Not eating greens, only crickets...

[arbocd]

Hello All. Rex is a baby I bought from the pet store. I finally got things setup almost perfectly for him now. I took a lot of advice from this forum and related it to what I had. I spent a lot of money on this little guy, Rex, so I'm owned for the long haul. I need a bit of assistance and I can't seem to find the answer. I posted under this forum as behavior, due to he's not touching greens, he's barely eating any repti-worms and seems to ONLY be interested in crickets. I got him last Monday, so this Saturday (today), I've roughly had him a bit less than a week. He seemed to warm right up, but I have been adjusting his habitat most of the week for the better of course. I'm curious if he is just still nervous and curious about why all the changes or if it's normal that he's a catcher and not a veggie eater. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[Jess]

They don't usually show an interest in veggies until they are around a year old. So he is perfectly normal. :wink:

 

[AHBD]

Actually all my babies eat greens,as many babies do, Jess while many others don't. I think that some breeders, especially those that sell to chain pet stores, don't ever offer greens, so many people don't think they will eat them. Then the babies don't eat them simply because the breeder or store never fed them and the get spoiled on insects only. Greens are really extremely beneficial for the babies to keep them hydrated, helps keep them from getting constipated, and are loaded with nutrients. If the crickets are gut - loaded [ fed a nutritious diet ] then your dragon is still getting some quality feeding from the crix. Feed the crix high - quality fish food, bearded dragon pellets, assorted veggies [ just don't let them get moldy] and your dragon will get healthy crickets every meal. What you might try to get your dragon to eat greens is to drop a couple of crix in the tank....when he grabs those up, then drop in a shredded little leaf of one of these types...turnip, mustard green. Collards are good, but are a little tough for babies. When your baby sees the greens " drop" in the tank, he may be attracted to it thinking for a moment that it's a cricket. Then he finds out that he likes the greens. This has always worked for me....even if it takes a few tries, even a few weeks, it's worth it.

 

[Jess]

Yeah, I guess it depends on how they are raised. I had a baby that was originally from a pet store, and my experience was that convincing him to eat veggies was MUCH easier said than done. :roll:

 

[arbocd]

Thank you both so much for the tips. I believe the PETCO I bought him at had greens in the tank, however, they didn't look very appetizing for sure. I have dandelions and collards for him. I do gut-load the crix, but I have Fluker's high calcium water/food for the crix. I was told that this was acceptable. I will try gut-loading the crix with fruits and veggies as well. I'm sure that will be more beneficial. Thanks again all.

Chris

 

[sheri85]

i bought Archer from Petco and at first he didn't eat greens. for the first month i had him he was only interested in crickets. in the last month he's switched entirely over to reptiworms and occasionally eats his greens. i just put them in his tank every day. eventually he noticed and started eating them. he especially snacks on them in between his two daily meals. holds him over till dinner time.

i don't know how typical this is, but that's my experience with a baby beardie.

 

[arbocd]

Sheri,
Thank you for the recommendation. I have put the greens in there everyday I've had him so far. I think I put it in a dish he wasn't able to see them though. We just bought a flat rock last night for greens and fruits. I'm going to use this idea as well. I'm thinking I might stick some in with the reptiworms. Maybe it's an acquired taste. LOL. Thank you. How do you tell how old Archer is, if you bought him from Petco? I was told there wasn't a way to tell how old Rex was....I'm guessing at least 2 months, due to he's about 6 inches long. Thanks!

Chris

 

[sheri85]

How do you tell how old Archer is, if you bought him from Petco? I was told there wasn't a way to tell how old Rex was....I'm guessing at least 2 months, due to he's about 6 inches long. Thanks!

Chris

Archer's probably a bit older than what i estimate. i sort of counted backwards from his size when i bought him. i estimated it based on this growth chart of others' beardies: http://www.dachiu.com/care/charts.html

 

[Ellathebountyhunter]

Hmm this is interesting, My baby Stanlee is about 8 months old now, and he came from a pet store that I work in, so I know he had some veggies there and he came home and loved them at home too.
Sheldon is a big boy probably about 2 or 3 years old and he was dumped at the store as well, we fed him veggies there and he loved them, when I brought him home he stopped eating them :/

Kraken who is also a big girl about 2 or 3 as well, wont go near a veggie to save her life.

I gut load the crickets but I would like them all to eat their dragon salad...

 

[pyrovamp]

hi hi my baby Bowen he isnt to much on his greens though he likes blueberries and blackberries. but when i hand feed him collard greens he'll take them some times though i think he thinks its my fingers hehe. and my baby is a petco as well i've had him for a month almost two