BD stubborn about required veggies..

[Jaime]

Dealing with a stubborn eater! - Draco is still improving nicely and he had on okay vet visit. I got rid of those Kales and bought some Collards, he wont touch them (he used to eat them as a baby but not now that's he's an adult, he would only eat kales, cucumber, grapes and strawberries). Knowing we have to get him more calcium and get his weight up I went to grocery store today & I spent about $15 on a variety of veggies - Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Dandi Greens, String Beans & squash. I offered the MG's but nope, didn't budge, offered the DG's but again, no such luck. I already know from the past he doesn't like squash but I thought they'd be worth a try and will offer that tomorrow or the next day...Tomorrow I'll offer the TG's but again I'm "doubting" he will go for it. Well, since he wouldn't eat his greens I offered him some Phoenix worms which we had to order over the net, but nope he wont touch them either. Now I have 300 Phoenix worms and a dragon who doesn't seem interested ....after all this I wondered if he wasn't feeling well so just to make sure he had an appetite and wasn't feeling off, I offered two crickets, oh those were no problem at all, he excitedly and alertly gobbled them up without hesitation.

What am I to do!?

He really needs to build some strength/weight and eat more nutritious foods.

-Do I give in and give him his way and feed crix despite his lack of veggies/fruits just to keep him gaining weight/building strength? (of course still offering greens just the same)
-Or do I stick to my guns, stop the crix for a couple of days and force him to eat some greens/phoenix worms?
-Also, a side Q - Do I need to cook the squash, its butternut, or do I feed it raw?

How frustrating when your trying to get a BD better!

 

[Bushmaster11B]

I use Nature Zone Salad Dressing for Bearded Dragons and it seems to work if I do 1 week on and 1 week off with it. You can find it at Petco. Hope this helps.

 

[PatsyB]

Still make him a salad daily even if he isn't eating it, eventually he will eat it or at least nibble on it. Since he is really interested in his crickets I would gut load the crickets with the veggies that he's not eating. So in a around about way he will still get the nutrients of the veggies. As far as the squash goes, I either cook it or shred it raw.

My girl doesn't eat her veggies either. It used to really stress me out since when she was smaller she used to eat everything in her tank. But she still eats her crickets so I'm just hoping she comes around. I still make her a beautiful salad every day and sometimes I catch her grabbing a collard green out of her bowl. So it is possible that Draco is maybe nibbling when you aren't looking.