1 week into withholding insects to encourage Mirage to eat more greens and veggies. She protests every single day and only takes 1 or 2 bites of her greens before leaving the rest to waste.
I know there aren’t a ton of Beardie people active on the platform, just frustrated and seeking help.
We tried adding fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro) to her greens, no result.
She will not touch Mustard or Collard greens, the only greens she shows any remote interest in is baby Arugula and turnip greens and even that she doesn’t eat much of.
Dandelion greens and flowers are not readily available for us to feed her.
She loves Yellow Squash but she can’t just solely eat that, we shred it and top her greens with it and she’ll eat the squash leaving everything else. We try other shredded veggies as salad toppers (Bell peppers, zucchini, butternut squash, carrot) with no improvement.
We try topping with bee pollen with no interest from her.
She’s still active, not showing any signs of illness, she still basks. Its been 1 month since she fully stopped brumating.
Normally we feed her about 5-8 large bsfl, 3-4 sm/med dubias and every other meal we offer 1-2 superworms, Hornworms and Waxworms are only offered as an occasional treat, she gets insects Monday and Friday so twice a week. All non-treat insects we feed her are gut loaded with the same veggies and greens we try to give Mirage in hopes that at least the nutrient and vitamin contents in the greens/veggies are still consumed by her.
Edit because I forgot to add: We do top her salads with calcium too.
When I kept a special needs blind beardie for awhile someone suggested that I mix some of this with water to make a type of “slurry” if you will, because he never could eat his greens for his previous owners. Since he was blind he couldn’t eat on his own anyway. I just did a coaxed syringe feed several times a week along with some insects.
You may not even want or need to consider this but it really worked for him and me both.
I had a very picky iguana when I was younger that would eat banana baby food… Finally got her eating veggies run through a food processor mixed with the baby food and vitamins.
Can maybe try a few different fruity or squash flavors and try something like that
We used to use organic Gerbers baby food (the kind that is essentially just pureed fruits or veggies, no other additives) to our hermit crabs and they LOVED it, I like the idea at least testing this out for a picky beardie
Plus, those little glass jars of baby food are like $2 each, so it isn’t costly to try and test a few flavors
Just make sure you get the organic ones/the ones with an ingredient list that only includes the veggies and not any extra stuff
Kale was one of the first things we offered when she was little, never touched it either
We rotate what greens we offer weekly between Mustard/Collard, baby Arugula, turnip greens, bok choy and kale. She only ever shows mild interest in the Arugula.
We are going to possibly use the baby food method drizzled a bit over her greens and see if she likes that.
I was going to suggest dandelion greens, as I recall that being my childhood beardie’s favourite salad base, but I see they’re not readily available to you. You could try growing your own, I guess?
Oh don’t even get me started, becoming a solo adult paying for my own bills right as COVD started and then everything started getting even more expensive each year has not been fun
I know it might sound stupid ,but you can scent it a bit with some crested gecko diet to make it more attractive , since beardies are famous for being picky to some foods many times .
That seems reasonable. You wouldn’t like it either If you can’t insert the vites in something she likes, like they do with dogs, maybe just consider giving her her doses of vites & minerals weekly thru a Monoject syringe in a little water (mix in dish, draw up with syringe), then give a treat after. You get into a routine & rhythm with it, so will she, and then you know all of what is getting in there without stressing or icking up her food. I always announce “vita-bites” - the icky ones! - and they are always first and then out of the way of the rest of the good meal (if you have cooperation, that is).
Remember that squash also have squash blossoms, edible flowers, too. Farmer’s markets have them.
If she is eating, let her just eat good, clean greens…as you would want to do. Get her anchored in sound, reliable “I love my veggies!” mode First.
It’s easy enough to give vites/minerals thru a syringe. You don’t need to Overdo those either.
Do you have her under a good UVB light, as that helps with metabolism, etc.
You can get a 12-pack of Monoject syringes (curved and strong, they’re very good) for about $6 on Amazon. Cut them to your liking. I use a nail file to brush down any harsh edges or bits. Wrap her in a small towel, put her safely at your face level, work a thumbnail into her mouth and get the syringe tip in (preferably toward the back/side with Monoject angled toward the back, staying along the mouth and neck Sides), and slowly begin to push down. At first, go slow to make sure she knows she needs to swallow, then tip her up a bit, give her the dose with a steady push on the syringe, and you’re both back to being done and onto the next phase of your day without stress or worries.
WARNING - You MUST have a full view down the throat with a strong light and watch that glottis. When it CLOSES, inject! Never inject when the glottis is open.
Additionally, you could flavor vitamin water with something she likes the taste of and use that as a base. If you can get her to Cooperate and Drink From the syringe at Vitamin Time, that would be ideal, because she would control the glottis - always best. Always announce Vitamin Time and finish with a treat. This way, cooperation is optimized, if possible.
She has a 22" T5 bulb that just about covers her whole 120gal enclosure as far as exposure goes with different elevations for basking. She also has spots where she can get under and get away from it.
2 different strength heat bulbs again with different elevations. She has plenty of opportunities and options
Basking temps are about 95-100°F depending on elevation. Ambient is mid-high 80’s and her cool cover spots are ~78°F
She also gets natural sunlight every other day for about 15-30 minutes when its warm but we’ve had a ton of rain and cloud cover recently so she’s been staying inside.
She doesn’t have any issues at all eating vegetables, just the greens. She’ll happily take squash, zucchini, bell peppers, and carrot shavings. I also gut load her bugs with them.
We may try some different brands of multivitamins and calcium and see if she might just have a picky preference for them.
Or maybe 10 for a buck!
If you can’t insert the vites in something she likes, like they do with dogs, maybe just consider giving her her doses of vites & minerals weekly thru a Monoject syringe in a little water (mix in dish, draw up with syringe), then give a treat after. You get into a routine & rhythm with it, so will she, and then you know all of what is getting in there without stressing or icking up her food. I always announce “vita-bites” - the icky ones! - and they are always first and then out of the way of the rest of the good meal (if you have cooperation, that is).