Only eats orange food

[Sashee]

Yoshi loves crickets, but I cannot get him to eat fruits or veggies unless they are orange. Mandarin oranges, carrots, and mango, so far. Even when I mix in greens, he eats around them and only eats the other. Any ideas? Lol

 

[Gail]

Stop offering orange foods, he needs to learn that greens are what he needs. Oranges and carrots aren't that good for him any ways and mango should only be fed as a treat once in a while.

 

[Sashee]

I'm not sure what to try next cuz he has refused green beans, mustard greens, cilantro, and cucumber.

 

[Gail]

ever tried squash? It's orange and can be fed as a staple.

 

[Sashee]

Yes. But he didn't touch it. Maybe I prepared it wrong? Should I cook it first, perhaps?

 

[Gail]

Most people feed it raw but I've found that my dragons prefer it slightly cooked.I microwave it for 40 seconds or so, just enough so its starting to get soft.
Dragon can be darn picky to get on greens but its important they learn. keep offering them and if you ever get a change to put some in his mouth, do it. As adults they can be denied other foods until they eat greens.

 

[Sashee]

So should I just give him greens and his feeders til he eats greens?

 

[Gail]

Yes, pretty much. You can still give him orange colored food but make sure its healthy for him, like squash or orange bell pepper. Fruit is ok to but limit it to once a week since its high in sugar. In the next couple of months his diet should change to more greens so he needs to start eating them soon.

 

[Sashee]

Ok. Thanx so much for the advice!

 

[DragonJosh]

How I got my dragons to eat was constantly offering the green to them by hand. Eventually they took it, sometimes not. I would also take a bit of leaf and FINELY shred it, and mix it in with their worms when it came to that feeding they would sometimes accidentally bite some greens as the worms moved the shredded green bits around (I use fly larvae, so if you use something that moves outside a bowl ie crickets this probably doesn't apply). I also always offer fresh greens every morning, and don't feed them insects the first few hours of the day so they usually now go after the greens daily.

 

[adamfritz]

I'm having the same problem with my Yoshi but in reverse. SHE won't eat her greens so I'm going to try more colorful attractive fruits to see if that entices her some. We've been trying putting her superworms in her greens to see if she'd accidently pick them up but no, she's a smart one. Good luck!

 

[Gail]

I find that silkworms work better as salad toppers. Their little sticky feet usually always carry a bit of green to the dragons mouth.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Scarlett LOVES butternut squash and it's orange... She will eat all of it first and then eat her greens lol..Another tip (this may have already been mentioned) but put the greens in the viv first thing before u offer any live food and usually if they are hungry they will eat their greens..

 

[Sashee]

I'm having the same problem with my Yoshi but in reverse. SHE won't eat her greens so I'm going to try more colorful attractive fruits to see if that entices her some. We've been trying putting her superworms in her greens to see if she'd accidently pick them up but no, she's a smart one. Good luck!

That's what my Yoshi does! I've mixed the greens in with stuff he likes and he eats around what he can and if he can't, he just won't eat anymore. Lol

Ashleigh, do you cook the squish first or is it raw? I've tried giving greens first but he won't touch them. He's so stubborn and he'll wait til I give him crix before he eats.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

No I usually just feed it raw.. I will shred it up and put it in her salad... How old is your baby? Usually when they are younger they don't even like greens so if u can get them to eat a little thats progress..