Need feeding advice

[apaprikao]

I just bought my BD on Monday and I have some feeding questions.

I've been offering him collard greens in the morning that I put just a tiny pinch of Reptivite Multivitamins on. Yesterday he ate what I thought was a good amount but today I can't get him to eat at all. I offered him some apple which he ate a couple of tiny pieces. He loves crickets and ate a good 20 or so medium ones yesterday afternoon.

He's approx. 1 year old and is 16 inches long. What is an appropriate feeding schedule like for a dragon of his age and size? How many dustings of what per week? What can I do to try and get him to eat more veggies? He doesn't go to his bowl yet at all. If he eats any veggies it's because I either hand fed him or because I left it on his basking platform.

Also, I feel kind of bad because the veggies seem to dry out so quickly under his lights. Is that normal? Anything I can do to keep them fresher? Do I leave them in all day? I do take them out at night and wash his bowl every night. Should I offer him fresh veggies twice a day??

Any help would be appreciated. I'm sure he's still adjusting but I want to know what the right schedule for feeding is.

UPDATE: Well, I sent hubby to the store to pick up some baby food. Hoping to get some sort of veggie nutrition in this dragon soon. Will keep you all posted.

 

[jharris08]

at 1 year he should still be growing a bit, but has def slowed down a lot compared to a couple months ago.... so keep offering the insects dusted with calcium/multivitamins 4 or 5 times weekly, and offer the salad daily. dragons should be eating more greens/veggies as they reach adulthood... too much protein (like if you fed insects twice daily) can cause kidney problems with adult dragons.
a tip for the veggies is to offer them first thing in the morning and always before you give him any crickets...give him ample time to eat on the salad before putting the crickets in there. and you can spray them real good with water to help them stay fresh longer.

 

[apaprikao]

at 1 year he should still be growing a bit, but has def slowed down a lot compared to a couple months ago.... so keep offering the insects dusted with calcium/multivitamins 4 or 5 times weekly, and offer the salad daily. dragons should be eating more greens/veggies as they reach adulthood... too much protein (like if you fed insects twice daily) can cause kidney problems with adult dragons.
a tip for the veggies is to offer them first thing in the morning and always before you give him any crickets...give him ample time to eat on the salad before putting the crickets in there. and you can spray them real good with water to help them stay fresh longer.

That is awesome advice! Thank you so very much.

I do offer him veggies first thing in the morning. I try to wait until his lights have been on for an hour though just to warm him up a bit. His timer is set for a 7am wake-up. I put the bowl at the bottom on the cool side and he eyes it but never goes down to it. While my hand is in the cage I usually try to offer him some by hand and he'll usually take a couple pieces that way but not a lot. I wet the veggies down really well before putting them in his tank. The veggies stay in all day and then at lights out we take them out and wash his bowl. We offer him crickets once a day usually mid-afternoon time. (Between 2 and 4).

Maybe he's still just adjusting to his new home but I'm trying to be a good mommy.

Thanks again for the advice!!

 

[apaprikao]

UPDATE: Hubby brought home some squash baby food. Jayne took a few licks of it but nothing major. I put in a fresh bowl of collard greens, some grated carrots and mixed it all up with a small amount of the baby food. He didn't seem interested. At cricket feeding time I think he ate about 4 un-dusted crickets. (I just used a calcium duster yesterday and I didn't want to overdo it.) Overall he just does not seem interested in eating. I think I'll keep trying and if he's still not eating well within a week or so I'll come back for more help.