Soft foods and feeders after oral surgery?

[parodyofagirl]

My 6 year old bearded dragon, Quincy had oral surgery on December 23rd to remove a growth from her mouth. Not one, but TWO 'areas of concern' were excised from her mouth and the vet opted to try and obtain clear margins instead of leaving behind potentially cancerous tissue and being able to close the surgical sites.

She is doing really well and has a great appetite despite having two open areas in her mouth.

She is sick and tired of the baby food, repta boost, and pureed pumpkin I have been feeding her. She wants to eat like a dragon again, which is absolutely amazing because she hasn't been interested in eating on her own for awhile.

This morning, shortly after I woke her and before her first syringe feeding, she was lunging at her tail and hopping in circles trying to catch it and eat it.

The vet said I could offer her soft feeders and foods (no crickets, roaches are illegal here, no mealworms/superworms)

What are some other feeders I can give her that are squirmy like worms and softer on the outside? I have waxworms here, but I don't know how to make them nutritious. She didn't like silkworms when we tried them when she was a juvenile. She loved hornworms, but the are expensive and I don't know how nutritious they actually were. What similar options do I have for her and where can I get them?

Finally, the vet said she could have soft foods. I wasn't expecting her to recover to the point where she wanted solid foods so incredibly quickly so I don't really have much in the house to make a dragon salad. :-( i also can't leave the house until my fiance gets home in a few days. Quincy rubs or scratches at her face when I leave the room for a few minutes.

The foods I have here are bell pepper, spinach, romaine lettuce (Only the little leaves left), sweet potato, butternut squash, acorn squash (it is a green one and she prefers the orange ones), bananas, and golden delicious apples. I also have frozen peas and carrots.

Any input on what I should do for a dragon salad? Should I cook the squash/sweet potato first if I use it for her?

 

[kamelotte]

Butterworms are a good soft worm. There's a lot of conflicting info on how nutritious they are, though. Some places say the have calcium levels almost as high as phoenix worms, other places say they're the same as waxworms.

Spinach binds calcium so don't use that. The romaine should be fine temporarily. You could try mixing the salad in the blender? Mix together whatever you have that she has liked before and blend until it's baby food consistency.

 

[AHBD]

Wow, it's awesome that she has such an appetite already, I'm so glad for you [ and her ! ] That's a great " problem" to have lol ! So is she not allowed crickets + supers because they are too hard , or do you not have access to them ? If you can get large cricks, just pull the legs off , squish the head and you now have a soft bodied insect. Hornworms are pretty nutritious but yes, very expensive when you factor in the cost of shipping. You might try a microwaved scrambled egg [ no oil ] Usually 1 minute will cook it perfectly . Most of my dragons love it, and it's fine in a pinch.

 

[parodyofagirl]

Kamelotte, thank you for the info on the butterworms. I will look into them. I know they aren't sold locally so we will have to get them online.

AHBD, the crickets are off limits because they can harbor nasty bacteria and infect the open surgical sites in Quincy's mouth. The vet specifically said to avoid crickets until her mouth was healed.

He said she could have mealworms, but Quincy doesn't digest mealworms or superworms properly. They have always caused her to become lethargic and constipated especially if she eats them after not having them for awhile. I am sure she would enjoy having some mealworms though. And if I limit her to 2-4 a day at first, she should be okay. I might be able to convince a friend to stop by a pet store and get her a cup of them tomorrow.

The hornworms are expensive but there was a time that she ate mostly hornworms. it was like having another human mouth in the house to feed every month. It wouldn't be a regular thing again, but it would make her so happy to be able to have them again for a little while.

I think her reptaboost has powdered egg in it. How much egg can I feed her? Do i whisk the white and yolk together? Egg seems like something she would like.

 

[AHBD]

I see....the thought of cricks being a bit too bacteria laden crossed my mind, but you just confirmed it. As for the eggs, just whisk them as if preparing them for yourself, the whole egg. I offer mine 3-4 pieces at a time, about the size of a quarter. My dragons will grab it right out of my hand.

 

[parodyofagirl]

I will make her an egg tomorrow and see how things go. Thanks for the info! I'm hoping she likes it.