Can Bearded Dragons Eat Strawberries?
Bearded dragons can eat strawberries. In fact, they love them. They’re sweet and juicy, so they’re a nice tasty treat for your bearded dragon.
They can even eat the leaves, so there’s no waste at all. But it’s a good idea to cut them up into smaller pieces.
Because of the way bearded dragon’s mouths are shaped, it’s not easy for them to bite a full strawberry into smaller pieces themselves.
It’s also best to wash your strawberries before giving them to your dragon just in case there are pesticides lingering on there that you’re not aware of.
Strawberries in Moderation
Fruits shouldn’t be a massive part of your bearded dragon’s diet due to the sugar content. Their diet should mainly be made up of live food, for protein, and vegetables.
Strawberries, or any other fruit for that matter, should be given in moderation.
Because your bearded dragon will enjoy the taste so much, strawberries are ideal for convincing your dragon to broaden his horizons.
Bearded dragons are generally very picky eaters and may turn their noses up at some vegetables because they’re just not tasty enough.
You can get around this by squeezing a bit of strawberry juice onto a vegetable.
It’s sneaky, but it might convince your bearded dragon to try something new. You never know, they might actually like it.
How Often Should I Feed my Bearded Dragon Strawberries?
Although strawberries are good for bearded dragons and are recommended, it’s best to only give them in small doses. Vets recommend only around once or twice a month.
This is because strawberries contain a high amount of phosphorus and only a small amount of calcium.
Although your bearded dragon does require both things to stay healthy, they do need much more calcium.
This means that feeding your bearded dragon strawberries too often can cause an imbalance in the wrong direction, possibly making them ill.
You can feed your bearded dragon a strawberry once or twice a month as a treat to encourage good behavior, much like with a dog.
It’s a great idea to hide pieces of strawberry in your beardie’s habitat as an enrichment exercise. This is a fun activity for your dragon, promoting curiosity and alleviating boredom.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Strawberry Seeds?
In most cases, bearded dragons can’t eat the seeds of fruits as they aren’t easily digestible and don’t break up in the stomach, so they can cause a blockage.
However, strawberry seeds, because they’re so small, are actually edible. The good news is that you don’t need to sit for hours and pick out every single one.
They can be swallowed and digested easily as they are.
Due to this, preparation is easy. Just wash the strawberry, cut it into quarters, seeds and all and offer it to your bearded dragon on top of a nice green salad.
Are Strawberries Good for Bearded Dragons?
Strawberries are listed as one of the top 5 fruits for bearded dragons because of their high vitamin and mineral content. But it’s all about quantities.
Strawberries are great for bearded dragons every so often. However, feeding them as part of their regular diet can have health implications.
They are an excellent source of vitamin C though, which is an essential part of the bearded dragon’s diet.
They also contain a decent amount of manganese, folate and potassium, which are also vital for a healthy bearded dragon.
They’re full of antioxidants, which is why they’re so good for people too. Antioxidants are good for our blood sugar levels and help us to avoid heart disease.
This is exactly the same for bearded dragons.
Do Strawberries Cause any Health Issues for Bearded Dragons?
Developing Healthy Bones
To be healthy and develop healthy bones, bearded dragons require a high amount of calcium, but a low amount of phosphorus. Whilst strawberries do contain both things, unfortunately, the phosphorus outweighs the calcium.
This means that too many strawberries can have the opposite effect. Too much phosphorus in the diet, without the right amount of calcium can lead to painful metabolic bone diseases which are often incurable.
Because of this, it’s a great idea to sprinkle a bit of calcium powder over your strawberry before giving it to your bearded dragon.
It won’t change the taste for them, but it’ll even up the ratio a little bit.
Maintaining Perfect Teeth
Strawberries, like most fruits, are really high in sugar. This is why everyone, including your bearded dragon, prefers fruits to vegetables.
However, just like us eating too much chocolate, the sugars in fruit can damage your bearded dragon’s teeth over time.
They’re not like dogs, so it’s really not easy to clean a bearded dragon’s teeth.
The best thing to do is to limit the number of strawberries they have to around once per month as a treat.
It’s also a good idea to follow strawberries with some vegetables or live food. This helps to remove any lingering sugar from their teeth.
Aiding Digestion
The amount of sugar and fat in a strawberry can also cause issues with digestion. In the wild, bearded dragons wouldn’t be used to eating anything that’s really sugary.
This means that their stomachs aren’t equipped for it. Too much sugar in one go can cause diarrhea which can be extremely dangerous.
Bearded dragons do a great job of retaining their water because of their natural desert environment.
This means that they don’t take on too much water at all and any rapid water loss through diarrhea can cause dehydration quickly.
Make sure your bearded dragon always has a fresh bowl of water available, especially after a meal. This helps them to maintain their water levels and allows for easier digestion.
Baby Bearded Dragons
Although strawberries do have many benefits for bearded dragons, it’s not the best idea to give them to babies.
This is because their digestive systems are still developing. You also want to avoid any tooth decay early on in life, as this could cause issues later.
You don’t want to end up with a massive vet’s bill.
You can start offering strawberries as a treat when your bearded dragon is fully grown, or at 10-12 months old.
By this time, they’ll have matured and will be approaching their full size, meaning that their bodies can handle the sugar and the seeds much more easily.
Summary
So, to summarize, bearded dragons absolutely can eat strawberries. In fact, they have a lot of health benefits.
But you need to make sure that you don’t feed them strawberries very often. Bearded dragon’s diets are a delicate balance.
You need to make sure you don’t tip the scales with too many strawberries to avoid health problems further down the line.
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