Bearded dragons are marvelous creatures to own as pets. They are interesting and fantastic animals. If you are interested in purchasing a bearded dragon, you may be wondering what types of food they consume.
While the majority of their diet is made up of insects such as hoppers, crickets, meal worms and wax worms, as a bearded dragon ages, they begin to eat more fruits and vegetables.
As a result of this, it is important to ensure that you are feeding your bearded dragon the correct food. With so many fruits and vegetables to choose from, it can be difficult to know what is safe and what is unsuitable.
To help you with this, we have included many fruits that are suitable for your bearded dragon. In addition to this, we touch upon why certain fruits are not suitable for their diet.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Fruit?
As we have discussed, bearded dragons can eat fruit. In fact, as they are omnivores, fruits are an important part of a bearded dragon’s diet.
However, just because some fruits are suitable for them to consume, this does not mean that they all are. This is why you will need to take care before feeding your bearded dragon.
While fruit is great, it needs to be fed as part of a balanced diet. If your bearded dragon eats too much fruit, this can have a negative effect on their health. This is because fruit does have higher levels of sugar.
As a result of this, you should always aim to ensure that your bearded dragon eats more vegetables in comparison to fruits. Over time, if a bearded dragon has a higher sugar intake, this will lead to health problems.
Some of these are actually similar to what we would experience by consuming a high sugar diet.
Tooth Decay
Did you know that too much sugar can cause tooth decay in a bearded dragon? Just like when we experience tooth decay from a high sugar diet, bearded dragons do too.
Obesity
This side effect is fairly straightforward. As the sugar content in fruit is very high, too much of it can lead to your bearded dragon becoming overweight.
This is why it is important that your bearded dragon has a balanced diet. This will help to prevent any further health issues from occurring that can be linked to obesity.
Diarrhea
Too much sugar in a bearded dragon’s diet can lead to diarrhea. Where possible you will want to prevent your bearded dragon suffering from this. Diarrhea can lead to dehydration, if this is left untreated can be fatal for a bearded dragon.
Calcium Deficiency
One of the biggest concerns with bearded dragons is a potential calcium deficiency. Having the correct amount of calcium in their body is so important for their overall health and maintenance.
This is why calcium powder is recommended to be placed on the insects being fed to bearded dragons to help prevent this from occurring. When feeding fruit to a bearded dragon, you need to be aware of the amount of oxalate within the fruit.
Oxalate is potentially an issue because they cause calcium to become bound which prevents it from entering the bearded dragon’s body correctly.
Over time, if a bearded dragon has a consistent calcium deficiency, this can lead to Metabolic Bone Disease, which is a serious issue.
Digestive Issues
In addition to diarrhea, too much fruit can also lead to other digestive issues such as too much acid in the gut, and over-fermentation.
While there are some serious side effects to feeding fruit to a bearded dragon, it is important to remember that in smaller amounts, fruit is good for a bearded dragon.
When the correct fruits are consumed as part of a balanced diet, they are good for the bearded dragon. It is all about finding the correct balance.
The Fruits That Are Suitable For Bearded Dragons
In this section of the article, we are going to be chatting you through the different types of fruits that are suitable for bearded dragons. When you feed these fruits in moderation, they are great as part of a balanced diet.
Banana
Bananas are a great treat for bearded dragons. They are full of flavor, and goodness. They tend to enjoy this fruit a lot, and will often go crazy for it!
Even though bananas are a great treat, they are not something we would recommend feeding too often due to the high amounts of phosphorus. However, the occasional piece of banana is perfectly safe for them.
Strawberries
Strawberries are a lovely treat for your bearded dragon. While they are not the healthiest option, they are okay when fed in small amounts occasionally.
You will need to be careful with strawberries because they do contain a higher amount of oxalate in comparison to other types of fruit.
As we have already discussed, oxalate can have an effect on the amount of calcium in the bearded dragon’s body. As a result, only smaller amounts of strawberries are suitable.
Apples
Apples are a great fruit for bearded dragons. It is a fruit that they enjoy, and it is also fairly healthy for them too. This is a type of fruit that you can feed more regularly with little issues.
The only thing to keep in mind is that the peel can be difficult for a bearded dragon to eat. As a result of this, we would recommend cutting the skin off to make it easier for them.
In addition to this, you will want to just feed them the fleshy part of the apple, rather than the skin and the core.
Mango
Mango can be a great treat for bearded dragons when it is eaten in smaller portions. The only concern with mango is the amount of sugar it contains. While all types of fruit contain sugar, mango does have a higher level on the whole.
In addition to the amount of sugar that is present in mango, the amount of oxalate that is in them too can be dangerous if too much is consumed. However, a small piece every, so often it is fine.
Peaches
Peaches are surprisingly a great fruit for bearded dragons to eat. While you may assume that they are too acidic, this is not true. In fact, this is a common misconception, because peaches are surprisingly alkaline.
They are not citrusy, and they can be great as part of a balanced diet!
You will need to preferably remove the skin and the pit to ensure it is safe, and you will need to cut it into smaller chunks too. The only concern with peaches is that they do contain goitrogens.
Blueberries
If you are contemplating feeding blueberries to your bearded dragon, you will need to take care. While they are safe for them to consume, they should only be consumed in small amounts.
Blueberries are a refreshing treat for bearded dragons. They are not too high in oxalate, and they are something different for them to eat. We would not recommend overfeeding blueberries.
Cherries
Cherries are another type of fruit that are best fed in smaller amounts. You will also need to ensure that you are removing the stone as this can be a potential choking hazard for a bearded dragon.
Once the stone has been removed cherries are a great fruit to feed as part of a balanced diet.
Blackberries
Similarly, to strawberries, you do need to take care when feeding blackberries, as they should always be consumed in moderation. However, they are a tasty addition for bearded dragons, and they are a fruit that they will certainly appreciate.
When feeding blackberries, you will always want to ensure that they are cleaned thoroughly, and have been purchased from your local grocery store. This will help you to ensure that they are safe for your bearded dragon to consume.
Grapes
When thinking about grapes, it is highly likely that you will have assumed that they would be on the unsafe list – we did at first too! This is understandable considering that the majority of animals cannot consume grapes.
However, they are safe for bearded dragons to eat. The only concern with grapes is the amount of acid they contain. If a bearded dragon consumes too much acid, this can disrupt their digestive system, and cause a stomach upset.
We would also recommend cutting the grapes in half in order for them to be easier for your bearded dragon to digest.
Pears
Pears are another fruit that are safe for bearded dragons to eat. They are not too acidic, but they are quite high in sugar, which is worth keeping in mind. Pears are best served cut up into smaller pieces, with the skin and core removed completely.
Kiwi
Kiwis are a great option if you are looking for a fruit with a higher water content. However, care will also need to be taken with the higher water content to ensure that it does not cause diarrhea.
We would always recommend cutting the kiwi fruit into smaller pieces and ensuring that all the skin has been removed. Out of all the fruits we have mentioned, it is one that is lower in oxalate, which means it can be fed more often.
Melon
The majority of melons are a good option to feed your bearded dragon. Not only are they high in water content, but they are not too acidic either. They are a great fruit to incorporate into their diet.
Melons also contain a good amount of vitamins which will improve your bearded dragon’s health in moderation.
Watermelon
In the same vein as melon, watermelon is also a great option to give to your bearded dragon too. However, you will want to ensure that you are removing as many of the seeds as possible. These are more difficult for a bearded dragon to consume.
In addition to this, as it does have a high water content, too much is not great. Given this, small amounts of watermelon occasionally is the better option.
Raspberries
Last, but not least you can feed raspberries to your bearded dragon. However, they should be consumed as a treat, rather than as a daily occurrence. They have quite high levels of oxalate, but are a fruit that bearded dragons tend to love.
As you can see, there are so many fruits that are safe for your bearded dragon to eat. Given this, you can switch up their diet to easily make it more interesting for them.
However, you will always want to ensure their diet is balanced and that you do not overfeed them these fruits.
What Fruits You Should Never Feed A Bearded Dragon
Now that you know the types of fruit you can feed your bearded dragon, we felt it was important to cover some of the ones you should never feed them. It is important to always ensure you are thoroughly researching a type of fruit before feeding it to your bearded dragon.
These fruits we have included are not suitable for a number of reasons, and should not even be fed in moderation. You will need to avoid them completely as they can harm your reptile.
Oranges
Given the high acidic level of oranges, this is understandable. The levels are too high for a bearded dragon to eat oranges safely. As a result of this, you will want to avoid them completely. They will lead to stomach upsets, and diarrhea.
Citrus Fruits
In the same vein, any other types of citrus fruit are also unsuitable for bearded dragons to consume. Again, these are far too acidic and will provide them with no nutritional value.
The acid levels would be very painful for a bearded dragon, and would lead to severe diarrhea.
Avocado
Avocado should be avoided at all costs. While you may assume that it is safe for a bearded dragon to consume, it is not. It is unsafe because of the high levels of oxalate. In comparison to many other types of fruit, the levels are far higher than average.
This can quickly lead to a calcium deficiency, and is not worth feeding at all. The levels are to the point of toxic and if a bearded dragon were to eat avocado, this would be fatal.
Rhubarb
While rhubarb is not a fruit, technically speaking, it is something you will want to avoid feeding completely. Just like with avocado, rhubarb is toxic to a bearded dragon. Even if they consume a very small amount, this would be fatal. It is fatal because it is nephrotoxic, which has a very bad effect on their kidneys.
As you can see, while there are many fantastic fruits you can feed to your bearded dragon, there are a handful that you will want to avoid at all costs.
These four types of fruit will have seriously harmful effects on your bearded dragon. As a result, feeding them these foods is not worth the risk.
If you suspect that your bearded dragon has consumed any of these foods, you will want to see advice from your local veterinarian as soon as possible to make them aware of this
Summary
We hope that you have found this information useful. There are so many types of fruit that are suitable for bearded dragons to eat. These fruits are all suitable to eat as part of a well-balanced diet.
Before feeding these fruits, you will want to ensure that you are going to be giving the correct amount, especially as it can be easy to overfeed a bearded dragon. In addition to this, you will want to view fruit as a treat for your reptile, rather than a staple food.
While it is okay to give them fruit occasionally, for everyday feeds, we would recommend vegetables instead. These are far lower in their sugar content, and carry less of a risk to your bearded dragon’s health on the whole.
In addition to this, you will never want to feed your bearded dragon the following – Citrus fruits, oranges, rhubarb, and avocado. These can have devastating effects on your reptile’s health, and can even cause irreparable damage.
If you are unsure of whether a fruit is suitable to feed to your bearded dragon, we would always recommend carrying out thorough research for feeding it to ensure that it is okay.