P I C K Y E A T E R

[SleepyCheesy]

My dear Reptilicus will not eat his veggies and I'm concerned for his health. He regularly will eat his canned grasshoppers but he won't touch any veggies that I give him. Any tips to get him to stomach them down?

[Halogen]

I have the same issue, I have tried the egg trick but I don't think he's getting the greens enough.

[alichamp]

Hi! We'll need more information to be able to help.

What is your setup? What temps are you getting at the hotspot and cool ends? How long has it been a problem? What do you normally feed and how often do you offer it? What species do you have and how old?

Once we have some more information we'll be able to narrow things down.

[SleepyCheesy]

My set up is currently a 55 tall (looking into getting a better tank with sliding doors), In the hotspot, I'm getting over 90 degrees and I'm recieving 85 in the cool end, it's been a problem for 2 weeks, I feed him a grasshopper and dark greens daily (although he only eats the grasshopper) and Reptilicus is a 2 yr old juvinile.

[Maplefish]

Chop up spring mix finely and mix it with raw egg or wet cat/dog food!

[underlashes]

Daily feeding seems excessive if he's 2 years old. I'd cut back the feeding sessions to once or twice a week and see if he eats his greens then. It sounds like he's just not hungry and is picking his favorites. As posted above, mixing greens into dog food is a good way to trick them, too. You can also try something aromatic and flavorful like basil to get him started on greens if he's really not having it, but basil shouldn't be made into a staple.

[Janella]

Yes, I agree with the above posts. If your skink is 2 years old it only needs to eat once or twice a week. Definitely finely chop up the greens and mix it in with canned dog food, snails, eggs, meat, etc. That way it can't pick out the greens and will have to eat them. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[SleepyCheesy]

Okay, I will cut back feedings to twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I'll also try the "egg trick" with the veggies and see how that goes.

[alichamp]

As others have mentioned, try a mix of protein, veggies and a touch of fruit in a feed once a week. You can blend up the veggies and mix them through the meat. Red meat or dog food is also good for the protein part, and snails and super worms are probably better than solely grasshoppers. For dark greens, avoid spinach and iceberg lettuce, go instead with what others have suggested, rocket and Spring mix greens. Also add a good calcium +d3 supplement.

Read through the diet chart and preparing food threads in the FAQs.

Also, I don't think you have enough of a temperature gradient in the enclosure. Aim for 100 Fahrenheit for the hot spot and around mid 70s Fahrenheit for the cool end. This range will give your BTS the options it needs to regulate its own temperature.

[SleepyCheesy]

Thanks alichamp

[BD99]

I'm the CRUEL person here.
If egg hasn't worked and cutting his diet back doesn't help you have 2 options.

1 - GREENS ONLY 1 feed. This means, make him only have the greens until some are eaten. Once greens go, then yummy stuff comes.

2 - Gutloading.
Live feed crickets or roaches. Starve them for 24 hours. Then feed them what you want your skink to get. Your bug burgers or greens. After 30 minutes rip them out and feed your bluey.

[splashy07]

Ditto what Ali posted, and if he won't eat the mix (unlikely) many breeders solely use a good quality dog food that contains mixed vegetables. Mine would all starve themselves to death if all I offered was greens.

[Chillpillturtle]

I agree with what everyone has said previously

Start by chopping up your vegetables super tiny (blender works) and filling up the bowl with them (60%). Then add about 30% Dog food, and a pinch of meal worms (or something that stays in the bowl). The other 10% can be fruits. Mix this super well, and feed. He will go for the good stuff, and get a mouthful of veggies. Worked for me every time!

Gut loading is also super important. You need to put into the insects, what you wish to put into your animal.