Beanie baby

[Aretino]

I can't find anything my Greek, Dinette, will eat, except the $6/pound little haricots verts from Whole Foods. Because of this predilection, I have started referring to her as "the tor•twas´," accent on the second syllable.

Organic leafy greens, spring mix, red dandelion, all sorts of proper foods are just trampled. But in regard to the beans, she's voracious, abandoning all shyness. She attacks one end, drawing the bean in with each bite. A few seconds, and it's gone. Occasionally, she will eat a strip of red bell pepper. I thought I was on to something with julienned prickly pear paddle, but after one bite she realized it was a fake green bean and lost interest. She once bit a grape, but did not care to repeat the experience. Putting even small amounts of Reptivite or Reptical on the beloved beans generally gets them rejected. I have tried making little salads incorporating green bean bits, but she holds out for the real bean experience. She seems to enjoy the thrill of the chase.

I hate to deprive a creature that eats with such gusto, but I want to be a responsible adoptive parent and provide a proper diet.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I feed my four green beans occ., like 2-3X a month, but not much more...too much is generally considered a bad idea, due to the higher level of protean.

Offer your pet other things (greens, weeds, spring mix, chopped cactus, tortoise kibble) and when she gets hungry enough, she will eat it all.

To avoid Dinette getting stuck on any one thing, in the future, offer her something different every day. For instance, this week, my 4 got/will get:

Sunday - Spring mix and shredded carrot
Monday - Turnip greens
Tuesday - Marion Red Sticks (tortoise kibble) mixed with chopped cactus
Wednesday - Spring mix and shredded carrot
Today - Collard Greens
Tomorrow - Marion Red Sticks (tortoise kibble) mixed with chopped cactus
Saturday - Prickly Lettuce (local weed)

 

[Aretino]

I feed my four green beans occ., like 2-3X a month, but not much more...too much is generally considered a bad idea, due to the higher level of protean.

Offer your pet other things (greens, weeds, spring mix, chopped cactus, tortoise kibble) and when she gets hungry enough, she will eat it all.

Thanks for your advice. I'd be a bit more optimistic if she would respond in any way to the leafy things I continue to offer. I tried the beans only after a succession of greenery didn't even get a sniff or a bite. A couple of things (cactus, grape) have been sampled with one bite, only to be completely shunned thereafter. How long can she not eat if I withhold gbeans and bell pepper before I should be concerned?

Both because of where she was found, the local climate, and her dietary idiosyncrasies, I am skeptical this creature had been living wild for very long.

I have a lot to learn. She seems to like the hide in her outdoor tub, but avoids the one of the same construction in her indoor habitat.

 

[Aretino]

I am pleased to report that Dinette has expanded her diet to include beet greens and kale, and some spring mix if it gets in the way. I help this along by incorporating small amounts of her favorites, bell pepper and green beans, in some way. The peppers become rather soft, and can be mashed to create a sort of dressing. She may ultimately improve my own diet, since I will be forced to start consuming these greens, which are not sold in torty-sized quantities, myself.

One interesting thing is that she feeds more readily and voraciously when provided food outdoors, either on a supervised backyard ramble, or in her little outdoor tub. Could this be there is more UV than my bulb provides? The warm days are winding down, however.