vet and I was told that she was not getting enough water and the Vet gave her 15ml of water through injection. I thought that she was drinking out of her water bowl but I guess not. So now I am bathing her 3 times a week and dripping drips of water on her mouth that she will lick. They did an Ultra Sound on her to make sure she didn’t have anything else going on with her and blood work. Both came out normal!!!! The last time she went in she weighed 60 grams and now she weighs 560 grams. That blew my mind :shock: . Also the $260 dollar vet bill did also lol . So besides her being dehydrated all was good!

Now the vet said at this age she should be eating more greens then Live food. Small little problem she hates greens and will eat maybe 3-5 adult dubias a week. I was told to change her lighting from a heat lamp and a uvb to a Mercury bulb. So I picked up a Zoo med Powersun 100w. her basking temp ranges from 100 to 104. She is in a 50gal breeder tank. She gets mustard greens and kaile along with squash and sometimes peppers. How do I get her to eat more greens?


Thanks,
Miller

 

[Cammy]

You will probably have to cut the live food out completely for a while until she is regularly eating her greens. Call it tough love. Honestly, it will be tougher for you than it is for her, haha. I know it is stressful, but bear in mind that these are desert animals made to last on minimal amounts of food; they can go weeks without eating a bite and not have any problems. Eventually your beardie will realize that the bugs aren't coming and she'll be forced to accept her greens. Once she is regularly eating her salad, you can slowly reintroduce live foods in small amounts. Again, I know it is hard to do, but it is best for your beardie's long term health. By the way, I had to use this "tough love" method on my stubborn beardie, and he now consistently eats his salads.

 

[AMHaak]

Another way your can do this is to put in small wax worms into the salad. They are small enough so it is hard for the beardie to just grab the worm with out getting some greens.

I tried the "tough love" thing, and it did work out with my beardie. I don't know if it is because I tried it when he was older (he is 4 now, and I tried this when he was about 3 1/2), but he didn't eat for (and no kidding) a month. I had to feed him worms, and when I did feed him worms he then started to eat his greens to. It was kind of funny it was like a battle who would give in first, and I lost!!!

 

[JeepMiller09]

Ok your are all right this will be hard but what needs to be done will be done. Looks like my Dubia numbers will be growing and growing then lol. Def going to put the wax worms into the salad first and then slowly work them out. Thanks you all so much for your help!!!