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Because bearded dragons are omnivores and have such a wide diet, their owners often have many questions about the foods they can eat. Often people are uncertain which fruit they can have, and you may be wondering can bearded dragons eat raspberries?
Bearded dragons are able to eat raspberries safely. However, they should be fed to your pet as an occasional treat and not a staple of their regular diet. Feed raspberries either once every two weeks, or once a month, as part of a healthy bearded dragon diet. This will be fine for your pet and has many advantages.
Raspberries are high in sugar, and sugar intake is always something to monitor with bearded dragons. However, they are rich in many nutrients and they may have other benefits as well.
Bearded Dragons Can Eat Raspberries
Bearded dragons can certainly eat raspberries, but definitely only provide them as a treat.
Raspberries have quite a high water content, and this overeating can make their bowel movements over-watery and foul smelling. Also raspberries are high in sugar, and bearded dragons do not cope well with excessive amounts of this.
However, bearded dragons are omnivores. Their diet has developed in such a way that they are able to eat a wide range of foods. This is possibly because they have evolved in dry desert habitats where access to any food can sometimes be difficult. It is healthy for them to try a range of tastes and food types, and gives them the variety that they require both physically and mentally.
Treats can be a great strategy to keep your bearded dragon happy and healthy.
Nutritional Content Of Raspberries
Raspberries are an excellent source of many nutrients. These include:
- Carbohydrates – These are the central source of energy
- Protein – Crucial in building and regenerating bones and body tissue
- Fiber – Good for keeping your bearded dragons bowel movements healthy and regular. Just avoid giving them too many raspberries, however, as this will then have the opposite effect.
- Vitamin C – This is one of the most important vitamins for animals, and is involved in growth, organ development, and regrowing and repair of body tissues. It is crucial to the smooth running of major organs.
- Vitamin E – This vitamin is important in maintaining health. It helps protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals.
- Vitamin K – Important for clotting blood and bone development and health.
- Copper – This helps maintain healthy blood vessel, bones and nerves amongst other things. It helps their body’s to absorb iron also.
- Potassium – Is important for the nerves. It helps to regulate muscle contractions and nerve signals. It is also involved in keeping healthy blood pressure levels.
- Phosphorus – Important for healthy strong bones and energy
- Magnesium – This helps maintain blood sugar levels
- Iron – Contributes to healthy bones and blood.
A Bearded Dragon’s Diet – Overview
In the wild, bearded dragons have come from the desert and forest regions of hot Central Australia, and their diet reflects what is found in this habitat.
Their staple diet will contain a mixture of the following:
- Insects
- Flowers
- Greens
- Other plant material
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Small lizards
- Small mammals
Staple Food Of Bearded Dragons
The most important food in a bearded dragons diet is greens. This is something that should be their core intake.
There are many types of greens that are perfect for bearded dragons, and these include some of the following:
- Rocket
- Coriander
- Endive
- Clover
- Kale
- Collards
- Clover
- Parsley
- Turnip greens
- Dandelion greens
Other Vegetables For Your Dragon
There are other vegetables that are not necessarily green that are an excellent food source for bearded dragons, and can also be part of their staple diet.
Some of these include:
- Broccoli – This is an excellent source of Vitamin C and K
- Red cabbage – This reduces blood pressure and aids blood health
- Bell peppers of all colors – These are rich in antioxidants and many different vitamins
- Green beans – Rich in Vitamin C and K, folate and dietary fiber.
Fruit For Bearded Dragons
Fruit should be used more sparingly in the dragon’s diet, and should not be a staple daily intake.
However, it is still an important component. Here are some fruits that are an excellent choice if used sparingly:
- Guava
- Apricot
- Cherries
- Blackberries
- Chayote
- Cranberries
- Pears
- Papayas
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Melons
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Watermelon
- Grapefruit
- Mangos
- Nectarine
- Pineapple
- Raisins
Meat Eaters
Like most lizards, bearded dragons enjoy eating meat, mostly in the form of insects. Live food is great, as it helps your pet to maintain its natural hunting skills and instincts. Some great insect choices for bearded dragons include:
- Locusts
- Crickets
- Kingworms
- Mealworms
- Waxworms
- Earthworms
- Roaches
Avoid Choking
It is recommended by many owners that you want to avoid your bearded dragon from choking. To stop this happening, you can chop up larger foods such as vegetables or fruit.
A good rule of them is to chop foods so their width is less than the distance between the eyes of your bearded dragon.
Bearded dragons, like many lizards, do not chew their food. They just swallow it whole. Making sure it is chopped up into bitesize chunks is the best way of ensuring there are no choking mishaps.
Freshness of Rasberries
It is probably common sense that if you feed raspberries to a bearded dragon, please make sure they are fresh.
It is not wise to feed them leftovers from the fridge that may be mouldy, dried-out, or have large amounts of bacteria growing on them. This could cause your bearded dragon to become ill.
Also, it is a good idea to wash raspberries (and indeed any fruit) before you give it to your bearded dragon. Many fruits these days are sprayed with chemicals and pesticides, and these can be harmful to your pet. A quick wash will remove most of these chemicals.
What Can They Not Eat?
Bearded dragons can eat a wide range of foods without issues. However, there are some things that you must avoid. These are:
Iceberg lettuce – These have no nutritional value for bearded dragons, and so there is not much point in them eating them. Also, worse than that, eating too much iceberg lettuce can potentially give them issues with overactive or watery bowel movements, which is something definitely best avoided.
Rhubarb – This is toxic to bearded dragons, and must be avoided
Fireflies – These are well-known to be toxic to bearded dragons and also other lizards. Avoid at all costs.
Avocados – These can be fatal to bearded dragons if they eat them in large doses. They contain something called oxalic acid. If your dragon eats just a small quantity of avocado they could become ill, and a larger portion can have terrible consequences.
Beet Tops – These contain a chemical that can lead to calcium deficiency and metabolic bone disease. They stop the bearded dragon from processing calcium. If they eat just a bit of this by mistake, this will not be a major issue. But in large quantities beet tops can have serious consequences.
Spinach – This is to be avoided for the same reason as beet tops.
Bananas – To a much lesser extent, eating bananas could potentially have the same issue as spinach and beet tops. However, feeding some banana once a month will be fine and cause no issues.
Conclusion
For bearded dragons, a good level of variety is required in their diet to keep them curious, interested and happy. Raspberries make a good occasional treat. They are high in vitamins and nutrients, and are of course tasty and interesting. Bearded dragons enjoy them, and will get health benefits if used in moderation. Good luck trying out the raspberries!
