No Veg To Feed My Beardie!

[BeardieNewbie15]

So I looked at this website ( http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html ) MANY times and I've found that the local grocery stores don't carry any of the staples! (except for squash)
No:
-alfalfa
-cactus
-collard greens
-dandelion greens
-endive (i've only seen Belgin endive..is that okay? also they have red chard..what about that?)
-escarole
-mustard greens
-turnip greens

So what the heck am I supposed to feed her? Lately she has been getting Kale (because I can find it, and yes I've already heard enough people tell me its not the best so dont bother) with grated butternut squash as well as crickets. I don't know what else to feed her! None of the 'staples' listed on that wesbite are available where I live (just outside vancouver, BC) Any ideas on what I should feed her, or where I could go to get the right veg? :help:

 

[Smid]

I too have found this to be a problem at times - but squash is a food that can be served everyday as a staple. I recently bought an aerogarden from Canadian Tire, bought the master gardener kit and grew my own veg for Smid!

Hope this helps. I have found dandelion greens, endive and collard greens all at Sobeys when I lived in Brandon.

Liz

 

[Sadona]

I would try the Belgin endive.
If you are still scrambling, try some of the foods that are black on the chart, like bell peppers (colorful and beardies generally like that kind of thing) snow peas, bok choy,celery,honeydew, grapes...don't feed these things every night, just to be safe.
Is a Kroger near you? I live about 15 minutes away from one, and they have many greens that Walmart doesn't even have (mustard greens, collard greens, the works...).

 

[bluesoda025]

LOL, I had the EXACT same problem (I live right in Vancouver, BC). And I know, why don't our grocery stores carry any of the staple greens?! I was so frustrated! However, I do see collard greens VERY occasionally.. But those things are GINORMOUS and I always waste most of it when I buy one anyways because they go bad so quickly (and honestly, I find them a bit unappetizing to eat myself, what with the huge leafs, weird smell and thick ribs :lol: ... as do my parents). And I know the Superstore in Richmond always carries escarole and endive lettuce. Probably better off trying to find the escarole/endive lettuce around here than collard greens (or other types of greens). I have also seen the prickly/cactus pears at various grocery stores. They're not actually that uncommon, although they're not available all the time either. Guess you just have to be lucky sometimes.
I have seen dandelion greens at Granville Island, but they turn black so quickly (a few days) that it's just not worth it.. Best bet is to go with the lettuces.. they last a long time in the fridge.

Most of the time, I really have no choice but to get the vegetables on the "black" list. But honestly, I think as long as you give enough variety it should be okay to feed those. Sometimes I find it easier to buy those spring salad mixes and feed those for maybe a week or so (plus, I can also use them in my sandwiches!).

 

[BeardieNewbie15]

Is a Kroger near you?

Nope The closest grocery stores to me are Save On, Superstore, Thriftys, No Frills, Safeway, A Farmers Market and some Organic shop.

Haha it is so frustrating! Everywhere I've looked for food I see things on the "black list" everywhere, but nothing on the 'green'!! My friend feeds her bearded dragon that spring mix...which I enjoy eating as well haha! I've managed to find some squash...maybe I will try that belgin endive. Also, anybody know the deal with multivitamin powder? On that beautiful dragons website it says 3-4x per week (for my 1.3 yr old bearded dragon) but on this website http://www.iklient.com/projects/dragondepot/caresheet.htm#food it says "Multivitamin supplement - give once a month - some are excessively high in Vitamin A, which can lead to health problems." ... :shock: :? WHAT?! And as if that doesn't throw a loop into it http://www.bloodbankdragons.com/diet.asp says " Vitamin powder. I dont use it.
The bearded dragons diet has changed over the last couple years as we have become more educated. (Thanks to all the bearded dragon breeders who are kind enough to share thier knowledge.) "

So...vitamin powder? Because I can't find a lot of the 'staple' foods in my area should my beardie get vit powder 3-4x per week?

 

[bluesoda025]

If you are using the Herptivite by Rep-cal, it doesn't have Vitamin A problem because they use something else for the Vitamin A which isn't so toxic in high quantities (the name escapes me right now. Beta carotene?). Even if you can't find the staple vegetables, I would only dust with herptivite twice a week. You really don't want to overdo it with the vitamins or especially calcium. What I find works for me is to dust with multi-vitamin on weekends and dust with calcium on weekdays, easy to remember. In your case you could even get away with only dusting with multi-vitamin once per week, and calcium 4 times a week since your dragon is over a year old. I find that the guidelines for supplements scheduling on the Beautiful Dragons site is a bit excessive, to be honest (I was told by others here the same as well).

 

[BeardieNewbie15]

I find that the guidelines for supplements scheduling on the Beautiful Dragons site is a bit excessive, to be honest (I was told by others here the same as well).

I totally agree. And I love your idea of the multivit on weekends and calcium weekdays! I was going to buy salt and pepper shakers and label them haha. So I guess I will just go MV twice a week and calcium 4-5 times. Thanks so much for the help