Need help, Beardie only eating one food...

[lissac67]

I am at my wits end and need to know if I am on the right path. Our beardie, Spike, is 2.5 years old. She is a big girl, 750gm there about and 19 inches long. I do know that she does not eat too much though and does not get too much protein. She never was a big fan of her greens, but liked other veggies, just not leafy ones. so she would get a variety of squash, beans, cucumbers, the occasional tomato, fruits of all kinds, etc. She also had her crickets and phoenix worms. I would offer the leafy greens of appropriate type, but she would eat one and that is it. As time went on we stopped buying a whole bunch of greens for $$$ and gave things she liked. My husband and son feed her too and she developed a preference for green beans and squash. Then just beans. She would not eat anything else. They, feeling like the good pet owner, game her just beans. I would feed her other things when I fed her (We all work and go to school so all care for her) but she wouldn't eat them. She gets calcium drops and worms 2-3 times a week (phoenix), and crickets every couple of weeks (not her fave). Her lights are all fine, the recommended, I just renewed her 10 UVB reptisun bulb 2 weeks ago actually, so it every 6 months. She is more lethargic and such and frankly I think it is because she is eating ONLY beans. There are not enough nutrients in one food. So I took them away and started offering a salad with 4-5 items in it and some pellets (she loved these up to about a year ago) to her daily. She won't eat. Yesterday she ate 2 pellets and maybe a carrot chunk, then went to pout. This morning the husband felt bad for her and gave her a full dish of beans. Yes, I woke up to one happy lizard. she has her beans. I reprimanded him because I know if she gets them she will just keep holding out for them. I tossed them and said NO more beans. While she while eat her worms, currently she won't eat anything else except beans. Help. Am I doing the right thing by taking them away and offering a variety of other things? I am offering colorful things, too, fresh daily. Plus pellets. SHe has plenty of food in her cage. I know for a fact she is healthy (she had a check in the summer and was fine, I was told to cut down on protein a bit as she is a bit rotund). Now I am set back about 3 days since she got the beans today. She opens her mouth under her basking lamp, so I know she is warm enough (says 90 anyway). SHould I stop offering worms too until she starts taking other veggies? should I just offer new veggies daily and veto all beans? How long do you have a stand off with them? How long will it take for her to give in and eat the veggies? She is getting skinnier and sleeps a lot during the day. I know it is being picky because when that bowl of beans was in there this morning, she inhaled the whole thing and I found her with beans still stuck to her nose. She has quite the smug look on her face, too. Thanks for any input!

 

[AHBD]

Hi Lisa....I know it must be frustrating to have this happening. There always seems to be some mystery to beardies who only eat one type of food, or refuse to eat, etc. One thing is certain, she is definitely overweight. A healthy weight would be below 600....even 450 would be healthier....so [ no insult intended ] something has caused this great weight gain. Can you post a picture of her ? This extra weight will affect her life [ hard on the joints, pushing on vital organs including lungs , and increases greatly the chance of egg binding if she develops infertile eggs ] You can keep offering finely shredded greens mixed in with the green beans....maybe go with 3/4 beans and 1/4 turnip, mustard, collards chopped so she can't pick the apart. Then start increasing the good greens and decreasing the green beans. If you can let her out in a warm room to run around every day for half an hour that will help her as well.

 

[lissac67]

She has always weighed that much since she turned a year old. She has always been a good eater. The vet said she is very healthy but said to cut down on the protein. I was giving worms every other day, 10-15 large phoenix worms, but cut it down to 2 times a week now. She broke her leg last year from jumping off the back of a chair (she climbed up and jumped before I could catch her) and landed on our hardwood floor. Her leg does give her a limp so that may slow her down a bit. She still gets around and comes out every day. She also goes for a swim once a day for her bath. When she skips eating like this for a few days, she definitely starts to look skinner, has more wrinkly skin, but when we feed her veggies (when she is being good and eats) she doesn't seem to eat a ton. I can't see why she would be overweight. She doesn't get fattening bugs or worms. I will try to attach a picture. I also skip feeding her one day a week, under the vet's suggestion.

 

[lissac67]

Ugh, I can't attach a picture, not sure why. Try this link.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/13696591@N00/11164805623/

 

[AHBD]

Aw, you posted her skinnny picture ! lol, :lol: Just kidding, she actually looks pretty good there....is she hiding a double chin [ or double beard ?] I'm sorry to hear that she broke her leg.....hopefully there's no pain from that. It's hard to believe that she weighs 750 grams, she must carry her weight well. Anyway, just keep trying the greens mixed with green beans that I mentioned and maybe she will start eating the mix. She is a very pretty girl.

 

[lissac67]

Yeah, this picture is from last year, but the scale said the same thing. She does have a double chin, yes. But she looks exactly the same. I didn't have a good picture recently that showed her belly shape. I wonder if my scale is off..it is the mail scale I use for mail, but it does grams and she fits on it well. I guess I won't worry about her then if she looks ok. The vet said this summer she might be a bit overweight but not a ton and less protein would be fine. We got her at 6 months old and she weighed in then at about 300gm, and was 15 inches long. Now 19.5 and 730, just weighed her again. She is not starving, I do know that. She is pretty, but she is giving me the dragon stink eye this weekend because I tossed out her beans. She is the most stubborn girl. When she eats, she poops just fine (always in the bath, good girl). I guess I just wait her out? She went down to her dish three times today to inspect the offerings, then walked off. lol It seems like a game of who can cave first....Her leg is ok now, no pain. But it was near the hip, so they could not splint. I believe it healed as best it could, but she has lower range of motion in that leg. If she sits around too much for a week or so it also seems to get more stiff. So I make her climb and swim to keep it mobile. She flinched in pain when it happened, for about 3 months. But she doesn't mind it being touched and moved now at all.

 

[Taterbug]

She does look rather round in the second picture, the side view one.
I don't have anything to add as you've been given really good advice, but your story (frustrating as I know it is for you) made me smile. She sounds like a willful one

 

[lissac67]

I do think she is a bit rotund. She is a stubborn, stubborn girl! She has a mind of her own. When she doesn't want to be out she will run back to her cage and stare at it pitifully until someone puts her back. If I don't give her a bath early enough and she poops in her cage, she comes to the far corner (that faces into the room) and glares at me until I clean it, then she will walk around again. She has days when she will go under her big log and sulk for a day. Next day she will come out as if nothing happened. lol She does that maybe every couple of months. She has these little soft star shaped pillows I found at the dollar store that she LOVES lounging on. They are for babies, but she has 3 of them and will lay on them any chance she can get. Such a funny girl. It is amazing how they have such personality.

 

[Taterbug]

I do think she is a bit rotund. She is a stubborn, stubborn girl! She has a mind of her own. When she doesn't want to be out she will run back to her cage and stare at it pitifully until someone puts her back. If I don't give her a bath early enough and she poops in her cage, she comes to the far corner (that faces into the room) and glares at me until I clean it, then she will walk around again. She has days when she will go under her big log and sulk for a day. Next day she will come out as if nothing happened. lol She does that maybe every couple of months. She has these little soft star shaped pillows I found at the dollar store that she LOVES lounging on. They are for babies, but she has 3 of them and will lay on them any chance she can get. Such a funny girl. It is amazing how they have such personality.

Isn't it great? She sounds like quite a character!

 

[AHBD]

Oh rats, I didn't see the rest of the pics, just the first one. The last pic [ that Tater referred to ] where she is propped against the log definitely shows a girl of great girth. There was a poster here ....last year I think....who's dragon was just filled with water. I can't remember what it was, but sometimes there can be other conditions that cause such weight gain. But 730-750 is really a high weight....just not sure what caused it. At least she has the plushiest of pillows to perch her puffy, pretty self on.