Introduction
For beardie owners, it can be difficult to keep track of which foods are harmful to bearded dragons. For instance, can bearded dragons eat bell pepper? In this instance, keepers and even reptile experts have different opinions. Accordingly, bell peppers are no threat to our bearded dragons. Further information will be discussed and explained in our comprehensive guide below.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Bell Pepper?
Bell peppers have great effects when it comes to nutritional values for both humans and our reptile friends. Besides that, it is not toxic and can be a healthy alternative to share with our bearded dragons.
Yellow, Orange, Red, Green Bell Peppers – Does Color Matter?
Bearded dragons can eat any color of bell pepper since they have essential nutrients and vitamins that are beneficial to a beardie’s health. Nevertheless, the red type is the most nutritious because it contains vitamins and antioxidants. Besides that, bell peppers are great sources of vitamin A, B6, C, E, and lutein, which are all vital for a bearded dragon’s immune system.
Adult bearded dragons are opportunistic omnivores in the wild, meaning they can consume various plants and animals. Hence, owners must mimic it in captivity. In addition to turnip greens, staple collards, and mustard greens, be sure to offer bell peppers occasionally, too. Nevertheless, not all dragons will eat them since some of these reptiles are picky eaters.
Unlike hot peppers, bell peppers are sweet rather than hot. Hence, we can guarantee that this food has no threat to the health of your cute little pet. Besides that, studies have shown that bell peppers provide these beardies with lots of nutrients and water, making them a great part of a dragon’s diet.
However, be sure to cut bell peppers into tiny pieces. Also, we prefer red to green and yellow peppers because it is healthier.
Nutrients of Bell Peppers for Bearded Dragons
When putting together a tasty salad for your bearded dragon, you may be planning to add other ingredients, such as bell peppers. Luckily, this food is safe and nontoxic for these little reptiles.
On the other hand, as owners, it is crucial to look at the nutritional profile of any food that we feed to our beardies. We also have to remember that we, humans, require different nutritional values than beardies. So, even though we both need calcium, a dragon’s need for calcium is much higher than ours.
Tip: Best calcium powder with vitamin D here.
Check out the nutritional profile for bell peppers below. The data displayed the nutritional information of bell peppers per 100 grams and came from the US Department of Agriculture.
- Water 92.21 grams
- Energy 26 Kcal
- Protein 0.99 grams
- Total lipid (fat) 0.3 grams
- Carbohydrate, by difference 6.03 grams
- Fiber 2.1 grams
- Sugars 4.2 grams
- Calcium, Ca 7 milligrams
- Phosphorus, P 26 milligrams
- Sodium, Na 4 milligrams
- Vitamin C 127.7 milligrams
- Iron, Fe 0.43 milligrams
- Vitamin B6 0.291 milligrams
- Vitamin A 157 micrograms
- Vitamin E 1.58 milligrams
- Vitamin K 4.9 micrograms
We confirmed right at the beginning of this article that bearded dragons could indeed consume bell peppers safely. Many reptile nutritionists and veterinarians have also allowed many keepers to add bell peppers to their lists of safe foods for beardies.
Bell Peppers Are High in Vitamins and Minerals
We can guarantee that bell peppers can provide many health benefits and nutrition for both humans and bearded dragons with the nutritional data provided above. They make a tasty and safe addition to our pets’ diet because they are easy to digest and contain lots of water, keeping our lizards hydrated throughout the day.
Since bearded dragons need lots of water because of their habitat’s warm temperature, bell peppers can be helpful. Surely, our pets will not have any problems with this food because it is low in fat and high in vitamins and minerals.
Moreover, we highly recommend bell peppers as treats for bearded dragons because they are famously full of Vitamin A, a wonderful perk since beardies need lots of Vitamin A for vision, reproduction, and growth.
Nutrition fact: One medium red pepper contains 58 calories, while one medium green pepper contains 48 calories.
Low in Vital Calcium
Tip: Looking for a calcium supplement? Try this.
The only downside of bell peppers is the calcium content. This food is a poor source of calcium and has about twice of phosphorus as calcium, which can be dangerous for beardies who don’t have a balanced diet.
Although bell peppers offer many excellent benefits for the little reptiles, they do not have enough calcium to eat every day. Hence, you can give this food to your pet a maximum of twice a week.
Tip: Boost your pet’s immune system by feeding this multivitamin supplement.
Remember that lack of calcium can lead to metabolic bone disease or MBD, one of the most common health disorders among domesticated bearded dragons. However, with the correct and balanced diet, MBD is easily preventable.
How Much Bell Peppers Can Bearded Dragons Eat?
Insert Image: https://assets.epicurious.com/photos/5935a56d051f6e1efc1c8d13/6:4/w_1600%2Cc_limit/HOW-TO-CUT-A-BELL-PEPPER-02062017-01.jpg
When feeding bell peppers or sweet peppers to your bearded dragons, you have a few things to remember.
First, you should always chop them in small diced portions. This way, it is easier to chew and digest. Second, to prevent choking.
Remember to feed your bearded dragon bell peppers a maximum of twice a week or less. Be careful not to gorge your pet since t will suffer from overhydration and diarrhea. This food is not the best staple for their everyday diet because it has poor calcium to phosphorus ratio. Plus, it contains lots of vitamin A, leading to hypervitaminosis A or vitamin A toxicity.
Wrapping Up
Bell peppers profuse lots of vitamins and minerals, vital for a bearded dragon’s healthy immune system. So, can bearded dragons eat bell pepper? Yes, occasionally. As with any human food you add into your little reptile’s diet, you should introduce this food slowly and moderately to see how your pet will respond. Remember that some beardies will be fine with it, and some won’t.
Your bearded dragon can eat less than one-half bell pepper twice a week or less.
