Tricking my beardie

[ChellBellz]

Do you guys have any suggestions on how I could get my beardie to eat greens, veggies, fruits.. etc? I've tried quiet a few things here and they just turn their noses up, like if it's not moving I don't want it! I keep them a dish with stuff but have failed to see them munching or notice any less later. I thought about putting meal worms down into a dish of diced strawberries.....

 

[Beardednoob]

How old is your dragon(s)?
I wouldn't use mealworms, they are a rather poor feeder for bearded dragons as they hold little nutrition. What nutrition they do contain is further obstructed during digestion due to the mealworms chitin shell. If your dragons are under 16+ inches there is also risk of impaction.

 

[ChellBellz]

Well the person I got my latest one from said it will be four months at the end of this month. It's rather small, my other.. I would guesstimate a month older. I know meal worms are not the best feeder but it was something I could throw in to mix it up and when I had to leave for work I would know that I wouldn't have to fish them out due to fear of them biting my beardies. I am using primarily dubias now with some crickets. I haven't had them long and the only pet stores around offer feeder crickets and meal worms... Petsmart and a locally owned one. I think they carry super worms too.. But they are too small for those. I know the rule about size, I also read worms do not apply in the same manner but I only get small. I dust them, as I have read to do - cycling calcium and vitamin powder, never mixing. The pet store owner didn't seem to be able to tell me anything about my first bd - Samson and the gentleman I bought the second from - Delilah, said that he took the clutch she was in over because the human parents didn't take good care of them (wasn't feeding them well). I think that 'she' may be smaller due to poor care at first. The pet store owner told me he assumed Samson was three months. He's lighter than the others but he couldn't tell me anything about that either. >.<; But they both seem fine and healthy and seem to enjoy one anothers company...

 

[Beardednoob]

If they are still this young then they might have no natural interest in greens yet, as they grow older their interest should change.
They need allot of protein when young as they are growing very rapidly. Feeders are their first inclination.

Keep a proper dusting schedule

up to 1.5 years - calcium 5x per week / vitamins 2x per week (one(1) dusted feeding per day)
1.5 years + - calcium 3x per week / vitamins 1-2x per week (one(1) dusted feeding a day 4-5 days, 2-3 days nothing dusted)
Gravid female - calcium 5x per week / vitamins 2x per week (one(1) dusted feeding per day)
sick dragon - Unable to dose, due to variables of illnesses
up to 1.5 years butterworm/BSF larvae diet - calcium 2-3x per week / vitamins 2x per week
1.5 years + butterworm/BSF larvae diet - calcium 1-2x per week / vitamins 1-2x per week

Stay away from chitinous feeders such as mealworms and superworms. Only feeder crickets that are appropriately sized. The cricket should be no longer in length then the distance between the dragons eyes. Other soft bodied feeders fall outside of these rules they can be fed larger then the space between the eyes but, you should still use your best judgement, they will try to eat any sized feeder, this is potentially harmful if not possibly fatal to young dragons.

keep a good routine of bathing. 2-3 times a week in 93-96°F shoulder height water for 10-15 minutes each bath period.

Consider separating the dragons soon it is only a matter of time in most cases till something adverse happens. It is my advice to separate before the potential risk elevates into a physical threat.
**this is not my image, not my dragons**
http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Lizard826.jpg

 

[suzjohnson]

I don't know if it will work for your beardie but mine wasn't showing any interest in his salad and I was getting frustrated that every evening, the entire salad prepared in the morning was being thrown away. About that time, I read a thread that mentioned this persons dragon was attracted to shiny things. Light bulb moment! Spritzing the salad with fresh water makes the greens shiny, for a short time at least. I started doing that several times a day and, woohoo!! It worked, he started eating his salad. Give it a try, it might help.

Suz

 

[RobotLover]

My 2 little guys refuse to eat there greens. I was told to try cilantro and arugula. It has a sent that might attract them. I was told yesterday, have not tried it yet. Mine are 2 1/2 months old so she told me its ok if they don't eat it just make sure I give them there vitamins. And just feed the crickets what I was my guys to eat. So good luck let me know if u figurebsomething out. I'm in the same boat

 

[dadecitydragons]

I have used the vibrating food dish from exo-terra and it worked great and now my dragons pounce me when they see me coming with their greens every morning.... I even used it to get them to eat the freeze dried insects and dry pellets also... It is usually priced at around $20 and is a great investment if ya have multiple dragons... at LLL Reptile where i buy most of my supplies it is $19.99

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...-/exo-terra-vivicator-vibrating-feeding-dish/

 

[ChellBellz]

Thank you dadecitydragons, I have not thought about using a vibrating dish for greens. I have actually gotten him to take a few bites today, I dropped a cricket into it right in front of him and he got a couple of bites of collard greens! Well he ate it with the crickets but didn't go back for seconds. I know right now that veggies are supposed to be 10 percent of their diet, not to expect any more.. I have also heard that diced strawberries were great but they show no interest when I put them in their dish or dangle them in front of them. They don't seem keen on the idea of hand feeding, which is okay with me cause it keeps them active. Beardednoob, thanks for the info, I've really read up on this stuff despite my clouded judgement of buying meal worms because it was one of the only two feeders available for sale in my area. I have been buying online now but when I first got him I needed food and I needed it 'now'. Having a hard time getting him to enjoy a bath, I have been giving them one every day because I don't see them drinking and I don't mist them because I don't want the humidity to get high. I don't make them stay in too long, Delilah likes it.... Like she's in her own little spa she just closes her eyes and relaxes. Samson however doesn't seem to really like it at all... tonight he was actually flaring his beard so I pulled him out early. I have read once a week, two or three times a week, and daily if I didn't try to make them drink by dropping it on their nose. If they start showing any aggression towards one another I will seperate them immediately. Luckily she's much calmer and laid back and since I put 'her' in there he seems a bit more active and happy too. I am hoping that they will be that 1/10 that live together in peace but I also don't want my animals hurt and will not let them 'fight' or kill each other. Not to mention there's someone here almost every single hour of the day to monitor their behavior.

 

[MooseDragon]

I either throw something moving in with the greens, or i always make sure he gets greens first, as he will turn his nose up to them if he is just semi-full... This really only works when he is really hungry, lol.

 

[ChellBellz]

Awwww... Lol. I wanna make sure that they do not get too hungry. I remember when I brought Samson home from the pet store he ate like he had never seen a cricket before. And I didn't notice at first but he's missing a nail on his right hand. His toe is still there... I wonder if it will grow back. I can only assume a hungry baby snapped at it when they were all together. The digit does not look damaged at all and it looks like there might be just a tiny sliver of something where the nail should be. Hard to tell with the scales and it may just be he was born that way. Long as he is okay it doesn't bother me. I am gonna try the vibrating dish.. How much noise does it make? I've rigged one up at home (that has no vital parts they can get to) but it does make that humming sound. I used a silicone cupcake mold as the dish to try to help that.... And I'll be watching them when I try it. Hope this works!

 

[dadecitydragons]

Very welcome.... Mine will now grab the greens from you hand or jump in the dish when we try to put it in their cage... hope ya have luck getting ur scaley baby to eat his veggies...

 

[ChellBellz]

Very welcome.... Mine will now grab the greens from you hand or jump in the dish when we try to put it in their cage... hope ya have luck getting ur scaley baby to eat his veggies...

Thank you! You are a genius. I put just a few feeders in there and Delilah only picked them out but Samson actually ate about four or five bites of greens. I was just hoping that if the vibrations didn't trick them they would get excited going for the live food. She would literally pick them out from the greens and he just hopped in and ate around the edge. Definitely gonna keep this routine up to see if they keep improving. I wanna make sure they are getting the best variety of foods, though I know they can live on insects alone....

 

[Fuzzyviper]

You can try different greens/toppings until you find something they like as well. Mine would sneak his greens for a long time and I only found out he ate any by glancing up while I was sleeping in. He thought I was asleep and ate a little bit. I've found what he likes through trial and error. Mine HATES any sort of fruits or non-leafy veggies in his dish. He will eat around them if I offer so I've gone to just greens until he's older. You can try some veggies with more of a scent to them to see if that entices them to try some veggies. I add basil or oregano to his staple and will change which one I add every couple of weeks. I might just have the odd dragon that naturally eats his veggies at a young age though. He's 5 months and will plow through the entire dish sometimes! What staples have you tried? I do dandelion greens while the beardies at work enjoy the collards quite a bit (They're anywhere from 2 weeks to 1-2 months old, depending on what the supplier gives us). You can also try some squash since they might be more interested in that.

 

[RobotLover]

My vet said to give them a little bit of baby food mixed with plain yogurt once in a while so they can get those vitamins and try to get use to the taste. He said get the brighter color baby foods I got some squash, carrots, and strawberry/bananas. He told me I might have to force feed it. He also has a bearded dragon, my sister takes her dog and my boyfriend takes his dog to him. He's a vet good vet. So I hope this works

 

[RobotLover]

Ok he's right it worked. I just tried it. I think I put that I got them carrots I was wrong. I just reed sweet potatoe baby food and yogurt I've never seen them like something that much other than crickets. But I've tried all different veggies and greens, they refuse to eat it so maybe ill do this for a while and then try making them salads again