These cute little fellow belonging to the arid regions of deserts of Australia indeed have unique and different requirements when it comes to their diet. Bearded dragons like to eat plants and animals and seek a different diet from other reptiles. Keeping them as your pet dragons can be troublesome as they need special care with their feeding habits.
Yes, these reptiles can be a little demanding, but How could we top that cuteness? So, letโs take a look at your beardieโs diet as well as its health.
There are many things that these creatures like to eat, including fruits and vegetables, but there are also lots of food items to which they are sensitive and, if taken, can harm them. Letโs follow the checklist so your beardie can be healthy and happy.
What Do Bearded Dragons Like to Eat?
Bearded dragons eat a wide variety of food. From vegetables and fruits to insects, lizards and rodents, these omnivorous animals can eat several things. The diet of these animals can also depend on their age. Juvenile ones have a different ratio of insects and plant diet than older dragons.
There is a difference in the diet of a domestic and wild bearded dragon. A petโs diet can be very different from a wild oneโs. Also, the diets of smaller ones can differ from those of adult dragons.
Being a wild beardie, nature provides them with a wide area of land and food, whereas the land and food for a pet bearded dragon can be limited and cautious. Letโs look at their diet chart and the pโs and qโs of the food they can eat.
1. Healthy Vegetables
There are several veggies that bearded dragons like to eat. Vegetables have an adequate amount of nutritious value in them. These are some of the most incredible animals from Australia that can be kept as pets.
Several plant-based food items should be given less to a baby bearded dragon, but the same can be adequate for adult bearded dragons. This is due to the dietary differences between them. The ratio of plant vs animal food given to a baby and an adult is variant.
Letโs look at the extended list of what veggies they like to eat and what they do not like.
Bearded dragons like to eat several vegetables: kale asparagus, celery, okra, carrot, radish, turnip greens, nopales, pepper squash, green beans, pak choi, pumpkin, yellowcress, mustard greens, collard greens mustard, and fiber-rich vegetables.
They also eat tomatoes, green zucchini, and sweet potatoes, but these vegetables should be given once a month.
They can practically eat raw vegetables or other common staple vegetables. A plant-based diet should be more if your dragon is an adult as the nutrients get balanced.
Vegetables that Should be Avoided
Now letโs look at the vegetables that you should avoid totally.
- Any wild plants
- Fruits with high content of Vitamin C(Any citrus fruit as acidic food is terrible for bearded dragonโs digestive system, although it can be given monthly )
- Avocado
- Rhubarb
- Mushrooms
- Beetroot Tops
- Lettuce or other fibre-rich leafy green veggies
The veggies mentioned above are a big no for your bearded dragons. If consumed, they can harm the digestive system of your beardies or can even be poisonous to them. They can cause different types of sickness, such as diarrhea, metabolic bone disease, or even food poisoning.
Even if they like to eat these veggies, if it is domesticated, you should be cautious of giving them these things. So, when feeding them, you do need to exercise additional caution.
You can maintain your petโs diet by caring for your beardieโs health, but what about a wild bearded dragonโs diet? Many things they like to eat, living in the wild, use their perceptive smelling and clear vision to observe which food is healthy and which is not.
2. Healthy Fruits
Just like vegetables, fruits are also a great source of nutrition. Fruits are also an essential part of your beardieโs diet. Although bearded dragons like to eat different kinds of fruits, they should be given in small quantities and sporadically.
Bearded dragons love juicy and sweet fruits. Here are a few fruits that they like to eat. Raspberry, papaya, banana, dates, kiwi, watermelon, cherry, grapes, apricot, guava, pears, apple, blueberry, chayote figs, mango, pineapple, strawberry, raisins, peach, or any other chicory or seasonal fruits.
3. Healthy Flowers
They find the seeds and sepals of flowers delicious, and they can get different kinds of nutrients from flowers. Bearded dragons like to eat a variety of flowers. Take a look at some of the most loved flowers of these beardies.
- Dandelions
- Cranesbills
- Rose
- Dianthus
- Nasturtium
- Hibiscus
4. Healthy Insects
Being omnivores, they can consider eating both plants and animals. Bearded dragon likes to eat wild insects. An average babyโs diet is believed to consist of 70 percent insects and 30 percent vegetables and fruits. In contrast, adult dragons are more herbivores, consuming more plant-based food rather than insects, lizards, or rodents.
Beardies like insects that are good for their digestive system. You can purchase some live insects for your beardies. The insects or worms they eat should be parasite-free and should not contain any insecticides or pesticides. As for wild beardies, they detect moving insects or worms and consider them eatable.
There are unique live insects that bearded dragons like to eat, and you can get these at your nearest pet dines.
- Butterworms
- Phoenix worms
- Wax worms
- Crickets
- Super worms
- Dubia Roaches
- Mealworms
- Silkworms
- King worms
- Earthworms
Insects that Could be Harmful to Eat
Insects are considered a healthy part of their diet. As stated, baby bearded dragon tends to be a carnivore at the early stages of their life as they require adequate nutrients to gain a healthy weight.
Take a good look at the insects unsuitable for their consumption.
- Poisonous Insects
- Glowing insects such as Fireflies
- Perished Insects
- Elder bugs
- Wild insects
5. Supplements That Can be Given to the Beardies
Along with veggies and insects, the diet of the young and adult beardies should consist of a good amount of nourishing food. You can encounter a situation in which your beardie is not eating properly or eating less than it used to. In this kind of circumstance, what can you do?
Supplements! Yes, supplements and medication are the foremost things that can be given to your pal for regaining health. The easy thing about feeding supplements is that most pet stores sell these in powdered form so that you can drizzle the prescribed amount on their food, and then itโs good to go.
There are various supplements to feed your bearded dragon, and you can get them quickly from pet stores near you. The most common supplements that pet dines refer to are:
- Calcium supplement โ One of the essential contents of younger and adult beardiesโ diets, which can avert any calcium-related disease caused by its deficiency, like a metabolic bone disease.
- Multivitamins โ These are optional in beardiesโ diverse diet, still you should constitute medical advice regarding multivitamins.
- Vitamin D3 โ Powdered vitamin supplements can be given with food for your domesticated bearded dragon. As for the wild oneโs diet, they can get this vitamin from the sun.
Take special care while buying these supplements, as these should not contain phosphorus content in any amount.
Whether your dragon is a baby or an adult, proper care, a strict diet, and regular checkups are necessary.
Conclusion
These cute little fellows surely have a special list of what they like to eat, as for the wild bearded dragons their abilities are enough to hunt down and survive predators. Although, the food should be given to them according to their age and diet. Whether it is a juvenile or an adult beardie, you should always remain cautious of their diet and what to give them.
Ensuring they have a secure and comfortable living environment is equally crucial for their health and well-being. Adequate housing, proper temperature regulation, and appropriate substrate are essential factors to consider in providing a safe habitat for your bearded dragon.
We mentioned various things a bearded dragon likes and needs to eat to remain healthy. These lists are undoubtedly of great help.
Last Updated on by kalidaspandian