If You are thinking Can Bearded Dragons Eat Thyme or Not? The answer is yes, Thyme is a good food source for the bearded dragon and so, you can add thyme to their balanced diet. Thyme belongs to the mint family and is a low-growing fragrant plant.
It produces a therapeutic oil and its little leaves are used as a culinary herb. Bearded dragons enjoy consuming these herbs for its rich flavor and aroma.
However, thyme should only be incorporated in a balanced healthy diet. Young bearded dragon should only have 30% greeneries of the total diet and for adult reptile, it’s 70.
So, it is important to know how to properly incorporate thyme in them system. In this article on can bearded dragons eat thyme I will talk about all of this information in detail.
Is Thyme Safe for your Bearded Dragon?
Before discussing can bearded dragons eat thyme, we need to discuss whether they are safe for them or nor. Thyme is regarded as one of the safest herbs for bearded dragons.
let me explain how and then you will automatically get the answer to your real question whether you can feed your beardie thyme. Because this fragrant plant is abundant in vitamin C, it will help the bearded dragon’s immunity.
It also contains a lot of vitamin A, which is good for your eyesight. Bearded dragons require vitamins for their general health. Apart from that thyme has a lot of other benefits. Thyme is full of Minerals such as copper, iron, and manganese.
All of these mineral’s aid in the health of your bearded dragon’s different organs and body components. All these make them quite a healthy plant for bearded dragons.
Thyme also includes fiber. In practical terms this isn’t very beneficial to bearded dragons. However, thyme appears to be a useful plant for bearded dragons in terms of other nutrients. The leaves of the thyme plant, as well as the flowers, are safe for beardies on a weekly basis. I don’t see anything wrong with occasional hospitality as long as you’re certain it hasn’t been subjected to pesticides.
How to Feed Thyme to Bearded Dragon
It is pretty much clear at this point that bearded dragon in-fact eat thyme. But how should you feed it to him? Let me tell you all about it.
While thyme is generally considered harmless for bearded dragons, it does contain essential oils that can produce harmful effects if consumed directly. Water or another form of hydration should always be near at hand if you incorporate thyme in your beardie’s food.
I would suggest you to mix it a little amount in its salad or with other food. Don’t feed it directly. Thyme has a rich aroma and flavor. So, it can make enhance the taste of any dish.
Here is how you should process it:
- First make sure to get fresh thyme form the store.
- After that thoroughly clean it with water.
- And then cut it into small little pieces and serve it to your bearded dragon along with other food.
Thyme is a pretty low-risk item on the list of items that might hurt a bearded dragon. But you should still be careful with it. Don’t feed your reptile too much thyme. Maybe once a week or so and that too with other food. Keep a small bowl of water nearby the food bowl. Because your bearded dragon will become purged when thyme enters its system.
Nutritious Value of Fresh Thyme
So, you can give your bearded dragon thyme without worrying about causing any harm. But what is your reptile getting out from it?
Per tablespoon serving of fresh thyme contains:
- Calories: 0.8
- Protein: 0 grams
- Fat: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0.2 grams
- Fiber: 0.1 grams
Is it safe for bearded dragons to consume dried thyme?
Now that you have the answer to your question can bearded dragons eat thyme, another question must be looming in your head. So, should you feed universally available dried thyme to your bearded dragon?
Well, bearded dragons can consume dried thyme as well, however, because dried herbs have more nutrients than fresh herbs, we recommend only feeding freshly picked herbs to your bearded dragon.
We’ll include a nutritional data sheet for dried thyme as a reference. Look at the calcium content first, then the phosphorus content. Remember that the ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be 1:1 or 2:1. According to the USDA food datasheet, the calcium/phosphorus ratio of dried thyme is a remarkable 9.5:1.
| Name | Amount | Unit |
| Water | 7.79 | g |
| Protein | 9.11 | g |
| Energy | 267 | kcal |
| Carbohydrate, by difference | 63.9 | g |
| Sugars, total including NLEA | 1.71 | g |
| Fiber, total dietary | 37 | g |
| Iron, Fe | 124 | mg |
| Calcium, Ca | 1890 | mg |
| Potassium, K | 814 | mg |
| Magnesium, Mg | 220 | mg |
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid | 50 | mg |
| Vitamin A, RAE | 190 | µg |
Is Lemon Thyme Acidic for Bearded Dragon?
Generally, lemon thyme does not cause any sort of harm to the bearded dragons, let alone acidic reaction. Because lemon thyme is a special kind of thyme, it may be fed to bearded dragons. However, like any other thyme it has got a bit of essential oil in it.
So, keep a bowl of water inside the glass chamber if you incorporate lemon thyme in its food. Lemon thyme gives your beardies food a nice flavor. So, you should incorporate this nice herb in your pet’s food from time to time.
What other herbs are safe for bearded dragons?
Other than thyme there are other herbs that bearded dragon can eat on a regular basis. They are:
- Basil.
- Oregano
- Bay Leaves.
- Rosemerry
- Celery.
- Chives.
- Coriander or cilantro.
- Fresh dill leaves.
- Fennel.
- Lavender.
Bearded dragons enjoy their food in its natural state; thus, these herbs should always be fresh. They should be able to chew and appreciate the crunch of the leaves.
Conclusion
Now you have a clear answer to your question can bearded dragons eat thyme. Make sure to properly incorporate thyme in its food source every other week to make the same old food taste much better. Thyme helps your dragon in many ways. And for a healthy life you need to fed it all sorts of herbs and greeneries. So, try to make its food tastier with thyme.