Plants, Herbs and prep

[khaleesi]

I made a print out of the food guide from a link I found on here, at the bottom it tells you of plants suitable for consumption by Bearded Dragons and although I wouldn't be 100% on some of them as I'm not a gardener I did pick out a few bits that are readily available at my local supermarket. I decided that Mint would be a good thing to grow along with a couple of herbs, Oregano and thyme. I just done the babies final feed and decided I should try Mint as it says it was ok for them. I cut it up finely and added it to a little loose leaf lettuce just to see if they would try it. They instantly were drawn to the smell of the mint, they each went to investigate their bowls and took a big bite after carefully selecting only a mint leaf. Almost simultaneously they took the leaf chewed it and spat it out while shaking their heads...as if to say 'ewwwww' and now their rubbing their noses but still going back to try more mint to repeat the same process. I'm torn should I remove the food and try again with something else?
I also got Lemon Grass but I'm unsure how to prepare it. Should it be grated or sliced and diced finely?
What herbs do your Beardies like what have you been successful in feeding? These pair seem to like anything green so I would love to be able to have something different everyday for them instead of fumbling my way through the entire list and ending up with a herb garden that is unlikely to ever be touched by them.
Also Onions, I read that Onions are bad but Leeks are more acceptable, is this right? I consider Leek to be Onion, am I wrong?

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Khaleeshi...when using that chart I personally stick with the basics as staple foods meaning the Green highlighted ones. You are correct that onions are a Never feed and the reasoning behind that is that onions are known to bind calcium in bearded dragons. Onions are also known to be highly toxic to other animals too and for instance in Dogs and Cats cause something called Heinz Anemia which can prove fatal. I have not come across anything saying that it causes the same in reptiles but it very well could and the research maybe has just not been done but the fact that we do know they bind calcium is plenty enough reason to steer clear. You are also correct that Leeks are in the same family as Onions and as such even though they are listed as an occassional food my preference would be to steer clear of them as well with you dragons. I dont know the chemical make up of Leeks but it may be that they have a lot less of what causes the toxcicity or calcium binding and therefor the risk is minimal. I'm not one to take a shot on guessing in such matters though.
As to the herbs and such that are known to be safe most list what part of the plant to use and what I do is to use them sparingly and fine chopped.
One possible reason for your beardies reaction to the mint you gave them may just be that mint is a very strong flavor and they may have gobble more than they really wanted..lol..I dont believe it is of great concern though. maybe they are just not use to having fresh minty clean dragon breath
If you will stick with the basics (green) ones shown you can not go wrong. I have also found that most creatures are very weary of new things added to their diet and although it would appear that constant variety would be a good thing oft times you may run the risk of turning the creature off of their food.
This is just my view and how I do things based on what has been successful with the creatures I have and have taken care of over the years.
Enjoy your weekend without fail

 

[khaleesi]

Thank you for your quick response I've played safe and tried to stick to the green items but because they had a very ... dodgy ... diet when I got them (they were fed strawberries and lettuce) they really didn't have a diet to speak of sooo me being me I'm going through the staple and occasional list while their still young enough to not be so grumpy with me for the change trying to build some sort of list that they enjoy and fingers crossed they end up with a varied diet. I'm trying to make it so they don't end up with loose leaf lettuce at all and I can keep that for special treats as it's their favorite thing at the moment I have a Savoy Cabbage I wanted to try them with but it's not on the list so I don't know
I think I am gonna pass on leeks just to be on the safe side. They love the smell of the mint just not the taste so I think I will use the plant in their room as an air freshener type plant so they can enjoy the smell without the itchy nose or fresh breath lol

 

[Spikeleebd]

like mungi said just stick to the basics and you will ind it alot easier basic greens carrots peas and fruits no citrus fruit though

 

[NaTasha Brinkley]

what do you mean by loose leaf lettuce? any type of 'lettuce' is no good. It had no nutritional value. Stick to dark leafy greens like turnip or mustard greens. I found that my beardie is fond of arugula, escarole and bok choy. I've put parsley in with his greens before, but he didn't seem too interested in them.

 

[Aleena]

Red leaf lettuce is alright, Natasha. Not one of the best, but it definitely has nutritional value.

 

[Honchess]

My General gets a variety of leafy greens--kale, escarole, mustard greens, dandelions-- and a treat of a fruit or berry on top every day. On alternate days she gets superworms. I don't have access to roaches or crickets, but she loves her worms. Of course her calcium/mineral powder gone on the worms. (She doesn't like it on her salad! )
One of the things I've discovered in the last few weeks is prickly pear cactus pads. I buy them in our local Smith's grocery. One pad lasts several days. The General loves them! She'll pick them out from among her kale and berries first.

Here's my question: someone told me that the juice in cactus pads has a dehydrating effect. Does anybody know anything about that? As much as she loves them I don't want to give her too much.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Collards, mustard, dandilion greens are always a good staple that I use with some kale, zuc, squash...

 

[PatsyB]

My General gets a variety of leafy greens--kale, escarole, mustard greens, dandelions-- and a treat of a fruit or berry on top every day. On alternate days she gets superworms. I don't have access to roaches or crickets, but she loves her worms. Of course her calcium/mineral powder gone on the worms. (She doesn't like it on her salad! )
One of the things I've discovered in the last few weeks is prickly pear cactus pads. I buy them in our local Smith's grocery. One pad lasts several days. The General loves them! She'll pick them out from among her kale and berries first.

Here's my question: someone told me that the juice in cactus pads has a dehydrating effect. Does anybody know anything about that? As much as she loves them I don't want to give her too much.

I've never heard that about cactus pad mine used to love them!

 

[Bobbi]

I have a very picky dragon but he loves Collard Greens , Mustard Greens, Dandelion Greens, and turnip greens. I'm still going through fruits occasionally to try and find one he likes, but no luck so far. He will eat kale sometimes , but not very often. He'd rather stick to the staple foods and of course his roaches. I don't think he will ever give up his love for roaches. When he was younger, he ate so many of them that I'd have to stop him because I didn't think he was suppose to eat that much. Probably 50 nymph's 3x a day. It was crazy. Lol!

 

[PatsyB]

Dolly LOVES mango but it's so hard to eat so what I've been doing is cutting a long chunk and holding it up for her and she chomps at it, she is so funny!

 

[Bianca Brown]

Lilly loves Collard Greens , Dandelion Greens, and Butternut Squash all organic.