My Beardie Won't Eat the Following Items- Why?

[divinedimension]

1) Salad
2) Finely chopped apples (Fugi)
3) Mealworms, alive or canned, heads on or off

Beardie also will not drink from water bowl but only when I spray water directly into his mouth from a water bottle? Is this common? How do you guys get your beardies to eat salads, grubs and drink water?

 

[RockyPlusBen]

My beardie loves Collard greens
Try crickets for lllreptile.com instead of mealworms as mealworms don't offer much nutrition.
Go to this sight for food to give or not to give your bearded dragon. The ones highlighted in green, as least everyone I've tried so far, Rocky snatches them up.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Hope this helps,
Ben

 

[Kaiser]

1) Salad
2) Finely chopped apples (Fugi)
3) Mealworms, alive or canned, heads on or off

Beardie also will not drink from water bowl but only when I spray water directly into his mouth from a water bottle? Is this common? How do you guys get your beardies to eat salads, grubs and drink water?

First off, how old is your bearded dragon? If he's relatively young, he most likely will not be interested in vegetables and/or fruits, which is perfectly normal. Nonetheless, continue offering fresh vegetables daily (fruits occasionally), as they will become more and more comfortable with them and will eventually associate them as food.

Avoid using mealworms, as not only are they relatively low in nutritional content, but they also pose health risks such as impaction, due to their hard, chitinous shells. You can try crickets, a variety of different worms (ex. black soldier fly larvae, under the brand names "Reptiworms" or "Phoenix Worms"; silkworms; hornworms; etc.), or a variety of different roaches (dubia being the most commonly suggested). In most cases, try to feed feeders that are smaller than the space between your bearded dragon's eyes, as although the aforementioned are safe to feed based on their shells, the size can cause impaction as well.

In terms of water, most bearded dragons will not drink from a still water dish. You can try to "train" your bearded dragon to drink from it by creating motion in the water, and having him recognize it as a drinkable source. However, I don't believe many people have success with this, which is normal. Misting is generally not suggested, as it increases the humidity of the enclosure, though using a dropper or something to drip water onto their snouts can be used to get them to lick it off. Most bearded dragons get their water content from their vegetables and food; however, it's still important to have other ways of getting water into them, particularly if they are young, as they are prone to dehydration during that stage in life. More commonly, you can give your bearded dragon baths by soaking them in warm water (not hot) that only reaches up to their elbows. They can then choose to drink the bath water; even if they do not, they will absorb water into their systems through their vent. Just be sure that you provide constant supervision while you are giving your bearded dragon a bath, as they can potentially drown or inhale large amounts of water if left unsupervised.