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Can A Bearded Dragon Eat Blueberries?

Are blueberries safe for bearded dragons to eat?

How much fruit should you include in a bearded dragon’s diet?

Knowing which foods are safe and unsafe for your bearded dragon is an essential part of pet ownership.

While there are many food options to choose from for your beardie, you want to ensure the food you give your pet will not make them sick or cause them otherwise ill health.

Bearded dragons have special dietary needs which must be met for healthy growth to occur.

It is crucial to feed your beardie healthy foods, but not all healthy foods are created equal.

This article will provide essential details on whether or not blueberries are a safe food for bearded dragons.

We will also review other types of nutritious foods as well as the types of foods to avoid.

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Can A Bearded Dragon Eat Blueberries?

Blueberries are a safe food for bearded dragons, and they usually enjoy the taste. In the right amount, blueberries will give your beardie’s health a boost. Like most fruits, however, blueberries should not be fed every day since fruits should only make up a small percentage of a bearded dragon’s diet.

Blueberries offer many nutrients to a bearded dragon, making them one of the more healthy fruit options to include in its diet.

This section will explore these nutrients and why a bearded dragon isn’t allowed to have blueberries every day.

The Health Benefits of Blueberries for a Bearded Dragon

Blueberries, especially their skin, are rich in antioxidants, which help reduce inflammation and promote healthy heart function.

They are also full of carbohydrates, which provide the bearded dragon with energy.

Blueberries also provide bearded dragons with manganese, which helps prevent inflammation and aid in metabolism.

A bearded dragon’s immune system is strengthened by the vitamin C found in blueberries.

Vitamin C is also vital in the vision, growth, and reproduction of the bearded dragon.

Vitamin K1 is also found in blueberries, and it regulates blood clotting and supports a healthy heart and bone structure.

In addition to all of these nutrients, blueberries contain 85% water, making them an excellent hydration source for your beardie. 

How Often Should You Feed Blueberries to a Bearded Dragon?

Since fruit should only make up 10%-20% of a bearded dragon’s total diet, blueberries should only be given as a snack.

Despite their many health benefits, blueberries also contain factors making them unhealthy for daily consumption.

One unhealthy aspect about blueberries is, like most fruits, they contain too much sugar.

High sugar content is one of the main reasons for limiting fruit in a bearded dragon’s diet.

Beardies are more susceptible to obesity, heart problems, and diabetes when they have too much sugar in their diet regularly.

Blueberries are also high in phosphorus, which is unhealthy for your bearded dragon.

Too much phosphorus will inhibit a beardie’s ability to metabolize calcium, and the animal will begin to make up for the deficiency by leaching calcium from its bones.

This process quickly leads to metabolic bone disease, an incurable disease characterized by painful bone deformities, tremors, and even paralysis, ultimately leading to death.

For these reasons, blueberries should only be given sparingly as a snack once per week.

How Should You Prepare Blueberries Before Feeding Them to Your Bearded Dragon?

The first thing you should do when selecting blueberries for your bearded dragon is to check the quality of the berries.

Rotting blueberries will make your beardie sick, so avoid those, and be sure to thoroughly wash the edible blueberries to remove any dirt or leaves.

The blueberries may be fed whole or sliced in half to make it easier for your bearded dragon to bite off a piece.

Be sure to limit the blueberries to only one or two as a treat, once per week.

It is usually best to rotate through selecting different fruits every week to keep your beardie from becoming bored with its food.

Is it Safe to Feed Frozen Blueberries to Your Bearded Dragon?

Frozen blueberries are a great option to keep blueberries handy since bearded dragons are only allowed to have a couple once per week.

You should always buy organic frozen blueberries to avoid pesticide contamination.

However, if none are available, non-organic frozen blueberries contain fewer pesticides than fresh blueberries due to the differences in processing and storage.

Frozen blueberries have also been found to contain the same amount of nutrients as fresh blueberries.

Since both fresh and frozen blueberries will rot quickly in the hot and humid environment of your bearded dragon’s enclosure, you will need to remove any uneaten fruit as soon as your beardie is finished eating.

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What Other Foods Should You Include in Your Bearded Dragon’s Diet?

In the wild, bearded dragons are omnivores, meaning their diet includes a mix of insects, vegetables, greens, and fruits.

A bearded dragon’s diet should consist of 25% insects and 75% plant matter in captivity.

Fruits should only make up 10% of the plant matter, with vegetables and leafy greens making up the rest.

Offering your bearded dragon a variety of different insects, vegetables, greens, and fruits helps keep its diet interesting and prevents it from becoming a picky eater.

In addition to a varied diet, it is also essential to include nutritional powder supplements such as calcium and vitamin D3.

Insects and plant matter do not offer the full nutritional value required in a bearded dragon’s diet, so supplementation is essential.

Calcium and other powder supplements are added to a beardie’s diet by lightly sprinkling feeder insects right before feeding them to your dragon.

Some good choices for feeder insects for a bearded dragon include:

  • Dubia Roaches 
  • Earthworms
  • Crickets 
  • Mealworms

Mealworms contain more fat than other insect options, so they should only be fed sparingly as a treat.

Excellent vegetables to add to a bearded dragon’s diet include: 

  • Carrots
  • Cabbage 
  • Pumpkin 
  • Sweet Potato

Leafy greens to include as a diet staple include: 

  • Collard Greens
  • Dandelion Greens 
  • Kale

In addition to blueberries, it is also safe to feed these fruits to a bearded dragon as long as it is done in moderation: 

  • Apples
  • Bananas
  • Grapes
  • Strawberries
  • Watermelon 

What Foods Should You Avoid Feeding to a Bearded Dragon?

Fireflies and other glowing insects are toxic to bearded dragons, so you should never allow them to eat these types of insects, even in small quantities.

Iceberg lettuce should not be in a bearded dragon’s diet because it contains very little nutritional value, being made of mostly water.

Avocado, spinach, and beet tops should be avoided due to their high content of oxalates.

Oxalates prevent the proper absorption of calcium in a bearded dragon’s body, eventually leading to metabolic bone disease, which is often fatal.

Rhubarb is highly toxic to bearded dragons, even in small amounts

You should seek immediate veterinary care if any amount of rhubarb is ingested by your beardie.

You should never allow your bearded dragon to eat “human food,” such as table scraps, bread, chicken, or beef.

Another common food pet owners consider feeding their pets is baby food.

In theory baby food seems like a good option but before trying it please give our post dedicated to feeding bearded dragons baby food a read.

These foods do not contain any nutritional value for bearded dragons, and they are usually high in fat.

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Final Thoughts

It is safe to feed blueberries to your bearded dragon, although they should only be fed as a snack.

Too much sugar and phosphorus make blueberries unsuitable for daily feeding, even though they provide a bearded dragon with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Fruits should only make up a small portion of your bearded dragon’s diet, with the largest part consisting of vegetables and leafy greens.

Following the proper dietary guidelines for your beardie and providing the proper nutrition through a varied diet ensures your pet will live a long and healthy life.

In addition to a proper diet, always provide your bearded dragon with clean, freshwater every day.

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