Baby Food?

[thatGuysCool]

Earlier today my fiance was asking me if we could add baby food to the greens to help add to Spyro's veggie intake. I've done some googling and get mixed answers so I figured I’d ask you guys here. Suggestions and experiences would be much appreciated.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Not a real big fan of feeding baby foods to dragon unless in an extreme case when they are very I'll and you have to resort to syringe feeding.
In the wild baby or adult bearded dragons don't have access to baby foods so there really not a necessary thing to add to their diet in captivity.
If you are concerned that your dragon doesn't eat enough greens then the best course of action is to just be patient. Keep offering and be patient. Many if not most juvi dragons appetite for veggies is hit or miss and as they grow more mature most will tend to gravitate toward veggies naturally.
These dragons know what they need better than we do and if they are going after the live prey and not showing interest at the moment in veggies its because they need the live prey more. It is however very important to offer a good stable fresh bowl of veggies every day regardless of if they are eating it or not. Another thing to remember is that many dragons are "grazers" and will nibble veggies during the day so its quite possible that they are eating little bits when you aren't watching
Stick with the known good staple fresh veggies and their live feeders and your dragon will be much better off for it!
Enjoy!

 

[thatGuysCool]

Thanx. I guess that's why Spyro will eat all of the greens one day and wont touch it the next. I will be sticking to the Collard, Turnip and mustard greens.

 

[Augie]

I agree with Buddha! I have read literally dozens of posts from concerned dragon owners that have spoiled their dragons on baby food. One even complained that their dragon would no longer come down to eat, and would only eat hand-fed superworms and baby food. That's a chore I never want to be a part of!

Now feeding baby food to my roaches is a different story.........

 

[thatGuysCool]

Hmmm Gut loading the feeder with baby food. Now I like the thought of that.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Hmmm Gut loading the feeder with baby food. Now I like the thought of that.

I am not sure why many folks get hung up on the idea that their dragons are better off eating commercial HUMAN baby food.
If you have an extremely ill creature which has gotten to the point that it is requiring syringe feeding then I could see feeding baby food and have had to do as much on more than a few occasions over the years.
However I believe that under all other circumstances the best thing nutritionally is to provide them with a good natural staple diet which in the case of bearded dragons is a proper schedule of live prey for them to hunt and a daily fresh "veggie salad" put together with known good staple veggies.
I believe that most folks try and make things more difficult than it has to be in trying to offer constant variety in their dragon's daily diet.
They don't require a smörgåsbord buffet set out for them each day or even each week. That constant need for new and different foods is another human trait that doesn't apply to most animals in nature.
Not all but most creatures live on, do perfectly well on and are perfectly happy their entire lives on a limited selection of foods that are readily available in their particular natural habitat.
However when these creatures become pets of humans all of the sudden we as humans tend to start thinking that they think as we do and since we are constantly on the look out for variety in our lives and diets then these creatures surely must be too! Right? WRONG.
They in fact are not like us nor do they view the world as we do nor do they think as we do nor do they have they same needs or desires that we as humans do.
I am not really going on a rant here but it is probably one of the biggest (and sadly most common) mistakes any keeper can make in failing to understanding these things and is truly sad too because these creatures are amazing enough without having human things applied to them.
The best course of action as well as the most beneficial to your dragon not to mention the most cost effective is to keep things simple and consistent meaning choose 2-3 good staple veggies such as collard greens, turnip greens, mustard green, dandelion greens, etc that are known for dragons to consistently and commonly go for and which are safe for daily feeding and then pick a few things off the known safe occasional feeding list, feed these as occasional treats and let that be it.
Same applies to live prey. Choose the best that is consistently available and safe for staple feeding and don't worry about trying to find new and unusual things to plop in their enclosure.
Another thing to realize is that many creatures including bearded dragons are very leery about change and something new in their environments to begin with and as such constantly changing up their food can actually backfire and cause them to go off food simply because there is something weird in dish.
Your dragon will be much happier and healthy with stability and consistency.
The last thing I would mention here is that I truly don't believe you want to give your roaches baby food. Besides being totally unnecessary for them to be healthy and to thrive it would also be considering their voracious appetites a huge unnecessary waste of money. A breeding colony does just fine on dry dog or cat food which is much cheaper and gut load for feeders can be made at home for literally pennies with a few cheap ingredients and an ordinary 15-20 dollar blender.
Just my 38 cents worth of opinion
Enjoy

 

[Augie]

For the record, they only get leftover baby food when my nephew doesn't finish his. I buy 0% roach food. It's all scraps or something I will never eat that I would have just thrown away. Right now they're munching on a pear core and collard greens that are a day from getting mildewy. Should all be gone by the morning.

 

[meesh18]

I agree with Mungi's Buddha...

I had to syringe feed my bearded dragon Jo-Jo with blended crickets when my beardie was extremely sick and not eating at all. This was under my reptile veterinarian care and advice. But you're right, it should only be used as a last resort.