How'd you get your beardies to eat veggies?

[emberNchester]

Hi all!
So Chester is 5 months old and rarely eats his veggies.
I've tried offering many different types of greens.
Mustard, kale, collards.

I've tried different fruits.
Mango
Papaya-one of the few he'll tolerate
Blueberries
Bananas
Peaches

I've tried different veggies.
Zucchini
Squash
Bell peppers

And I probably offered a few other fruits & veggies that I forgot to mention.

And I've presented them in different ways to him.
In a bowl.
Using brightly colored veggies.
Using them in stark color contrast with a paper towel.
Moving the veggie around a little in front of him-if I move it fast enough, he'll bite it and spit it out.
Putting worms in the bowl with them-he won't even approach it at all.

So anyways, I'd like to know how everyone else have managed to feed their beardies some veggies!

 

[MsCarter]

It is extremely common for them to refuse veggies. My female is the same age (5 months) and will only munch on hers once in awhile. Continue offering them daily so that he can stay familiar with them and eventually come around to trying them out. Until than what I do is gutload my girls insects. having the feeder insects eat the veggies and greens you would like for your beardie to eat will make them much more nutritious for him. Remember you are what you eat ?
You can also try putting things like bee pollen on top of his veggies. Some people have had success using this to get their beardies to eat their salads. Plus bee pollen is great stuff and very beneficial to them. Just keep at it and he will eventually come around. You can also try putting a bowl of greens in his enclosure when his lights cut on and not offer him insects until later. Sometimes they will get hungry enough before being fed insects to settle for veggies.

 

[CooperDragon]

At 5 months it's not too bad if he ignores them. Just keep making them available and he will likely start to show interest at about 12-18 months. I hand fed veges to create some movement with the leaves to help catch interest. They tend to have their favorites too so keep trying that nice variety as you've been doing and once he takes to them you'll figure out what he prefers.

 

[nathb1]

Hi,

I just received my dragon this week.She is three month.I find chopped veggies in a processor makes her eat her veggies.I mix collard,endive,carrots, squash sweet potato.Etc..Makes it easier so she cant pick and choose and i know she will be able to eat without worrying about size.

 

[wpappas]

Our BD "Yoda" is 5.5 months, 14.5 inches long, he was 2 months when we brought him home. Since he came home I have been placing collard/mustard greens, kale, endive and escarole in a bowl every day and he wouldn't touch them. At about 3 months I added yellow squash to the mix. I would hold greens or squash in front of his mouth and he would not take it but would eat it if I placed it in his mouth when he had it open trying to bite. So I got him to eat greens everyday when I held him. A couple weeks ago I added Butternut squash to the mix. Last week he started taking the Collard Green, escarole or endive from me with a vengeance, like it was crickets, I just hold it out in front of his mouth and he goes after it! He has eaten 50-75% of his salad mix out of the bowel in his Viv twice now on his own in the last few days. The mix is half Collard Green and half of either Escarole or Endive with chopped up or grated Butternut Squash on top. This afternoon he was in the salad bowl, half the greens were eaten and the rest was scattered outside the bowl, I added another teaspoon of squash and he devoured it all. He also had crickets and Phoenix worms today like he does everyday, this guy really eats! It amazes me to see him transition to the veggies, it seems early based on what I have read on the forum I guess all BDs are different.