PLANTS -VEGETABLES AND FRUITS
You should be aiming to provide a minimum of five different types of plant matter on a daily basis, now, this might seem like a lot, but it’s nothing compared to the variety these guys would much on out in the wild, and more variety you provide, the better the range of nutrients it gets and the better the chances you stand of never having to take it to a vets. By providing a good varied diet you might spend a few more pounds a week (at most.) but you will save yourself hundreds of pounds on vet appointments, treatments and follow up care.
I honestly mean that, if you don’t provide a good diet for the animal you WILL end up spending hundreds and hundreds of pounds trying to undo the long term health complications of providing inadequate nutrition. You won’t know there’s something wrong until its reached a stage that its having a physical impact that it can’t hide anymore, and Bearded Dragons (indeed reptiles in general) hide illness VERY well.
There are things that can be fed every day, some that should be fed only a few times a week and some that should only be fed 4 or 5 times a year, as well as things you should never ever feed a Bearded Dragon. This is due to a variety of things that can be found in these plants, some are toxic, some interfere with calcium absorption and others have a direct negative impact on health. Others have high levels of things that a Dragon can only have in limited quantity (and nutrition is a huge, huge subject so I can’t explain it all her)
The easiest way to provide a good mix of “Veggies” is to pick something like 5 different veggies that can be fed on a daily basis. To this pick a couple of things that are occasional veggies and make a batch of salad up that will last 3 or 4 days. This can then go in the fridge in a plastic container to keep it fresh. Misting it after a couple of days will help maintain its shelf life.
Then, when you make the next batch, exclude the two veggies that were taken from the occasional veggies list and chose two different ones. This way, you can end up creating a rotation, ensuring a good variety of veggies and as such providing a wide variety of nutrients and a balanced health diet.
When preparing salad, you should cut out any stems or thick veins in leaves (like the central veins in romaine lettuce or spring greens) and chop it into suitably sized bits. The younger the dragon, the smaller it should be. Adults are quite able to much away on a large leaf but babies or juveniles will struggle.
Staple foods you can easily find in your supermarket:
Spring Greens, Butternut Squash, Radicchio, Lambs Lettuce, Watercress, Basil, Endive/Frisee Lettuce, Rocket, Cucumber, Sweetheart Cabbage, Sage (There are lots and lots more…)
Occasional foods you can easily find in your supermarket:
Blueberries, Apple, Strawberries, Papaya (In fact any fruit they can have should be occasional and used as a treat) Celery, Bell Peppers, Pea Shoots, Carrot, Bok Choi, Parsley, Romaine Lettuce (There are lots and lots more…)
Foods you should never feed:
Spinach, Citrus Fruit (Orange, Lemon etc.) Rhubarb, Avocado, Bran, Wheat, Eggplant, Garlic (This list goes on)
It’s important that if you try to feed anything new you check before that its suitable, some foods will be listed as “Never Feed” for a variety of reasons, for example, Orange and Spinach CAN be fed but only in small amounts and only a couple of times a YEAR…as such they will be considered items not to use.
Things such as Rhubarb are listed as Never for a very different reason, they are toxic to Bearded Dragons, as such, never means NEVER