Bearded dragons are one of the friendliest, docile, and easy to care for lizards out there. They actually make excellent pets for reptile lovers.
Beardies are considered omnivores, even though most people relate them to eating bugs. They can eat and flourish on various plants, fruits, and insects.
Even for experienced owners, some details are worth revisiting. For example, do you know what fruit can bearded dragons eat? We’ve gone through some of the articles out there and cross-referenced them with the fruit we’ve fed these little guys over the years.
Table of Contents
What Fruits Can a Bearded Dragon Eat?
Bearded Dragons can eat the following fruit:
- Papayas
- Mangos
- Apples
- Plums
- Peaches
- Watermelon
- Cherries
- Bananas
- Raspberries
- Figs
- Pears
- Melon
- Grapes
- Cucumbers
Bearded dragons can eat various fruit as long as it is not a significant part of their diet. Consumption of fruit should be kept to a minimum. This means no more than 10% of the bearded dragon’s diet should come from fruit. You can also check out our Can Bearded Dragons eat Grapes? Article for more information.
Benefits of Eating Fruit for Bearded Dragons
Even though you should only feed fruit on occasions and sparingly to your bearded dragon, that doesn’t mean that there are no other benefits other than a sweet treat.
Fruit contains essential vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and essential water content that can significantly benefit the health of a bearded dragon.
Fiber can be crucial in small quantities, and this helps your bearded dragon to defecate regularly by preventing constipation. It is also easier to monitor your bearded dragon’s poop to make sure everything is digesting correctly.
Fruit also contains antioxidants and important vitamins that benefit your bearded dragon’s health, such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and calcium.
Fruit also helps with hydration. You see, bearded dragons are not big water drinkers. However, fruit naturally stores water, so it also hydrates when your bearded dragon feeds on fruit.
Fruit can also help stubborn beardies eat their leafy, healthy greens. A bit of fruit sprinkled over their greens can finally give your bearded dragon an incentive to eat.
Fruits To Avoid Feeding To Your Bearded Dragon
- Oranges
- Limes
- Lemons
- Avocado
- Clementines
- grapefruit
- olives
When it comes to bearded dragons, not all fruit is created equal. Some are fine for humans but must be avoided when feeding your bearded dragon.
First, you should never give your bearded dragon avocado. Not feeding avocado is true for most pets, and even wild animals know to avoid avocado. It is generally high in toxins and can kill your bearded dragon. Citrus is another red flag for beardies. Citrus fruits are much too acidic for a bearded dragon’s digestive system to handle.
As a general rule, if you are not sure about a fruit, try to look it up online first.
Types of Fruits Bearded Dragons Enjoy
Bearded dragons like sweet fruit because it feels like a treat to them. Some notable healthy and tasty fruits for your bearded dragon are mango, pear, raspberry, strawberry, apples, and blueberries. These fruits should be no more than 10% of your dragon’s diet.
There are some fruit that your beardies will enjoy but are not as healthy as the previously named fruit. These fruits include bananas, watermelon, and even cherries. Try to limit these to once a month at most.
Use fruit to keep their meals interesting. They can quickly get tired of eating crickets and greens every day so try to spice up feeding times with a little bit of fruit once in a while.
Why Is Too Much Fruit Bad For A Bearded Dragon?
Many types of fruit contain something called oxalates. These oxalates can prevent the absorption of calcium in reptiles like bearded dragons. In a sense, oxalates turn calcium into a waste product to be excreted through stools.
Calcium is a vital nutrient in a healthy dragon diet. It helps them stay strong and promotes growth.
Fruit is also high in sugar, which brings a host of other issues for your pet, like becoming overweight. Fruit can be high in calories, so it is relatively easy to overfeed your bearded dragon with just a little bit of papaya, blueberries, or apples.
Fruit can also decay your beardies teeth over time, making eating at an older age more complex and even painful. Lastly, particular fruit can be highly acidic, making them difficult to digest. Finally, digestive issues can be a big problem for bearded dragons by giving them diarrhea which can cause dehydration.
Many fruits contain high levels of natural sugars, which can cause your Beardie to become overweight and listless in large quantities.
It also decays their teeth, which will make it difficult for them to eat over time, aside from being painful.
Remember, fruit is a treat and should be treated like it. When feeding fruit, it should always be in. moderation.
How Should You Feed Fruit To Your Bearded Dragon?
You should add small, manageable pieces of fruit to your bearded dragon leafy green once each week. Then, it is usually easy to get them to try fruit for the first time.
You can also try feeding a piece of fruit after your bearded dragon has already eaten its crickets and green. Doing it this way makes it seem like they are getting a treat.
Should Bearded Dragons Eat Canned Fruit?
No, bearded dragons should not eat canned fruit because they are typically loaded with preservatives and extra sugars. Remember that when feeding your bearded dragon, any type of organic fruit is best (no pesticides).
If you can’t find organic fruit, regular supermarket fruit will do; wash them thoroughly first. Canned fruit is a definite red flag and should never be fed to your bearded dragon.
Conclusion
So what fruit can bearded dragons eat? Well, several, but you will have to be careful when feeding it to your pets.
Fruit is an excellent addition to your bearded dragon’s diet and will have many benefits healthwise. However, moderation is essential, and you should always be aware of the necessary restrictions. If you have a picky eater who doesn’t like to eat leafy greens, some fruit might help the situation. For more information check out the bearded dragon care guide.
Cover Photo by Jonas Kakaroto
