Won't eat greens

[dragonmamax3]

Hi,

I know this is a common ? but wanted to see what people would suggest for our lil guy.
His name is Lochlin and is 4 yrs old. He use to eat his greens and usually when he is out lately of his vivarium he will eat the greens we put on the floor for him. He does eat his supers, poo's fine and other than that he is doing well. He does like of certain foods like fruit, peppers etc but he just has slowed down on eating his greens or none at all some times.

Another ? I have is, I will be out of town for the weekend and do have some over to feed him. Since he is not eating his greens and do not want them to dry out fast while I'm gone, does anyone have a suggestion on what to feed him while I'm gone that will not waste away. I will feed him supers the day we leave and put out greens but if he decides to not eat for the day n half we will not be there will he be ok?
Thanks ;0)

 

[CooperDragon]

If he's eating supers he may just be holding out for more. They tend to be addictive to them. At his age, he should be eating mostly salads but may not have a huge appetite. As long as his weight is stable, that's OK. Just keep offering a variety of veges and let him take what he wants. Leaving an adult dragon for the weekend is no problem. I do that a lot. Just leave a salad with him and he'll be fine. The greens may dry out but that's OK. Sometimes they prefer crunchy greens anyway. I usually leave some squash cut up into worm shapes as well and they tend to stay moist for longer. It's tough to keep the veges fresh in the heat of the tank anyway though.

 

[dragonmamax3]

Thank you so much and that is a relief to know about going out of town. ;0)

 

[dragonmamax3]

What is a healthy weight for a 4yr old dragon and I heard you can tell how much fat he stores by the size of the tale. Is that true and if so, how do you determine by the tail size?

 

[CooperDragon]

An adult can be anywhere from 400-600g. Weight really varies between them though. The important thing is to look at muscle development in the arms and legs, proportional belly size, and the fat stores on the top of the head and base of the tail.

 

[dragonmamax3]

Good to know and thanks again for all the info. It's helped out a lot.

 

[dragonmamax3]

My dragon has not been eating his greens still. He did eat some fruit and his super worms last week and did go poo. This week he still is not eating his greens or anything else but will eat his super worms. He has not gone poop yet this week and should I be concerned? I do not know if it impaction but he has nothing in his vivarium that would impact him since he has slate and glass floor plus nothing loose in it either. Could the super worms maybe cause impaction? They were large instead of med but he has had them before. How long should I go with him not pooping and not eating his greens until I should see a Dr. He is fine all other ways and the temps and UVB are all good.

Thanks,

Jodi

 

[CooperDragon]

He's probably just being stubborn. If his weight is staying stable I'd guess he's holding out for the yummy supers. I'd hold back on offering them for a few weeks and just offer him a nice big salad and see if you can get him onto a healthier diet with some tough love.

 

[dragonmamax3]

What about him not going poop for about a week now even after eating worms on Sunday and Tuesday of this week? Still wait or go to the vet?
Thanks!

 

[CooperDragon]

I'd wait. Try offering some extra water to help him pass everything through more easily. A week isn't unusual for an adult.

 

[dragonmamax3]

Thanks. He went today with some help of baby food prunes and oil. Now we will see if he will start eating his greens! Happy Holidays!!

 

[CooperDragon]

That's good to hear! They can get a little backed up sometimes and the older they get the longer it tends to be between poops but it all varies individually. Hopefully he'll have a good appetite now and dig into the veges =)