Are you thinking of possible salads to make for your cute bearded dragon? It’s the goal of any responsible owner to provide the healthiest foods for a bearded dragon. Apart from protein and insects, you also need to offer vegetables and fruit.
The best bearded dragon salads mimic what they eat in the wild. As such, it’s essential to feed your pet bearded dragon a mix of these plants to ensure they get the nutrients they need.
We have compiled this detailed guide on what to put in a bearded dragon salad, including a few salad examples to get you started. When making a salad, the goal should be to add the most nutritious options and avoid non-beneficial ones like spinach. Let’s get started.
Best Salads for Bearded Dragons
The best bearded dragon salads are the ones made from plants that beardies forage in the wild. You find that most of the suitable plants are the ones we use in spices and garnishes.
They are packed with essential nutrients such as those crucial for a healthy digestive system. Avoid plants high in oxalates as the chemical binds with calcium and erodes the beardie off its nutrients.
Best salads for bearded dragons include
- Parsley
- Clover
- Mustard greens
- Dandelion
- Turnip greens
- Endive
- Coriander
- Rocket
- Dandelion flowers
To keep the salads interesting for your bearded dragon, you should add a few bite-sized fruits to the veggies as treats.
Tips for Making Bearded Dragon Salads
Even though it’s simple to make salads for your pet dragon, there are a few tips you could use:
Don’t Use a Cleaner When Washing the Veggies
There are many pet cleaners sold in pet stores that claim to be safe to use, but we don’t recommend them at all. If you want to wash the veg and fruit, you just need to rinse them in clean water.
Cleaning is crucial particularly if you buy your veggies from the local grocery store because there’s a chance they contain pesticides, which can be fatal to your bearded dragon.
Cut It into Bite-Sized Pieces
Your beardie has a tiny mouth, so you should ensure any fruit or veggie you choose is small enough. Anything bigger than the space between their eyes is likely to choke your bearded dragon.
Try Fresh Salads
Beardies are naturally curious and will be seen trying to lick everything they can find to see if it’s edible. This includes the not-so-fresh veggies that may be harmful to beardies.
It’s crucial that you offer fresh salad daily, and don’t be afraid to spruce up their salads using live plants like aloe plants, cacti, succulents, etc.
How to Make a Salad for Your Bearded Dragon?
Because all ingredients are fresh and easy to find, it’s possible to make three different salad recipes. For all the three salads we are going to look at, the first step is the same. Tear or chop the greens into very small pieces and find a variety.
You can either make a fruit salad, veggie salad, and a combination. To make a fruit salad, put chopped greens in a bowl and then add chopped strawberries and apples. A veggie salad contains safe vegetables like the ones included in this guide.
The best recipe salads for beardies are ones that include other critical supplements like calcium powder and dragon food.
Check out these three delicious homemade salads for bearded dragons to try.
Stuffed Sweet Potato Skin Salad
Ingredients
- Acorn Squash
- Green beans
- Peeled apples
- Blueberries
- Collard greens
- Calcium supplements
- Sweet potato
How to Make
- Boil the potato until soft, then scoop the insides so that it forms a whole to stuff your greens and veggies
- Make sure you have small pieces of veggies and fruits to add to the hollow sweet potato
- Then, mix the chopped greens with moistened bearded dragon food
- Stuff the mixture/puree inside the scooped sweet potato
- Dust the stuffed potato with calcium powder
Juvenile Bearded Dragon Salad
If you have a young bearded dragon, here’s the best bearded dragon salad recipe for them.
Ingredients
- Carrots
- Swiss chard
- Dried mealworms
- Dried flowers
- Small hornworms
- Bee pollen
- Calcium powder
- Medium-sized crickets
How to make
- Cut the leafy greens and veggies into bite-size pieces
- Sprinkle small-sized 1-2 hornworms and medium-sized 5-10
- Sprinkle some calcium powder supplement to coat, and add some bee pollen
How to Train Your Bearded Dragon to Eat Salads?
Training your beardie to eat salads should be easy if you follow these steps:
Train Early
One way to train your beardie to eat veggies and fruits is to train them early enough and as soon as you find out that your beardie is refusing to eat salads.
For younger bearded dragons, you can start with young leaves and flowers. Ensure to keep the salad bowl in the tank at all times.
Mix a Variety
The best method to use is to mix fruits and vegetables to boost appetite. Try adding small pieces of figs, blackberries, prickly pear, apples, and other fruits.
Avoid adding too many pieces, but make sure you have each. Over time, you should learn what your beardie likes.
Add Insects To The Salad Bowl
Another way to make your dragon eat the salad is to add a few of their favorite insects to the salad. Add them one by one and your dragon might grab and eat a few of the insects.
If that doesn’t help, add some new bugs like hornworms and put them under the salad. If you’re quick enough, you can place the bugs in the salad and time when the dragon flicks the tongue to get it and throw a small piece of salad in front.
Make Your Beardie Hungry First
While this is not recommended, waiting a bit longer for the beardies’ hunger pangs to grow can force the beardie to eat some salad. You shouldn’t starve the dragon, though, but wait a little longer past the meal times.
Utilize the Basking Area
Placing a few small pieces of veggies in the basking area might be what your dragon needs to feel encouraged to feed on the salads. They like to lick the area so that you can place veggies just in case.
Place Them on the Paper Towel
Your bearded dragon is likely to eat the veggies when presented on a paper towel. This is because they are easily hooked by the contrast the color of the fruits provides to the white color of the paper towel.
Let them get used to feeding on the paper towel, and then remove them from the paper to the bowl gradually.
Feed from Your Hand
If nothing works and your beardie won’t eat any veggies, it’s time to try feeding the pet yourself. Try chopping the salad into bite-sized pieces and placing them inside the lip, one after the other.
The dragon is likely to eat a few and like the taste eventually.
Why Bearded Dragons Won’t Eat Salad?
There are quite a few reasons why beardies won’t eat salads, including:
Age
Bearded dragon food preferences and needs change with age. In the first year, for instance, they prefer a lot of bugs to fuel rapid growth.
Although the dragon may still be too young and unlikely to like the taste, you should introduce it early by keeping a bowl of fresh salad in the terrarium at all times.
Too Much Food
Sometimes the reason why your beardie won’t eat greens is because they have already fed too many insects.
As hatchlings, make sure 70% are bugs. Juveniles should get 50% while adults need only 30%. Keep a strict schedule for when they should eat protein as well as when they should eat greens.
Inadequate UVB/Heat
Bearded dragons need a surface under a heat source where they can bask and stay warm. The ideal temperature is about 100F as measured by the digital probe thermometer or temperature gun.
When a bearded dragon isn’t getting enough of the heat and UVB, it lacks all the energy it needs for healthy digestion.
Boring Options
Bearded dragons may get bored by certain foods just like us. If your beardie doesn’t eat the greens you offer, perhaps you need to try other options. Look for colorful options like red and orange fruits.
Not Familiar with Salads
This is primarily a common problem among rescue beardies who are only used to bugs for years. For these, add a few small insects in the salad, such as mealworms and phoenix worms, to get your beardie’s attention. Eventually, they will chew a leaf by accident, helping them realize greens are also food.
What Are The Best Fruits For Bearded Dragons?
You can feed bearded dragons almost every fruit without worrying about harm. Fruits should make up to 1/3 of the meals. However, like all other meals, do not overdo. Also, make sure you mix a few fruits to ensure a tasty meal.
Some of the best fruits for your bearded dragons include;
Best Bearded Dragon Vegetables
Like with fruits, beardies can feed on most vegetables that humans eat. You should ensure to cover as many colors of veggies as possible to provide a good balance of nutrients.
The more colors you have in the salad, the more vitamins. Veggies should make up to ½ of the meals during veg days and at least 75% for adult bearded dragons. Some of the best veggies with the best nutrients for beardies include:
- Green beans
- Peas
- Arugula
- Endive
- Butternut Squash
- Okra
- Kale
- Escarole
- Collard greens
- Turnip greens
- Broccoli (tiny piece)
- Bok choy
- Carrot
- Swiss chard
- Acorn squash
Feed These Vegetables Occasionally
- Basil
- Bell pepper
- Artichoke heart
- Grated raw carrot
- Peeled cucumber
- Carnations
- Parsley
- Yellow Squash
- Mint leaves
- Clover
- Yam
Avoid These!
- Onion
- Avocado
Veggies should be sliced into bite-sized pieces to make it easier for your beardie to grab using its tongue. Avoid slimy and wet veggies like cactus and cucumber, which may frustrate your beardie because they don’t stick well on the tongue.
You can also hand-feed these but be cautious because the dragon may accidentally bite you.
Some owners provide greens like spinach, lettuce, and kale, which are essentially water in vegetable form. These rarely provide any nutrients and are likely to cause diarrhea.
If your bearded dragon is severely constipated or dehydrated, you may add some lettuce to salads to reduce it. Greens like spinach are high in oxalates that hurt rather than nourish your bearded dragon.
What Are the Best Fruits For Bearded Dragons?
Your beardies diet should also contain up to 10% fruit. They tend to have more water and sugar than veggies, so you might need to reduce it to prevent a laxative effect. Use them as treats, and make sure you avoid the poisonous ones.
Some Suitable Fruits for Beardies Include;
Avoid These!
- Citrus
- Rhubarb
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lettuce Good For Bearded Dragons?
Lettuce is famous for being rich in water and calories while still providing minerals and vitamins. Despite its value in the human diet, lettuce is not considered ideal for bearded dragons, although some varieties are more valuable than others.
Is Romaine Lettuce Suitable For Bearded Dragons?
Romaine lettuce is a great veggie to add to your bearded dragon’s salad with a refreshing crunch. Romaine offers excellent nutritional value, including vitamin A, C, K, folate, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
However, keep in mind that romaine lettuce is 95% water, so you should limit it to avoid diarrhea. There are more nutritious options to consider before feeding your beardie romaine lettuce.
Is Iceberg Lettuce Safe for Bearded Dragons?
Iceberg lettuce is 96% water and may sound like an excellent addition to hydration. However, high water content and low nutrition make this green a catalyst for diarrhea.
Signs of hydration include sunken appetite, fatigue, and wrinkly skin.
Is Butter Lettuce Suitable For Dragons?
Butter lettuce is known for its wide leaf and soft texture that gives it a buttery feel. While the veggie offers better calcium to phosphorus ratio, it doesn’t provide much for a bearded dragon compared to other veggies.
Is Green Leaf Lettuce Safe For Dragons?
Green leaf lettuce adds a delicious crunch to sandwiches and buggers with a fair amount of fiber, vitamin c, protein, potassium, and vitamins A and K.
It’s also a great source of Vitamin A, but that’s also why you need to limit its consumption to prevent overdose of the vitamin. Signs of Vitamin A overdose include swollen body parts, weight loss, dehydration, and less energy.
Why Is Avocado Bad For Bearded Dragons?
You may have already heard or read that avocado is not suitable for dragons. That’s right, because they contain persin, a toxin that affects reptiles and birds. It’s mainly found on the skin and seed of avocado, and just enough of it can cause diarrhea, respiratory failure, and possibly death.
Most beardies do recover after eating avocado, but why would you put your pet’s life at stake?
Besides, avocado has too much fat, and too much of it can cause obesity and other serious health problems. Also, avocados are high in oxalic acid or oxalates, which are bad because they bind with calcium and prevent absorption into the beardie’s bloodstream.
Because calcium is essential for beardies, the damage caused by too many oxalates causes problems with the skeletal system, a disease known as metabolic bone disease. Common symptoms of metabolic bone disease include lethargy and weakness, twitching, bone fracture, and limb paralysis.
How Much Salad Should Beardies Eat?
It depends on the age of the bearded dragon. Usually, baby bearded dragons under four months should feed fewer salads and more insects. Greens should not exceed 20% of the diet as the feeder insects should cater for up to 80%.
Juvenile beardies and sub adults below seven months should consume 50:50 greens and feeder insects, while adult beardies above one year should eat 70 – 80% veggies and greens.
Fruit should not exceed 80% of a beardies diet because it’s likely to contain more sugar. You need to add a few flowers, including dandelions, nasturtiums, hibiscus, and more.
How Many Times Should a Bearded Dragon Eat?
Baby bearded dragons below four months old should eat about three times a day, including a bowl of salad all the time. Juvenile beardies between 4 – 7 months old should eat two times a day and ensure to include a bowl of salad at all times.
Sub-adult beardies should have insects once a day and provide a bowl of salads once every other day. Adult bearded dragons should eat about twice a week, including a bowl of salad five times a week. Ensure you feed nothing for two days in a week.
Wrap Up
Salads are an essential part of a bearded dragon’s diet in captivity. But it’s important to know what are the best veggies and fruits to add to your beardie.
Just ensure the vegetables and worms you use are high in nutritional value and are smaller for easy swallowing.
Have fun making nutritious salads for your bearded dragon. It’s extremely fun to serve them and watch them as they gobble it up!