Bearded dragons are known to be Picky eaters and very demanding in terms of their diet. Sometimes, it becomes difficult for novice owner to handle their pet. Some stressed-out bearded dragons tend to be neglecting food for days.
If your Bearded dragon isn’t eating vegetables, don’t worry about it so much. Interestingly, in this article, you will learn what you should do to make the beardies eat green. This article will cover a list of various ideas you can attempt to get your bearded dragon to eat the veggies and the greens.
Sometimes, bearded dragons don’t even recognize particular green leaves as food. Here you will learn why your bearded dragon is not eating the greens. Therefore, let’s know why you won’t let bearded dragons eat greens?
Before you get your beardie to eat greens, we want to look and double-check all the conditions to ensure that you are doing everything right. Let’s talk about 7 reasons why I won’t. My bearded dragon eats greens.
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7 Reasons Why won’t My Bearded Dragon Eat Greens
1. Age
Even bearded dragons are omnivorous. In the initial stage of their growth, they need a particular type of food. Especially when your beardies are in their juvenility, they need a wide range of insects until they are adults.
It is common for young beardies not to eat vegetables, and it isn’t an alarming situation. However, talking about adult beardies, they’re bound to be omnivorous. Before adulthood, Bearded dragons were mainly inactive the most of it.
2. Inadequate UVA or Poor Lighting
It is a must to consider their vivarium’s heating and lighting setup. If the heating is extremely low, a Bearded dragon’s appetite will slow down, making them lose interest in food. On the other hand, if the heating is higher than needed, your bearded dragon is at great risk.
This also makes them not interested in food at all. UVA also impacts the way a bearded dragon’s environment is seen. Therefore, poor lighting or inadequate Uva or UVB light subsequently has the potential to alter or change bearded dragon behaviors like eating habits or routines.
3. Supplement
As calcium and Vitamin supplements are necessary for bearded dragon well-being, they are not palatable. If you’ve been sprinkling lots of calcium powder on the vegetables, it can eat the bearded dragon. You should never heavily dust their food with calcium or vitamin supplements. There are many other ways you can provide them with supplements that you need to feed them.
4. Doesn’t Know It’s A Food
The most common and difficult issue which beardies who have just become adults or have been consuming insects for quite a long time is not recognizing the greens as food. There is a high chance of your bearded dragon not even knowing or recognizing the greens offered to them as food.
You can consider placing some small insects in the mixed greens. I would consider mixing mealworms in their mixed green salad, and it will entice your bearded dragon to notice and eat. Your bearded dragon will miss the insect and unintentionally put greens in its mouth. Further, bearded dragons will understand that the greens served are foods for them to eat.
5. The Food Bowl Is Too Deep
If you have been offering greens or salads in a big or deep food bowl, it might be the cause why the bearded dragon is not eating green. Greens in deep and big dishes make it harder for a bearded dragon to see the food.
To feed a bearded dragon, shallow and wide food bowls are much better options where foods are easily accessible and visible. However, big, deep food dishes are also handy for bearded dragons when overweight.
6. Illness Or Injury
Sick bearded dragons will neglect to eat every time. If your bearded dragon is in pain or illness, it might be looking to eat the insects that wriggle. Adding to that, an underlying disease or injury can cause uneasiness in bearded dragons. That uneasiness can easily stress out any pet, including beardies, making them unable to eat. It is better to check if your beardie is sick or not.
7. Feeding Too Much And Too Frequently
If you have been feeding too frequently or too much to your dragon, it can make them not eat more. If your beardie is full, it will avoid eating. In normal circumstances, no bearded dragon needs food every day, and Beardies can survive without food for many hours and even days. Now let’s talk about how to train a bearded dragon to eat greens.
How Do I Get My Bearded Dragon To Eat Greens?
1. Hand Feeding
Pets like bearded dragons have been seen being spoiled with hand feeding. Hand-feeding Your dragon using your finger while avoiding bites can make them eat greens. If you are brave enough, this is worth a try.
However, when encouraging your bearded dragon to eat the greens using your finger, use their reptile tongs to avoid being bitten. The right tool will help you avoid being bitten. Otherwise, hand feeding can be a painful process.
Hand-feeding allows owners to stimulate their pet’s attention as they present the greens to them. Plus, moving the greens around to ignite your bearded dragon’s Predator Instinct. There is also a downside to using this method.
Your bearded dragon can get dependent on being hand-fed all time. So always be careful not to allow the hand-feeding session to become a habit. No one wants to act as their pets’ personal enslaved person/feeder.
2. Mix Insects In The Salad Bowl
It’s disgusting when you find a worm in your salad. Unfortunately, this is what you will want to feed your bearded dragon, of course. You will need to use feeder insects like mealworms or dubia roaches in their greens.
You can also add some live feeders to their food bowl to increase the chances of him nipping some Green parts. There is a huge chance your beardie will nap some greens while they chow down. Always try to disorient the feeders so that you don’t have to find them jumping or crawling out of the food.
It might feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but you can also pop the feeders in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. It will help you slow them down before getting eaten by your bearded dragon.
3. Check & Correct Heat Or Uvb Settings
One of the trickiest parts of adopting and managing a bearded dragon is its enclosure. Especially if you have never managed their enclosure, you might upset the wrong temperature or the amount of UVB light. At the wrong temperature or incorrect amount of UV, a bearded dragon will have insufficient energy they need for digestion.
The bearded dragon bodies usually slow down their digestive process without heat and UVB. This will result in less need to eat due to a decreased appetite. It is always important to consider checking the vivarium’s UVB settings.
Also, double-check the temperature. Their basking spot should have 45-46° c degrees temperature for bearded dragons. Talking about UVB, It should always be positioned about 12-16 inches away from your bearded dragon basking area.
Consider mounting the UVB light on the underside of the mesh on the top of the vivarium. Missing these two things will make beardies refuse to eat much of anything. If a bearded dragon’s appetite has suddenly decreased, consider checking the enclosure settings.
If you have correct settings, but bearded dragon appetite doesn’t seem to improve, talk to the professionals. A veterinarian will be able to help you offer guidance and feedback about their diet and enclosure.
Interesting Further Reading
- Here’s Why Bearded Dragon Humidity 70 At Night?
- Do Bearded Dragons Have Feelings? (2022 Guide)
- Why Is Bearded Dragon Humidity Too Low? 5 Safety Tips
4. Start Early
As Juvenile bearded dragons tend to be insectivorous and mostly eat live feeders, why would they want to switch over? If you want to get your bearded dragon to eat veggies and greens, consider starting while they’re still young.
If you expect to get your bearded dragon to eat Green as an adult in the first encounter, you might experience failure. If you want to get them to make a habit of eating greens, you better start developing their palate when they are young.
If your bearded dragon is 1-2 months old, you can start offering some finely chopped greens and vegetables here and there to sample. Since this is the only food your beard is allowed to eat as much as they want all the long, You can leave the greens in their enclosure.
5. Sprinkle Some Bee Pollen
Bearded dragon loves bee pollen taste. Sprinkling the sum of it over any vegetable to spruce up will entice them. The Aroma of bee pollen is what a bearded dragon is drawn to. Bee pollen sprinkled on the greens will make them snacks.
Your beardie is likely to be interested in trying to capture the greens. The bee pollen is also loaded with amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and protein. Bee pollen acts as a supplement to boost Your bearded dragon immune system. It also becomes healthier if your bearded attempt to eat it with their healthy greens.
How Long Can Bearded Dragon Go Without Greens?
Bearded dragons can go without eating Green as long as they have a well-balanced diet. However, greens play a critical role in providing nutrients to your beardies. Without greens, bearded dragons will lack many nutrients.
Without food, bearded dragons can survive for different lengths depending on size, age, and why they need it. It has been seen that an adult bearded dragon can survive up to 2 months. It is essential to teach your dragon to eat more fruits and vegetables. You will need to take some diligence and patients on your end.
It is very easy to get frustrated or feel exhausted by your beardie’s stubborn and reluctant behavior towards Green. But, keep trying every day, and don’t give up in response to your bearded dragon’s lack of interest. Soon, your dragon will begin eating greens as well.
With time, patience, and diligence, you can get your bearded dragon to eat more greens, plant matter, and vegetables, including fruits. Always try to start as young as possible and offer greens first Before any other fruit or insect.
FAQ
Conclusion
So, you have all the answers you need on why my bearded dragon won’t eat green and how I get my bearded dragon to eat Green. I hope you find this article full of great tips you can implement to get your beardie to eat greens.
I hope this suggestion will help you improve your bearded dragon eating habits. While being determined, always remain patient on this journey with them. If any of the suggestions don’t work, you can try another one. You can try as long as you don’t give up to get your bearded dragon to eat Green and vegetables.
Surely, you will figure it out eventually and make your beardie eat greens. The best bet one can put to be patient. Always remember that beardies can sometimes be unbelievably stubborn. If you like this article, then consider sharing this one. Sharing this post will help other people train their beardies to eat greens which 97are necessary for their pet’s life longevity.
94% of pet owners say their animal pal makes them smile more than once a day. In 2007, I realized that I was made for saving Animals. My father is a Vet, and I think every pet deserves one. I started this blog, “InPetCare”, in 2019 with my father to enlighten a wider audience.