My Beardie won't eat veggies!!!

[Geckogal]

his staple is lettuce, dandelion, nasturtium and a small bit of kale but I try to offer bok choy, alfalfa, different kinds of kale and lettuce, escarole, and peppers whenever I can. Also, I feed a beardie diet as a small treat.

[Liz]

what kind of lettuce? really no kind of lettuce is good. iceberg is the worst. 

[Geckogal]

romaine, and sometimes redleaf. I mostly feed it because it has so much water.

[smith710]

But tthat's just it, it's basically water and no nutritional value pretty much at all.  It's just a filler.

[Geckogal]

okay but aside from the whole lettuce thing, could his reluctance to eat veggies stem from his diet? Is what I'm feeding actually bad for him? 

[smith710]

It's not necessarily bad for them, just not good for them.  Try to mix it up a bit, go get some collard greens and endive, see what he thinks of those, plus they are very good for him.

[Geckogal]

Really? Someone tld me not to feed endive. Oh well.

[scrletbegonias88]

try to use a 10.0 uvb bulb if you can it helped with my girl if not try the bug on greens thing. also try to use brightly colored veggies like carrots and strawberries.

[Geckogal]

Yeah I use a 10.0 zoo med fluorescent strip. I tried carrots and strawberries but my beardies were disgusted. But sometimes I sneak carrot pealsin.

[smith710]

How long have you had the strip light?

[Geckogal]

eight months.

[smith710]

The UVB strip lights only last 3 months believe it or not.  You are better off going with the bulbs, the bulbs last either 10 or 12 months, but I know the strips don't last much longer than 3 months. After that time, it's just like any other light.

[Geckogal]

OMG! Thank you!!! The manufacturer told me it would last a year! I'll replace it today.

[smith710]

I would definately recommend going with the more normal looking bulb over the strip though, as I said thy ast alot longer,plus they are quite a bit cheaper.

[krazymuttzpuck]

My input on bulbs is, use a repti sun 10 long flourecent  bulb, it will last about 6 months. Use any coil type, you get about 1-2 months of sufficient UVB. Only way to get a full year is to use a mercury vapor bulb..quite pricey...about $48 bucks for the cheapest, i believe. But the MVB also will give off heat, so you only need the one bulb. Sometimes its better to get a bunch of different opinions, and go from there. Personally, i have 4 Beardie's and i use Repti-Sun 10, for all and replace every 6 months. All so far seem healthy and i took Sparrow (she is 1 1/2 years old) to the vet about 2 months ago, got fecal, and x-rays done of her legs, and bones look great, so i assume i am doing something right.( also if you are wondering why i got x-rays done...well i am a paranoid parent, and it seemed her front legs were swelling bad. Turns out, thankfully it was a really bad shed. She is doing well now.) Good Luck