Bearded dragons can eat sweet potatoes. In fact, they kind of live it! Throughout this article, we will clarify one of the most asked questions about bearded dragons.
Can bearded dragons eat sweet potatoes or not? Well, in the first sentence, you already have the answer to that question. In the rest of the article, we will provide you with important information about the whole situation.
We’ll also debunk some of the common myths and misconceptions about this as well.
We need to talk about the specifications and exact details of the diet of the Bearded dragon. Before getting on with more details, let me tell you that we’re going to be discussing about what vegetables can Bearded dragon eat.
The fun thing about the Bearded dragon is that it has the capability of eating all sorts of food.
For which we call it one of the “omnivorous” animals. An omnivore animal or being omnivorous basically means that the animal or the living creature has the tendency to eat both veg and non-veg items in their diet.
Before getting along with more details regarding the Bearded dragon food list. We need to have a little look at the actual animal itself. A bearded dragon is basically an omnivorous lizard.
But unlike the other lizards, it is quite friendly in terms of nature and natural behavior. And that is exactly why the Bearded dragon is considered to be one of the best pet animals in the lizard class. But there is a little catch to it.
As it is mostly from the tropical region or the desert region in the earth, it needs a lot of heat and humidity. For which, countries like the United States and similar other Western nations need to have proper enclosure systems to have Bearded dragons as a pet animal.
Which is even quite peculiar. Especially regarding the fact that more than 80% of the total pet Bearded dragon has been consumed by the United States alone. This means that there is a severely high number of sales and distributions of related products which can create heated and humid enclosure services for Bearded dragon.
What vegetables can bearded Dragons eat?
By this point, you might have already guessed that we will discuss about different items in the vegetable class for bearded Dragons in this article. So, let’s have a look at the basic items in this list first.
After that, we will dive deep into the details of those items. We will be also providing some nutrition data for each of the items. That will be able to make you understand which should be used when and exactly how much.
As being an omnivorous animal, bearded Dragons are prone towards eating veg and non-veg items. But as you are keeping a bearded dragon as a pet animal.
You need to learn about the nutrition values for each of the things that you’re feeding to it. Especially in terms of veg items. Because non-veg items for bearded Dragons mostly include different types of insects and worms.
But vegetables have different sorts of nutritious value in them. And you need to learn the proper information on the data of the nutritious values.
Better Dragons have a long list of vegetarian diets. But that doesn’t mean that they can be fed with absolutely anything. You need to be properly cautious and also informed about which items should be exactly to be avoided at all costs.
Here is a short list of exactly what food can you feed a bearded dragon in the list of the vegetarian section.
- Apples
- Bananas
- Blueberries
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Collard greens
- Dandelion greens
- Kale
- Pepper
- Pumpkin
- Squash
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Sweet potato
In this massive list of items, there might have a few things that have been left off. But that is done for a reason. Which is absolutely to create a list that has 100% accuracy of being friendly towards the diet list of a bearded dragon. Throughout this article, we will be discussing further details about can bearded Dragons eat sweet potatoes or not.
Can you feed a bearded dragon only with sweet potatoes?
Of course not. The basic part about having the bearded dragon as a pet animal is that to maintain a proper diet list. At all stages, you need to be cautious about what you are feeding to the animal and also exactly in which form.
Just like we have discussed in another article regarding whether or not you can feed bearded Dragons with all sorts of mice. We have discussed there that even if a type of mice is suitable for a bearded dragon, the form in which it is being presented to the animal is also important.
Similarly, you need to be cautious about presenting the bearded dragon with any sort of frozen food. In most cases, avoiding frozen food if it is vegetables is recommended.
That is because frozen food turns hard in the texture which is obvious. But hard food is difficult for the lizard to swallow and digest. And it can also cause damage to the intestine of the animal itself.
How to prepare sweet potatoes for bearded dragon
In this part of this article, we will be learning about the processing method. Can you give sweet potatoes directly to a bearded dragon? Can you constantly feed bearded Dragons with sweet potatoes? Questions like these often cause a lot of confusion inside the minds of the owners of Bearded Dragons.
And there is a valid reason for these two. As bearded Dragons are exotic animals. But there are still quite delicate because of the change of environment, it is really important that we should be cautious about the food list.
Most bearded Dragons seem to quite enjoy sweet potatoes. But by hearing this, many people tend to feed bearded Dragons with lots of sweet potatoes. That is also not good at all.
You cannot just have a bunch of sweet potatoes being dumped in front of the Dragons’ cage. Better Dragons need a fully nourished and all-around diet chart throughout the day. You cannot just dump a couple of items and expect that your responsibility is done.
Regarding the preparation of sweet potatoes. There are a couple of points that you need to keep in mind. The very first thing is that, getting the temptation of cooking the sweet potato before serving it is a very legit thought to have. But this is not something that you should do.
There is a reason for that. Better Dragons have shown a preference towards eating sweet potatoes as in their raw state. But, it doesn’t mean that you should directly toss the sweet potato inside the cage of the bearded dragon.
First of all, you need to wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly. If possible, peel all of the sweet potatoes. And even after peeling it, remember to wash all of the pieces of the sweet potatoes thoroughly.
This is very important. Not just because of the dirt and the dust that might be on the sweet potatoes, but also the pesticides and the fertilizers that might be hanging onto the skin of the sweet potatoes can cause severe damage to the Bearded dragon. And if you are using a peeler, then keep on using it even after the skin has been peeled out
. What you will have in that case? Really thin strips of sweet potatoes that will be similar to the skin of the potato itself. That is actually really important. Cause they are quite thin and soft; it would be easier for the lizard to digest and to swallow at the same time.
So, Can Bearded dragons eat sweet potatoes at all?
The basic answer is, yes. They indeed can eat sweet potatoes. But not too much. in terms of the diet cut of the entire day, it is recommended that you feed not more than 50 grams or 80 grams of sweet potatoes to a bearded dragon. And there is a reason for that.
As sweet potatoes contain a severely high level of vitamin A. If you feed your Bearded dragon with a lot of sweet potatoes, it can suffer severe stages of vitamin A toxicity. Which can cause the blood of the bearded dragon to have a higher stage of vitamin complexity and so on.
What about the other vegetables?
In a previous part of this article, we have given you a list of exactly what vegetables and fruits that you can feed your bearded dragon. In this part of this article, will be verifying the details of some of the other fruits and vegetables.
You might be having questions in your head regarding can bearded Dragons eat carrots or not.
Yes, they have the capability of digesting and swallowing carrots as well.
In fact, carrots are one of the items that can be fed to bearded Dragons in a large amount. But not too much.
In a table, later on, this article will discuss the exact amount of each of the fruits and vegetables that you can feed to your bearded dragon.
But what about spinach and broccoli? Can bearded Dragons eat spinach? In a previous article, we have already explained this. As bearded Dragons have a tendency to eat a sufficient number of vegetables. The best item in the list of vegetables for a bearded dragon is leafy greens.
And spinach, of course, falls under the category of leafy greens. You can easily feed up to 100 grams of spinach to an adult bearded dragon. And spinach is really good for bearded Dragons as well.
As they tend to have a higher amount of calcium and other important minerals, they are good for the animal to survive. Now let’s talk about one of the most common vegetables of all time. Can bearded Dragons eat tomatoes? The straight-cut answer is yes, they can.
In a further part of this article, we will also have a proper list. That bearded dragon food list will be able to help you out in terms of determining which food to select and exactly how much amount that you should feed your bearded dragon.
Common facts and misconceptions about diet chart of a bearded dragon
This part of this article is quite random. There will be no specific outline for this part. Rather than we will be talking about some of the theories and common misconceptions that you would probably hear from your neighbor or a friend that is an “expert” in this case.
There are a lot of people that we, ourselves have encountered with who recommend serving bearded Dragons with cooked sweet potatoes. This is one of the most important questions. Can bearded Dragons eat cooked sweet potatoes? In a generic sense, the answer is yes and no both.
There is a reason for that. Bearded Dragons actually “can” eat cooked sweet potatoes. But The thing is that they don’t prefer doing it. If you are giving only cooked sweet potatoes to a bearded dragon, chances are that it will actually eat the thing.
But if you are thinking about its own choices and preferences, giving it raw sweet potatoes is the best option. So that also clarifies confusion about Bearded Dragons should be fed with sweet potato; raw or cooked?
What type of vegetables should be fed to a bearded dragon on a daily basis?
Feeding Bearded Dragons are as much easy as it is possible. The only catch is that you need to be just a little cautious about the items that you are feeding it. Bear Dragons are prone towards eating sweet potatoes, tomatoes, leafy greens, and similar other vegetables.
This means items like broccoli, cabbage, spinach can be easily fed to a bearded dragon. But, you cannot feed bearded Dragons with any vegetable that you want in any unlimited manner. There is a specific amount of food that you need to feed the bearded dragon in terms of any specific food item.
Instructions of food chart for a baby bearded dragon
If you have a baby bearded dragon, then here is a small list of things that you can do for it. Let’s start with the morning diet. In the morning, you can feed the baby bearded dragon with around 2 small kale leaves. with one really small pumpkin piece. By “small” we mean around 8 grams or 12 grams. this morning routine is to be followed along with ten small crickets.
At noon and evening, the better dragon needs around two or three small pieces of any type of leafy green substance. With ten small roaches.
Around night time, make sure that you are feeding the bearded dragon with 4 hours or six hours intervals with small colored green or dandelion greens pieces with one or two small pepper sliced bell
Instructions of food card for an adult bearded dragon
Protein | greens and vegetables | fruits | |
Day 1 | 5 crickets, 5 Dubia roaches | Kale, collard greens, two full-sized sweet potatoes, two full-sized bell pepper slices | 3 blueberries, 1 strawberry |
Day 2 | 5 super worms, 3 earthworms | dandelion greens, bok choy, two baby carrots, 2 pumpkin pieces | 2 Peach slices |
Day 3 | five crickets, 5 Dubia roaches | KALE, collard greens, 2 sweet potato pieces, 2 bell pepper slices | 3 blueberries, 1 strawberry |
Day 4 | 5 super worms, 3 earthworms | dandelion greens, bok choy, two baby carrots, 2 pumpkin pieces | 2 Peach slices |
regarding the preparation, here is a small tip. Don’t feed any of the items mentioned in this list, especially in the greens and vegetables and fruits section as a whole. You need to chop the greens and vegetables and fruits into small pieces. As bearded Dragons tend to have really soft teeth and they are not capable of biting anything with severe force, it is important that you chop the fruits and vegetables in small sections. And this will help the bearded dragon a lot in terms of being able to swallow and digest the food and get the most nutrition out of it.
FAQ
Can bearded Dragons eat cabbage?
Can bearded Dragons eat broccoli?
Do bearded Dragons eat raw or cooked sweet potatoes?
Can bearded Dragons have sweet potato as baby food?
What veggies are good for bearded Dragons?
What foods are toxic to bearded Dragons?
What is the bearded Dragon’s favorite food?
What is a good treat for bearded Dragons?
Which baby food is safe for bearded Dragons?
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed a lot of information about can bearded Dragons eat sweet potatoes or not. if you have any questions regarding any of the information provided in this article, feel free to let us know.
You can either leave a comment down below in the comment section. Or, if you want to reach us directly, you can use the contact information given at the bottom of this page for reaching us directly. You can drop a mail or even reach us directly with any of the information given below.
In the end, we would like to say that bearded Dragons are quite delicate animals. If you are an owner of one, make sure that you are cautious at all times. As bearded dragons tend to have a weaker digestive system in comparison with the other heavy-duty lizards, it is important that you provide it with proper nutrition in the proper form.
If you need any other information regarding bearded Dragons or any sector of being the owner of bearded Dragons, feel free to check out the rest of our articles on this topic. If you have any recommendations or if you want to learn something about bearded Dragons, let us know and we will be more than happy to help you out.