Sissy Anne
Bearded Dragon Egg
- Messages
- 21
I'm new to the forums and have been a beardie keeper for only a year (altho I'm experienced with amphibians). I have had a problem with my Queso since I got him last March- he won't eat anything that's not alive.
Here's our journey so far:
I got him at a show from a very good breeder. He was an adult, about 2yrs old, and a very healthy eater according to her. She gave me a list of his preferred greens/salad. Got him home, and he won't eat. After a few days, talked to her and she suggested getting his appetite up with some worms. This dialogue went on for months. Basically, he won't eat anything for me that's not alive. He's a bug-only kind of beardie. Throughout all of this, I have taken him to the vet, talked to them about techniques to get him to eat better, nothing worked. I have his levels checked regularly (3Xs a year) and he's always in PERFECT health. Calcium, everything is not just normal but ideal. He's very healthy, but he subsists on bugs.
Here's what he eats currently:
hornworms,mealworms, pheonix worms, and crickets in about equal parts, although he tends to favor the hornworms and crickets. I dust with a multi vitamin and calcium as directed, although I do an extra serving per week of the multivitamin to make up for the lack in veggies. He will *occasionally* eat those veggie pellets if I moisten them and mix them up with his bugs. He's not eating the pellets intentionally, just accidentally getting some when he dives for the bugs. I will also dip the bugs in organic baby food (green beans, squash, carrots, and anything else I can find that would be in his salad). He likes peas, but my vet told me to back off of them because they aren't that great for him.
Here's what I've tried:
-offering salad every day
-offering salad consistently and taking away all other food (he refused food for 2 weeks, and that's as long as I'm comfortable letting him go without food. This was also NOT during brumation).
-hand feeding
-hand feeding with the tongs used for insect feedings (which he recognizes)
-wiggling food in tongs
-wiggling food with string
-spraying food with water
-putting insects in salad hoping for accidental consumption
-calcium powder on salad
-just veggie pellets
-just babyfood
-force-feeding/spoon-feeding babyfood
-force-feeding salad--
If it manages to get into his mouth, HE SPITS IT OUT! [Spoiled.]
I try so hard to be a good Mom, and I really hope that'e evident from the vet visits, bloodwork, and work I've put into his diet. (I'm new to the forum and don't want to make a bad impression). He is healthy, but I know it's much preferred for him to have veggies in his diet. I've confirmed that his enclosure/environment is as perfect as can be. He has plenty of room, goes on "walks" in the house if he is glass dancing a lot or trying to get out (he knows how to tell me he wants to play), I change the light every 6 months (and I use the Zoo Med Mercury Vapor UV A/B heat combo lamp). He brumated as usual this year.
I've heard that some beardies just aren't salad eaters. Does anyone have any experience with this? And would he change his diet that drastically just because he changed owners/homes?
any help is appreciated! thanks everyone.
Here's our journey so far:
I got him at a show from a very good breeder. He was an adult, about 2yrs old, and a very healthy eater according to her. She gave me a list of his preferred greens/salad. Got him home, and he won't eat. After a few days, talked to her and she suggested getting his appetite up with some worms. This dialogue went on for months. Basically, he won't eat anything for me that's not alive. He's a bug-only kind of beardie. Throughout all of this, I have taken him to the vet, talked to them about techniques to get him to eat better, nothing worked. I have his levels checked regularly (3Xs a year) and he's always in PERFECT health. Calcium, everything is not just normal but ideal. He's very healthy, but he subsists on bugs.
Here's what he eats currently:
hornworms,mealworms, pheonix worms, and crickets in about equal parts, although he tends to favor the hornworms and crickets. I dust with a multi vitamin and calcium as directed, although I do an extra serving per week of the multivitamin to make up for the lack in veggies. He will *occasionally* eat those veggie pellets if I moisten them and mix them up with his bugs. He's not eating the pellets intentionally, just accidentally getting some when he dives for the bugs. I will also dip the bugs in organic baby food (green beans, squash, carrots, and anything else I can find that would be in his salad). He likes peas, but my vet told me to back off of them because they aren't that great for him.
Here's what I've tried:
-offering salad every day
-offering salad consistently and taking away all other food (he refused food for 2 weeks, and that's as long as I'm comfortable letting him go without food. This was also NOT during brumation).
-hand feeding
-hand feeding with the tongs used for insect feedings (which he recognizes)
-wiggling food in tongs
-wiggling food with string
-spraying food with water
-putting insects in salad hoping for accidental consumption
-calcium powder on salad
-just veggie pellets
-just babyfood
-force-feeding/spoon-feeding babyfood
-force-feeding salad--
If it manages to get into his mouth, HE SPITS IT OUT! [Spoiled.]
I try so hard to be a good Mom, and I really hope that'e evident from the vet visits, bloodwork, and work I've put into his diet. (I'm new to the forum and don't want to make a bad impression). He is healthy, but I know it's much preferred for him to have veggies in his diet. I've confirmed that his enclosure/environment is as perfect as can be. He has plenty of room, goes on "walks" in the house if he is glass dancing a lot or trying to get out (he knows how to tell me he wants to play), I change the light every 6 months (and I use the Zoo Med Mercury Vapor UV A/B heat combo lamp). He brumated as usual this year.
I've heard that some beardies just aren't salad eaters. Does anyone have any experience with this? And would he change his diet that drastically just because he changed owners/homes?
any help is appreciated! thanks everyone.
