Picky eater - won't eat veg and hates calcium

[spikeyandowen]

Hi there! My ds has had his beardie for about 5 months. So far he's been super healthy and eating tons of salad greens and crickets (no fruit or other veggies - he is very particular - will only eat the gourmet salad blend that i keep in the fridge for myself!). Recently, I was worried that he wasn't getting enough calcium (I feed calcium gel to the crickets), so I sprinkled the calcium on his greens. He flat out refused to eat them and now won't touch his greens even without the calcium. He did recently go through a long shedding process. I had his poop tested and he's free of parasites. The only other change is that we switched from the reptile carpet to a calcium sand (we did that because he was super stinky - daily baths and a good shed seems to have helped with that). He is still eating crickets and pooping every day. His cage has been set up according to the advice on here (he has the really good uv light that was suggested here - reptisun 10 I think). Should we be worried, or is he just having a fussy couple of weeks? Also - any suggestions on giving him calcium?

 

[ChestersPet]

I would take him off the sand ASAP. Suggested substrates are tile, paper towel, linoleum or non-adhesive shelf liner. If he ate enough of the sand it can or will cause an impaction that could be lethal. I had my beardie on it for about a week and threw it out once i discovered from his feces that it was not digestible. It might pass through their system but the risk is not worth it. I use tile, it looks nice, cleans easy and you don't have to replace it every 3 months. Save yourself the money so you can buy healthy foods.

Check this link for foods that you may have around your house already or for items that you have not tried yet. Every beardie is different and will have their own likes/dislikes.
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I have pansies, mint, oregano, thyme, rosemary, roses and a few other nice treats on the list around our house. Our beardie loves those pansies and some mint here and there.

As far as calcium goes, you could add some dubia roaches to mix it up a bit. Maybe some Phoenix/Reptiworms. Give the crickets a light dusting in the calcium and just add a light sprinkle to the "greens" you offer. Follow the guidelines for the calcium and do not overdo it. Too much calcium will cause your beardie to have larger than normal urates that are not easy to pass. With the crickets that I keep, I feed them the Zilla Fortified Food for Bearded Dragons. It takes less than a tablespoon per week to keep them happy. I also give them the unused portions of the veggies I feed to my beardie and they get our old potatoes and the Flukers Cricket Quencher. The Quencher relieves me from giving them water daily and I can rehydrate the stuff with a little water as needed. Also, if you have a sponge in the keeper for your crickets, they will use it for laying eggs in. My system gives me the ability to maintain my beardies health and know that he is getting all the nutrition he needs. I will add that I do have a vitamin supplement that I will offer every 2 days and the calcium is offered on the off days. Crickets that have been dusted and not eaten go back in the keeper and usually keep that dusting on them for a few days as well. I hope some of this helps!!

 

[spikeyandowen]

Darn - so event he sand especially formulated for beardies that they promise won't impact them is no good? I knew regular sand wasn't. I hate to change his cage again - he hates it and seems to be really enjoying the sand. sigh.

Just to clarify ... I feed my crickets the Flukers calcium gel. If I do that, do I still dust the crickets every other day or will they get too much?

Thanks so much!

 

[spikeyandowen]

One more question ---sorry, there's so much info out there it's making my head spin --- I'm looking at the chart you linked (which is great btw). It's saying crickets occasionally rather than daily, but most say as many crickets as he'll eat in a sitting. What do you suggest? I'm assuming it's mainly crickets until they reach their full growth and then the balance shifts. Am I right?

 

[Valerie]

ChestersPet, When you say pansies are you talking about the pansies you can buy in the flower/nursery section to plant?
I found some real cheap and if they like them I may go and get some and plant a few.

 

[ChestersPet]

One more question ---sorry, there's so much info out there it's making my head spin --- I'm looking at the chart you linked (which is great btw). It's saying crickets occasionally rather than daily, but most say as many crickets as he'll eat in a sitting. What do you suggest? I'm assuming it's mainly crickets until they reach their full growth and then the balance shifts. Am I right?

Even though they say it is safe, get rid of the sand. The bags will state "low impact" and "digestible/absorbable calcium". Total hogwash. My beardie passed some through his system and it came out looking the same. I found him with the stuff caked to his face one day. I took some and placed it in a cup of water. After 1 week it was still in the same condition. You could do the same at home, run your own tests and see what I mean. I almost put some in a cup with vinegar but I already bought the tiles and tossed the junk out.

Fed them as much as they will eat in one sitting. If you are using the Fluker's calcium for the crickets I would only dust the veggies lightly. I take no credit for the link since I found it in another thread but it helped me so much that I will post it again for anyone who is interested. My beardie was eating crickets like a pig, I changed out his sand for tile and since then he has been a little turd. Some days he eats them like crazy some days he doesn't touch them but everyday he eats his greens like a champ! He never touched them one we first brought him home, now it seems like I can not feed him enough of them. I feel he is passing into the adult arena so it is good that I have tons of stuff in the garden he can chow on.

 

[ChestersPet]

ChestersPet, When you say pansies are you talking about the pansies you can buy in the flower/nursery section to plant?
I found some real cheap and if they like them I may go and get some and plant a few.

Yes, the cute little pansies you can buy at the store. Keep them safe from herbicides and pesticides! This can make your beardie very sick and possibly be fatal!! After you plant them, wait a few months before feeding them to your beardie so the pesticides/herbicides get flushed out. You can speed that up by pinching off the flowers. We live in Oregon and have just the right weather to have them all year long. Only feed them the flower petals. Every few days I will go out and pick a few flowers, I pull the petals off, give them a good rinse and add it to his salad. He loves them and devours them first over anything else. Mint is another good one. Most of your herbs are ok for them to have as well. If you are not sure of a specific plant listed just click on the name and a picture will pop up so you know what to look for!

Also, pansies will reseed themselves just like most other flowering plants. You can even harvest the seed heads and plant them in clean, untreated soil. This will get them to your beardie's bowl faster without having to wait about 12 weeks for detoxification to take place. Most of the flowers can also be bought as seed packs, planted in clean soil and ready to harvest before the nursery plants are detoxified. The best bang for your buck will come from the seed packs...

 

[Valerie]

Thanks so much for the info. We will be eating pansies this summer. I will do as you said. Maybe a few plants to start us off and or the seeds too.

 

[ChestersPet]

Your very welcome!

 

[spikeyandowen]

Thanks for the info. Hopefully I'll get Mr. Spike to get back into his veg. He was eating them really well.

 

[ChestersPet]

Thanks for the info. Hopefully I'll get Mr. Spike to get back into his veg. He was eating them really well.

You are welcome! Sometimes a little color will do the trick but don't give out the petal treats everyday. You have to keep your customers guessing.