not eating veggies! any other tips to new beardie owner

[pittg]

I am new to this web site and to owning beardies . my animal loving intelligent little 5 yr. old daughter wanted nothing in the world more than a beardie for her 5th birthday . Needless to say I did alot of research set up his tank ,lighting and everything a month prior to run tests on the temp. and humidity levels everything seems to be in check. We brought him home sat. and he has probably eatin 80 to 100 small crickets (25-35 a day) I have also placed kale ,collard greens ,carrot , blueberry,hibiscus,and a few other treats but to no avail. He is about 3 - 4 months old 10-12 in. tail included .and appears very healthy and active . Any suggestions on helping him eat his greens . He's about as bad as my children not wanting to eat there brocolli or green beans!!! lol any help appreciated!!

 

[spurlee01]

Congratz on your new baby and welcome to bd.org!
It is totally and completely normal for babies, just like human children, to say "no" to their veggies. Some people put worms (silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, and especially phoenix worms) in the salad to make it a "moving" salad and entice picky eaters. Have you seen this list of good foods? http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
The other thing you can do is try handfeeding. I give my Lilly a few pieces of greens from my hand when I set her bowl down. She is an odd dragon as she will actually stop chasing crickets to munch on her greens then go back to crickets. One last odd thought- Lilly eats the greens that are out of her bowl first.
Sara

 

[pittg]

Thanks for the great tips! I heard that you had to wait for the dragon to get older before feeding it worms- is that true?

 

[spurlee01]

No, at 3-4 months worms are fine. You will need the small size of everything but phoenix probably. With worms, you can feed a little bigger than the space between the eyes, but be reasonable. Don't feed a 4 inch hornworm to a 10 inch beardie of course. Phoenix worms are what people usually use for salads.
Sara

 

[tundradragons]

here is something to try, do you feed the greens and bugs at the same time? my lizards will ignore their greens if i put the bugs in at the same time i put the salad in, but if i give it a bit of time by putting the greens in first they usually eat a lot of the greens i put in the tanks.

try that and let us know how it goes.

it is normal though spike would only eat broccoli tops for the longest time lol.

 

[pittg]

Thank you all for the advice I will be sure to try these things and will be sure to give you the update . Atleast he is eating crickets like a champ and going to the bathroom daily . Hopefully he gets better than my children with his veggie eating thx again look forward to this helpful site as I am sure I will have many more questions as the days go on.

 

[spurlee01]

Since your post says any other tips...
Do you mind me asking what brand and type of UVB you are using?
Sara

 

[Embee]

Thanks for the great tips! I heard that you had to wait for the dragon to get older before feeding it worms- is that true?

You have probably read about superworms, and yes, they need to be 15-16 inches before they can eat those. If you are interested in phoenix worms, I would suggest the medium (perhaps even large) size for a 3-4 months/10 inch beardie. PWs are VERY small. For reference: our girl started eating mediums when she was about 6 inches. She is now eating large at 12 inches. Best place to get phoenix worms is from the source: http://www.phoenixworms.com They send the worms out priority mail and do not charge for shipping.

We have had much success with the "moving salad" and phoenix worms, but at 3-4 months it is of course quite normal for them to reject veggies as they are so concentrated on growing. Just keep offering.

The best,
Em

 

[pittg]

my set up is as follows we have a 30 gallon tank for starters only because I already had it from fish i once had it was cleaned immaculately before we got beardie! (beardie or b is actually his name thats what happens when you allow your 5 yr. old to name it !!)I have a 75 watt red light for nighttime 75 watt basker above his basking spot approx. 12 inches from light to top of basking spot and a reptisun 10 compact but in a 14 inch long holder that has a shield to distribute the light . had reptiglo and was warned against it . boy 45.00 dollars for a lightbulb!!! (reptisun) he has a shallow water dish and seperate dishes for veggies and for pet store bearded food (pellets)also a hollow log on cool side some fake viney plants he likes to crawl on and a large driftwood with vegetation on top for his basking spot .He seems happy and today was a big day he had a full shed and actually ate some veggies!!!!!!! hibiscus was the plant of choice . One more question ... I was told to sprinkle just a little bit of calcium dust vit. supplement on his veggies is this an okay idea or no?????? thanks again!!

 

[spurlee01]

More bad news... the reptisun 10.0 COMPACT isn't good either... The reptisun 10.0 TUBE is what you want. Do you still have the receipt? If so, take it back to the store and order a reptisun 10.0 TUBE from http://www.petmountain.com. B will be fine without UVB for 1-2 weeks while you wait for shipping.
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html
Here is a link to the best calcium:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-supplements/105551/rep-cal-ultrafine-powder-calcium-with-vitamin-d3.html
I only dust my live feeders. I dust one feeding per day (usually only the 1st 10 crix) 5x per week then use vitamins the other 2x per week. Either of these vitamins will work:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-supplements/105550/rep-cal-herptivite-multivitamin.html
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-supplements/502975/tetrafauna-reptolife-plus-1.77-oz.html
A 30 gallon tank is fine for now, but by 8-10 months of age, B will need a minimum of a 40 gallon breeder. Some people build their own- check the DIY section (I'm debating whether to build or buy right now). Are you measuring temps and humidity?
Sara

 

[pittg]

I do think I have the reciept . what would be the major differance in the two ?? I have the calcium supp. you suggest . I really appreciate you taking time to help me . I have been dusting one feeding per day about 8 to 10 crickets. I did put a little bit of dust (very little!) on the veggies this morning and he ate them for the first time. that advice was given from a girl at the pet store that has two bds. There is so much info and varying stories as to proper care it can be a bit overwhelming.lol anyhow I guess I will be ordering a new light . I hope to get some pictures of his set up on the computer so I can post to get input on if i am doin ok. one more question how would one go about keeping crickets alive in bulk like if i were to buy 1000 or more and keep in my garage how do you keep them going? water and cricket food ?? and will they reproduce???????? any input appreciated! thanks again sara . by the way I had two goldens for a long time marley and abbey and they were the best animals I could have ever dreampt of owning. unfortunately there time ran out and I am not ready for the responsibility of another right now!! so nice animal selections lol!!

 

[spurlee01]

If you run a search through the site about coils/ compacts you should find the difference. From what I've read they have unpredictable UVB emissions. If you notice a yellow or orange tint to the urates of B's poop, then you may be giving too much calcium. Just the live feeders should be fine, but I don't know how much is too much. My boyfriend and I buy 1000 crickets and split them between the two beardies (although Lilly's ate 100s and Tyson's ate 30). I have mine in an 18 gal rubbermaid container ($6) with holes drilled in the top and a mesh screen (huge roll at lowe's for $5) taped under the holes. Crickets will drown in the water, so provide carrots or potatos instead. I also give them some of Fluker's orange cube: http://www.petmountain.com/product/cricket-insects-food/517221/flukers-orange-cube-complete-cricket-diet.html. I had hoped to leave mine in the garage, but had a major die out of a smaller amount of crickets so I didn't want to take the chance with 500. You will have some crickets die and its important to get those out ASAP as they release a smell that kills off other crickets. Beware that cricket poo is gross so you will have to clean out your container fairly often. Only full grown crickets reproduce. The 1/2" ones shouldn't. Let me know if you have any more ?s.
Sara

 

[CarolsCritters]

I've got the same problem. I have a 15 wk old Beardie that has refused to eat anything other than crickets and meal worms. No veggies, no processed food. I've tried Romaine lettuce, carrots, rasberries, apples, celery, peas and green beans with no luck. I've tried dried greens and fruits with warm water as well without interest. But he seems to be happy and healthy, had 2 sheddings so far with good color and is very social. So I've decided that between the advice from 2 pet stores, other dragon owners + this site along with book research, each dragon is apparently independent in his or her interests as long as their basic needs are met. The best I can do with a beardie who won't eat his veggies is to make sure his crickets are eating well!

 

[Embee]

If you run a search through the site about coils/ compacts you should find the difference.

Here is a link to a thread (with link) that may help explain the coil/compact issue: [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=65424 f=1 ].

With that (and my own experience and that of many of us here on the forum), I highly recommend rethinking the compact bulb. As Sara mentioned, they are well known to be highly unpredictable, and have been linked to poor appetite, poor calcium processing/D3 synthesis, slow/stunted growth, eye issues, and at worst, radiation poisoning. And with the safety issues aside, they are simply not a quality source of UVB. We were originally using a compact bulb, and our dragon experienced most of the symptoms listed above, save for the radiation poisoning, but I believe, only because we caught things in time. Gratefully, we found this place before things got too our of hand... *whew*

I understand all too well about expensive reptile equipment mistakes. It's terrible how much poor equipment is available that can actually harm our dear dragons (and other reptiles for that matter). Sad part is, the most quality of tube type lighting can be found *online* for a mere 17-18 dollars (Sara has provided the link ). In store, you will pay no less than $50 for this tube, if you can find it at all. *sigh*

As to the veggies/crickets. Just be persistent, keep offering and in the meantime, as Carol offered, stuff the crickets full of what beardie won't eat. :wink: My son and I were reading a wonderful book on animal life today and it was talking about bearded dragons in the wild, where, as juveniles they are actually considered 'carnivores.' I believe that for many, when they are so focused on growing, they just aren't all that interested in the green stuff. But as their growth slows, things begin to change. I know it's not true of all dragons, each being individual, but your post is a common one around these parts (and I have experienced the same myself), and with that, I'm reasonably sure that it's just plain within the range of normal, and just a matter of time and persistence. Hang in there!

The best,
Em

 

[berdo24]

Though im not a new beardie owner I've been a slave for about a year now. He used to love his greens, but then when I introduced roaches he had nothing to do with them. When I put them out for him he may eat a couple bites but wont eat the whole plate like he used to. I'm trying to do the "moving salad" thing but he just picks the worms out very care fully not to get anything else. Any ideas?