Hi all! Beardie newbie here with another of my many questions... :study: :?: I have had my beardie for close to a week now. He/she is about 2months old. Now when it comes to eating, he mashes on crickets! ..however I know there’s that 10% of his diet that is supposed to be reserved for greens/veggies. I have tried offering him a variety of fruit..strawberries..blueberries..grapes..cantaloupe..raspberries.. along with some collard greens and turnip greens. The most interest he has showed in any of it is a quick lick here and there.. he has never eaten any of it. I’ve tried putting in his bowl.. tried wiggling pieces in front of him.. to no avail. sooo what’s the deal? Is he missing much needed nutrients? Or are babies always this stubborn? Btw.. I do shake n bake his crickets about every other day with calcium.. and multivitamins once a week.
At 2 months old it is very common for hatchlings to ignore the salad and greens entirely, they know they need live insects (and LOTS of them) at 3 times a day.
If the insects such as crickets or roaches or locusts are gutloaded with the greens and veg you would like the hatchling to eat , there is your 10% (easily).
So if a hatchling nibbles a bit of green stuff or the grated veg or chopped veg , it's a bonus.
Keep offering the salad freshly daily , but if the hatchling ignores it, don't worry.
At 2 months old it is very common for hatchlings to ignore the salad and greens entirely, they know they need live insects (and LOTS of them) at 3 times a day.
If the insects such as crickets or roaches or locusts are gutloaded with the greens and veg you would like the hatchling to eat , there is your 10% (easily).
So if a hatchling nibbles a bit of green stuff or the grated veg or chopped veg , it's a bonus.
Keep offering the salad freshly daily , but if the hatchling ignores it, don't worry.
So by gut loaded..u mean feed the crickets the greens? Bc I have cricket food I have been giving them.. flukers high calcium cricket diet to be exact...should I stop feeding them the cricket food and start putting the greens in with the crickets?
At 2 months old it is very common for hatchlings to ignore the salad and greens entirely, they know they need live insects (and LOTS of them) at 3 times a day.
If the insects such as crickets or roaches or locusts are gutloaded with the greens and veg you would like the hatchling to eat , there is your 10% (easily).
So if a hatchling nibbles a bit of green stuff or the grated veg or chopped veg , it's a bonus.
Keep offering the salad freshly daily , but if the hatchling ignores it, don't worry.
So by gut loaded..u mean feed the crickets the greens? Bc I have cricket food I have been giving them.. flukers high calcium cricket diet to be exact...should I stop feeding them the cricket food and start putting the greens in with the crickets?
At 2 months old it is very common for hatchlings to ignore the salad and greens entirely, they know they need live insects (and LOTS of them) at 3 times a day.
If the insects such as crickets or roaches or locusts are gutloaded with the greens and veg you would like the hatchling to eat , there is your 10% (easily).
So if a hatchling nibbles a bit of green stuff or the grated veg or chopped veg , it's a bonus.
Keep offering the salad freshly daily , but if the hatchling ignores it, don't worry.
So by gut loaded..u mean feed the crickets the greens? << YES …. absolutely the best food for crickets is leafy high calcium . high protein leaves and fresh chunks of carrot (for hydration and vitamins , I also add a handful of Repcal Adult Bearded Dragon pellets straight from the bottle (for more vitamin = much better insect food than lizard food by a very long shot !!! the crickets love the pellets and even argue about individual pellets and drag them away to eat in private !!!).
Bc I have cricket food I have been giving them.. flukers high calcium cricket diet to be exact...should I stop feeding them the cricket food and start putting the greens in with the crickets? YES , Flukers cricket food and gels are simply a waste of money. Fresh is best.
Well, my two month old was being a brat when I first got him and wouldn't even look at his greens.. Now he eats them up in the morning only.
Give your beardie time to heat up when you turn the bulb on for at least an hour and your beardie has the munchies! Give him one leafy green and keep moving it around to catch his attention and he might chomp it up but give you the stink eye. Keep doing this and add more leafy greens until he starts somewhat liking them.
Only give in a small amount though, yet it is good if the beardie is eating greens at a young age so then they can transition to mostly greens when they're older
Well, my two month old was being a brat when I first got him and wouldn't even look at his greens.. Now he eats them up in the morning only.
Give your beardie time to heat up when you turn the bulb on for at least an hour and your beardie has the munchies! Give him one leafy green and keep moving it around to catch his attention and he might chomp it up but give you the stink eye. Keep doing this and add more leafy greens until he starts somewhat liking them.
Only give in a small amount though, yet it is good if the beardie is eating greens at a young age so then they can transition to mostly greens when they're older