Beardie not eating greens and rejecting protein. Please help...

[MellowExo]

We have had our beardie for about 4 months now. He will be 9 months old on March 13. From the time we brought him home he has been great at eating all his food. This was our feeding routine from the beginning: greens in the morning (mix of turnip greens and mustard greens). Around noon he would get about 8 crickets. At about 3 pm we soak him where he poops regularly and is fed some worms (Black soldier fly larvae or meal worms). Around 7 pm he was given about 6 roaches and some new greens which he usually ate by the time it was bed time. There were very few days where he didn’t eat everything.
For about 3 weeks now he has been eating less and less and we have no idea why. He moves about his tank like always and seems fine when we take him out for some roaming around too. At first he was not eating all his greens and now he will not eat any at all. We’ve tried separating the greens in case he didn’t want the mix, we introduced collard greens and nothing. He will eat two to three blueberries every few days which we place over his salad but he will not touch the greens. He has also been eating much less protein. He will still eat crickets and roaches but sometimes half of what he would eat or less. We have tried the black soldier flies and he seems to be eating all of those. Yesterday he ate about 25 of them. But, no greens and he would eat all the roaches we tried to give him.
His tank is a 50 gal talk. His basking area is always between 106 and 110 degrees. The warm side is usually between 90 and 94 degrees and the cool side is between 80 and 83 degrees. His UVB light is on for 10 to 11 hours a day every day.
Does anybody have any idea what may be going on? Why has our beardie just stopped eating greens altogether?

 

[Sadie]

We have had our beardie for about 4 months now. He will be 9 months old on March 13. From the time we brought him home he has been great at eating all his food. This was our feeding routine from the beginning: greens in the morning (mix of turnip greens and mustard greens). Around noon he would get about 8 crickets. At about 3 pm we soak him where he poops regularly and is fed some worms (Black soldier fly larvae or meal worms). Around 7 pm he was given about 6 roaches and some new greens which he usually ate by the time it was bed time. There were very few days where he didn’t eat everything.
For about 3 weeks now he has been eating less and less and we have no idea why. He moves about his tank like always and seems fine when we take him out for some roaming around too. At first he was not eating all his greens and now he will not eat any at all. We’ve tried separating the greens in case he didn’t want the mix, we introduced collard greens and nothing. He will eat two to three blueberries every few days which we place over his salad but he will not touch the greens. He has also been eating much less protein. He will still eat crickets and roaches but sometimes half of what he would eat or less. We have tried the black soldier flies and he seems to be eating all of those. Yesterday he ate about 25 of them. But, no greens and he would eat all the roaches we tried to give him.
His tank is a 50 gal talk. His basking area is always between 106 and 110 degrees. The warm side is usually between 90 and 94 degrees and the cool side is between 80 and 83 degrees. His UVB light is on for 10 to 11 hours a day every day.
Does anybody have any idea what may be going on? Why has our beardie just stopped eating greens altogether?

As they get older they will eat less- by the time mine was 9 months old he was only eating once a day around 8 large roaches per day and salads - I also offered silk worms 2-3 and super worms 3- mine will not eat meal worms or BSFL by that time nor wax worms- your UVB your using is a coil or a tube? This is extremely important - how are you getting your basking temps? You want surface temps and they need to be taken w/a digital probe thermometer - IR guns are good but as accurate as a digtial probe

 

[MellowExo]

As they get older they will eat less- by the time mine was 9 months old he was only eating once a day around 8 large roaches per day and salads - I also offered silk worms 2-3 and super worms 3- mine will not eat meal worms or BSFL by that time nor wax worms- your UVB your using is a coil or a tube? This is extremely important - how are you getting your basking temps? You want surface temps and they need to be taken w/a digital probe thermometer - IR guns are good but as accurate as a digtial probe

Thank you so much for your reply. We have a tube UVB light that spans the whole width of the tank and a digital probe to measure the temp at the basking area. Since my last post, he has eaten maybe two to three pieces of lettuce on two separate days but other than that he has only eaten protein. Any ideas on how to get him to eat greens again. Should I only feed greens on a certain day and no protein? I just think he is still to young to take his protein away.

 

[Sadie]

Thank you so much for your reply. We have a tube UVB light that spans the whole width of the tank and a digital probe to measure the temp at the basking area. Since my last post, he has eaten maybe two to three pieces of lettuce on two separate days but other than that he has only eaten protein. Any ideas on how to get him to eat greens again. Should I only feed greens on a certain day and no protein? I just think he is still to young to take his protein away.

He needs salads every day are you feeding iceberg lettuce or romaine? Please no iceberg lettuce no nutritional value and only good for hydration -- here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html I see your feeding other greens too that is good
Insects should be fed every day till he is a year old then they should be fed 2-3 times per week and still dust the insects- I would rotate the calcium D3 if your using a T 5 bulb and regular calcium w/ no phosphate to two times per week and if hes eating salads like he should dust the insects the other two days a week w a vitamin w/ beta carotene - if he is eating those salads good you wont need to worry about the vitamins- your UVB is inside the tank or top of screen? If its a T 8 it needs to be inside the tank approx 6-8 inches directly above the basking decor and if its a T 5 the screen is going to determine placement -- but you want that lighting good and correct otherwise it will throw the eating off -- I would get him another staple insect like some dubia roaches -- only get a few to see if he likes them some dragons are picky and really like crickets and not dubias and some the other way around

 

[Julee1971]

We have had our beardie for about 4 months now. He will be 9 months old on March 13. From the time we brought him home he has been great at eating all his food. This was our feeding routine from the beginning: greens in the morning (mix of turnip greens and mustard greens). Around noon he would get about 8 crickets. At about 3 pm we soak him where he poops regularly and is fed some worms (Black soldier fly larvae or meal worms). Around 7 pm he was given about 6 roaches and some new greens which he usually ate by the time it was bed time. There were very few days where he didn’t eat everything.
For about 3 weeks now he has been eating less and less and we have no idea why. He moves about his tank like always and seems fine when we take him out for some roaming around too. At first he was not eating all his greens and now he will not eat any at all. We’ve tried separating the greens in case he didn’t want the mix, we introduced collard greens and nothing. He will eat two to three blueberries every few days which we place over his salad but he will not touch the greens. He has also been eating much less protein. He will still eat crickets and roaches but sometimes half of what he would eat or less. We have tried the black soldier flies and he seems to be eating all of those. Yesterday he ate about 25 of them. But, no greens and he would eat all the roaches we tried to give him.
His tank is a 50 gal talk. His basking area is always between 106 and 110 degrees. The warm side is usually between 90 and 94 degrees and the cool side is between 80 and 83 degrees. His UVB light is on for 10 to 11 hours a day every day.
Does anybody have any idea what may be going on? Why has our beardie just stopped eating greens altogether?

Hi; we rescue and rehome. How old is the Beardie the temp should be 100-105 for a Beardie 7mnths or younger after that as adults over a year old; the temp should be around 95-98. The Beardie needs proper heat and uvb to be able to eat, digest, move and poop. Also the UVB needs to be the correct one & needs replacing every 6Mnths or the Beardie will stop eating, slow down and get brittle bones. Some hot tips; For Heat buy the zoomed CLEAR basking bulb, never ever use colored bulbs. For UVB order the Reptisun 10.0 T5; it’s a long tubular bulb & the length should cover 70 percent of the tank and be placed starting at the hot side. Please replace the UVB every “6” Mnths religiously. Please keep both the UVB & Heat lamp on for 12 hours in the winter and 14 hours in the summer. “11” hours is not long Enough for them. You can order the Reptisun 10.0 T5 on Amazon, Carolina cages, wallmart or a specialty pet store. How old is the dragon??? If over a year old then feed proteins 3 times a week then u can go done to twice a week & the plate of veggies/greens everyday for life. If the Beardie is 1-4 mnths old feed him proteins 4 times a day & when he’s 4mnths to 9mnths feed 3 times a day. Then u can go some to once per day till he’s over a year old then the proteins are fed 2 times per week. But again always the plate of veggies/greens all day to munch on & replace with fresh ones daily. Keep the feeding times the same everyday for the proteins or at least try to & the plate of veggies ( mustard greens, yellow squash, butternut squash, collard greens, endives and blueberries) mix 2-3 & on his plate & it should be placed and left all day for munching & replaced twice a day because it gets wilted so keep it on the cold side of the tank. Do fruits once/week as treats blueberries, mangoes papaya & apples. Pleas STOP feeding mealworms it’s a cheap feeder/horrible for the digestive tract, & impacts them to the point where they can hardly poop. Stick with crickets & Dubia roaches; superworms are very good you can start feeding him some after he turns 9mnths old; & u can feed a few hornworms per month after the Beardie turns 1.5 years of age. Also you have to Sprinkle the proteins or veggies with calcium powder once per day 3-4 times a week & once per week with herptivite vitamin powder if the Beardie is under a year old. If the Beardie is over a year old you can do the calcium twice a week and the herptivite once per day on a noncalcium day. Also; it takes 2 hours to digest their food so the last feeding should not be too late; the lights need to remain “On” for 2 hours after the last feeding, that’s how they are able to digest the food, so please keep this in mind. Baths should be given a only twice/week for 15min minimum in lukewarm dechlorinated water. Buy Reptisafe drops to add to the water; it removes the chlorine which is super bad for their skin & dries them out. If the Beardie is shedding you do more baths per week to help remove the shedding & relieve the itching. Don’t do baths everyday. Also never ever leave food or water in the tank overnight it causes a respiratory infection & harbors bacteria and germs. GL & Hope this helps