The diet of your bearded dragon can vary widely. While many beardies enjoy meat and fish, they can also benefit from vegetables and greens. Spinach, kale, and broccoli are all excellent options. Commercial diets are also acceptable for your beardie. You can also supplement their diet with a few Gut-loading insects, such as crickets. These insects will help your beardie get the nutrients it needs without the added weight.
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Vegetables
Vegetables are important for the health of bearded dragons, and you can feed your pet healthy salads by providing it with green leaves. Fresh cilantro has many health benefits for bearded dragons, and it is a good source of Vitamins A and K. Other great salad ingredients are kohlrabi, which is a member of the cabbage family and has fiber, vitamins, potassium, and folate. Celery leaves are also a good source of vitamin C, fiber, and hydration. Be sure to chop celery leaves finely so that your beardie dragon doesn’t choke on them.
When choosing the vegetables that bearded dragons eat, make sure to check for the right ratio of calcium to phosphorus and oxalate content. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus is important for proper bone health, and you should avoid serving your beardie too many cruciferous vegetables. Your local veterinarian can provide a complete list of safe vegetables for bearded dragons.
Greens
Aside from being low in calories, greens are also high in vitamins and minerals. Kale, a spongy vegetable, contains folate, potassium, and Vitamins B6, C, and K. Kale should be chopped into strips and mixed with other greens. Asparagus and cauliflower are also excellent choices for bearded dragons. These vegetables contain a variety of minerals and vitamins that dragons need.
To improve your beardie’s diet, try offering greens as often as possible. It’s important to make the greens as nutritious as possible, and preparing them in different ways will increase your dragon’s interest in them. To increase the likelihood of greens being eaten, try preparing them yourself. Cooked greens contain more oxalates, which can lead to metabolic bone disease.
Vegetables are great for beardie’s health, and you can chop them into bite-sized pieces for your pet to eat. Alternatively, you can freeze your dragon’s food and thaw it in the microwave. Just make sure that the vegetables are fresh and not overcooked. If you see any signs of spoiled food, take them out of their enclosure. Eventually, they may become ill and refuse to eat.
Commercial diets
There are many commercial diets for bearded dragons, but not all of them are balanced and nutritionally beneficial for these reptiles. Aside from commercial diets, you can also feed your beardie a variety of vegetables and feeder insects. You can also offer them a treat like fruits. However, commercial pellets are an excellent choice because they are inexpensive, convenient, and a high quality source of nourishment. Most commercial pellets contain the most recommended veggies and feeder insects. They also come with calcium powder and multivitamins already added.
Another option is to feed live insects to your beardie. Live insects provide natural enrichment to your pet, so be sure to offer your beardie plenty of insect food. Try to feed it in a large container to provide an alternative feeding environment, and also make sure you collect any insects that it may not eat. Some insects are known to be predatory, so be cautious. Crickets, for example, can be dangerous for your beardie.
Gut-loading insects
Gut-loading insects are beneficial to reptiles because they provide nutritional value to your pet. Feeder bugs also need to be hydrated since most reptiles get water from their prey. By feeding your pet both dry and wet feeder insects, you can increase their life spans. If you’re worried that your reptile may suffer from dehydration, you can give them greens and feeder insects.
Crickets are one of the best insect foods for your beardie. It’s inexpensive, nutritious, and easy to feed. Simply add water to the cricket food before giving it to your bearded dragon. You can give your beardie crickets live crickets from a bag or container. You can also purchase crickets at Petco. Just be sure to add the food to its water bowl every time you change it.
