How to give a beardie Squash?

[cath1024]

Hi everyone ... i know this likely sounds really dumb to ask but how do you give squash to your BD?

We have always gave them dandelion/collard greens, kale and carrots with sometimes adding in a little variety of fruit (which they hate).

I read up on some other veggies to try adding and and picked up some butternut squash. We dont eat squash in our house and to be honest i have never cooked or eaten it and have no idea what you do with it! Do you grate it or cut it or cook it or give them it raw?

Any help on this would be great - i realy want to give some to my 2 BD but want to know how i do it first.

Thanks!

 

[peera]

Some people cook it if they have picky dragons, but none of mine have ever needed me to do that (which is good, I'd just move on to another feeder, since it goes bad so much faster when it's cooked and I don't want it. ) I just cut a piece off, peel, and slice it into bite-sized pieces and put it on top of their mustard greens. Sometimes I grate it, but as long as your dragons have healthy jaws there's no reason they can't chew it just a little.

 

[cath1024]

ok great so it doesnt have to be cooked,
I will try and cut a bit of it up tomorrow. Our male is about 10 months and our girl is about 5 months is she too young or could she have some too - maybe just cut smaller or grated.

 

[peera]

She should be big enough at 5 months to handle it just fine... Just cut it up a little smaller so the pieces aren't bigger than the space between her eyes. My little girl is only about the size of a 4-6 month old because she's so stunted, but she gets everything my full sized adults do, just in smaller pieces.

 

[NegativeCreep]

I got a new food processor for giftmas and it has a handy-dandy-shredding blade! Now, I take the squash and peel it, cut it in half (no need to cook it), then cut it into appropriately sized pieces and throw it in the bad-boy shredder! A weeks worth of squash in 5 minutes! I also pulse the collard greens while I'm at it. It's nice to have my food prep take so little time now!
Hope that helps!

p.s. I also take the other half of the squash and cook it up for myself. As it turns out, that stuff is good!

 

[scalesandtales]

you can just cut it up at put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. thats what I do to soften it and its cooked

 

[Pleaides]

scalesand tales - so from raw you simply put the squash in the microwave for 2 minutes? and its then cooked? is that ok to do that?

ive recently started a topic about this exact thing here http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=96300 so no cath1024, not a silly quaestion at all, lol

 

[scalesandtales]

yup thats all i do, they love it. Just cut it up first, you will know when its done when it is soft

 

[NegativeCreep]

Cooking vegetables removes some of the nutritional content. There is no need to cook it, if they can safely eat it raw.

 

[scalesandtales]

Cooking vegetables removes some of the nutritional content. There is no need to cook it, if they can safely eat it raw.

if yours is an adult

my Gina will only eat hers cooked! she soo stubburn. Like mentioned though cut the smaller than the space between the eyes.

 

[NegativeCreep]

Cooking vegetables removes some of the nutritional content. There is no need to cook it, if they can safely eat it raw.

if yours is an adult

my Gina will only eat hers cooked! she soo stubburn. Like mentioned though cut the smaller than the space between the eyes.

No, mine is a young juvie. I shred it.

 

[scalesandtales]

**sorry, didn't mean to write if adult. I was in the middle of a sentence and got side tracked .
only meant to write the bottom.

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

i just use the fine shredder part of my cheese grater. . . it works out find and if you mixed it with the rest of their greens, then they have no choice but to eat it. . . haha, however mine dont seem to take so well to carrots.

 

[scalesandtales]

they love love love veggie and chicken baby food and its good for them

 

[Pleaides]

ok well ive tried it raw shredded and into little cubes and they wont touch it, now not only will they not touch it but they havent ate their greens either, at the mo both are being so unbelievably picky! roll on spring!