Stubborn girl...

[zephyrsmom]

Yet another "my dragon won't eat veggies" thread...

Short version:
I have tried mixing her bugs into her salad, hand feeding, spoon feeding, laying greens out on paper towel, moving the greens around, and leaving the greens all over her basking areas.

Long version:
Zephyr feeds on dusted superworms, about 10-12 per day. I have a colony of worms who are fed butternut squash and rolled oats. I give Zi chopped collard greens and butternut squash in a bowl, and put the worms in the same dish, with the hopes that she accidentally grabs some vegetable matter. She doesn't. She is very good at picking out the worms and spits out anything else (shakes her head with her mouth open). Today I tried pureed squash baby food (no sugars, just squash and water), and she refused it as well. The only time I see her eat greens or squash is if I "piss her off" (poke her mouth) enough to make her gape at me, then I can put a tiny piece of food on her tongue. Half the time, she spits it out. This takes a long time and I don't want to continue to stress her out. :/ I don't want to starve her, because she flat out refuses to eat anything that isn't alive.

The girl in question:

Her growth chart:

 

[jjatdvs]

im having the same problem with veggies and greens. my guy is a month old, and yours is 7 months... thats what i was afraid of. if its hard now it may be too hard later on... i wish i had answers to what the trick is. I've tried almost every green staple thats recommended and its a no go. but its not a moving issue for me. because he will eat chewy things and pellets. (but theres a trick to that too... they both have to be red) LOL. he doesn't like any other color.

 

[CooperDragon]

That is common with young dragons. They need their protein to make more dragon as quickly as possible. According to her growth chart, she is progressing very well. Keep offering a nice salad, but don't be surprised or concerned if she doesn't show interest in it until she's over a year or so old and her growth slows down. As adults they'll slowly transition to eating more veggies if they're used to having them around.

 

[zephyrsmom]

That is common with young dragons. They need their protein to make more dragon as quickly as possible. According to her growth chart, she is progressing very well. Keep offering a nice salad, but don't be surprised or concerned if she doesn't show interest in it until she's over a year or so old and her growth slows down. As adults they'll slowly transition to eating more veggies if they're used to having them around.

Thank you for the reassurance. I was concerned about her weight and wanted to make sure she is growing on schedule.