Hi all! I'm planning this year's garden, and look forward to a LOT of free food for my Beardie babies. Greens are simple to grow and serve, but I haven't been able to hook the dragons on squash, and everything I read says squash is phenomenal for them. I've read that some people cook it, some blanch it, some serve it raw, etc. I'm sure there are other veggies, too, that require a little more prep than just chopping or shredding.

What do you all serve to your beardies? If it requires any prep, *exactly* what do you do to prepare their dinner? Please offer more than "I microwave mine", please share with me what you do as if you were writing a recipe. Like, "I microwave mine on high for x time in water".

What veggies do well in the garden and are good for them? I often refer to the Beautiful Dragons site for info, and am growing, or have planned, the following:
Currently planted:
Mint
Cilantro
Rosemary
Basil
Carrots
Planned or seeds started:
Collards
Beets
Spinach
Peas
Carrots
Nasturtium
Hibiscus
SQUASH if I can get them to eat it!

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful replies!

:)
Stephi

We serve all of ours raw and just cut it down so that it is easily chewed. looks like everything you would like to grow is perfect just keep out the fertilizers and bug killers, wash the veggies really good to. Don't do alot of carrots, beets or spinach as they arn't the best in high quatities just a little is fine. Oh and you can do parsley as well. Hope that helps a bit, unless you want to grow bananas :wamma:.

We serve all of ours raw and just cut it down so that it is easily chewed. looks like everything you would like to grow is perfect just keep out the fertilizers and bug killers, wash the veggies really good to. Don't do alot of carrots, beets or spinach as they arn't the best in high quatities just a little is fine. Oh and you can do parsley as well. Hope that helps a bit, unless you want to grow bananas :wamma:.

I prepare our dragons food the same and feed the same things...Yellow squash, dandelion greens, collard greens, and Kale among some of our dragons fav's....

Mine always went for the winter squashes like acorn...they would eat that all the time.

Ours mainly eat squash (their favorite), green beans, and peas. The squash we chop up and freeze. The green beans and peas, we usually buy frozen. Then just stick em in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to thaw. I haven't really been able to get them interested in greens though. :dunno:

Ours mainly eat squash (their favorite), green beans, and peas. The squash we chop up and freeze. The green beans and peas, we usually buy frozen. Then just stick em in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to thaw. I haven't really been able to get them interested in greens though. :dunno:

Melanie, have you tried putting mealworms in the bottom of the dish under the greens? Not the supers, those are easier to pick out, but sometimes you can trick em into eating some of the greens when they are trying to get the mealworms.. In the winter when the garden isn't going for greens I like the organic spring mix, and also do raw squash, etc on top of it.

No, I haven't tried that yet Sara. I go in spurts as far as offering greens. I try for awhile then give up for awhile... lol!

Thanks for the ideas, all! I'll pick up some at the grocery store and try it before I grow a bunch of stuff they won't eat.

Also, one is only supposed to feed the Beet Greens, right?

I'll add the parsley to the list.

Any other suggestions???

:)

I don't have dragons, but I have a tortoise and some birds that eat fresh fruits and veggies.

I do up a batch that'll last a couple months, then freeze into baggies that equal a daily serving for everyone. I buy all the fruits, veggies, greens, and any other stuff I want to add, then toss it into the food processor raw to grind and mix together before portioning. Every evening, a bag of this goes into the fridge to thaw for the next day.

I think that might work for other critters too, and nothing gets wasted. Hope this helps!

(These are from a batch strictly for the birds, with cooked grains added, but you get the idea.)

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kachinahl/Balls/veggies1.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/kachinahl/Balls/veggies2.jpg

Mustard greens grow quick and can be harvested at any size.

Thanks! The seed list keeps growing!

AWESOME idea with the frozen "hungry lizard dinner"!!! I'll try a small batch today! That would be SO much more convenient than getting fresh greens daily!

:)

MagickalMorphs, thank you SO much for the pre-chop/freeze/thaw idea! I tried a batch and the dragons are totally fine with f/t veggies!!!! The Kale actually freezes well, retaining it's texture, so I can see making lots of homegrown freezer bags to take us through the winter!

And thanks to EVERYONE for their input, this is a great forum with so many people willing to help. :)

:)

You are very welcome. I'm always happy to pass along things I've learned along the way. :yessir: