What Not to Feed Your Bearded Dragon and Why

Keep Your Beardy Healthy and Happy With These Tips

Your bearded dragon enjoys a well-rounded diet including many fruits, vegetables, and insects like Dubia roaches and mealworms. While there are some foods that are clearly not good for your bearded dragon, others are not as obviously dangerous.

The following foods would be perfectly fine for us humans to enjoy but could cause digestion issues that might make your beardy really sick. Keep this list in mind and share it with any other bearded dragon owners.

1. Beet Tops: Beet tops are very nutritious, but they also contain a chemical that affects your dragon’s ability to absorb calcium into his bloodstream. If fed too many beet tops, your dragon could experience a calcium deficiency.
2. Spinach: When it comes to being safe for your dragon to eat, this leafy green unfortunately falls into the same category as beet greens. Spinach also includes a chemical that hinders your beardy’s calcium absorption.
3. Dairy: Your dragon’s digestive system is not able to process milk or other dairy products. Avoid any type of dairy, including milk, cheese, yogurt, or ice cream.
4. Onions: Most foods in the onion family—from raw or cooked onions to leeks, chives, and garlic—are not safe for your dragon. They are too difficult to digest.
5. Lettuce: Varieties like iceberg lettuce contain little to no nutritional value for your bearded dragon, and they are hard to digest. Serve dark, leafy greens instead.
6. Rhubarb: This vegetable contains oxalic acid, which is difficult for a bearded dragon to digest.
7. Avocado: While tasty, this fruit is unfortunately similar to rhubarb. It is too acidic for a beardy to safely enjoy.
8. Wild Insects: It might be tempting to catch some wild insects like fireflies for your dragon, but doing so can be dangerous. Fireflies are toxic to reptiles. Stick to safe and nutritious feeder insects like roaches, superworms, and mealworms.

We understand that it can be overwhelming to make sure you are feeding your bearded dragon foods that are safe, nutritious, and delicious. Our team recommends making high-quality feeder insects the core of your dragon’s diet and supplementing with safe fruits and vegetables like dark leafy greens, squash, bell peppers, strawberries, and seedless watermelon.

ABDragons has all of the insects your dragon needs including Dubia roaches, mealworms, superworms, and Phoenix Worms. Let us know if you have any questions!

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