Many new Bearded Dragon owners are always wondering what human food that their beardie can eat. I get this question a lot “can bearded dragons eat spinach” at least once or twice a week
Since food for humans is so widely available and truthfully we are used to buying it from the grocery store we want to see if our favorite little pets can share our food
The quick answer is yes they can eat spinach but you want to be careful how much you do feed them spinach. Check out this Full guide to what to feed your bearded dragon
We all know that spinach is a great food for us. Many new beardie owners are going to think “hey its good for me it might be good for my little beardie” I’m here to answer that question for you
How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Spinach?
Bearded Dragons don’t necessarily need spinach for them to grow and develop. You just need to know the right ratios of oxalates, phosphorus and calcium needs.
You need to know how those nutrients mix and don’t mix.
If you have too much phosphorus than your bearded dragon can get sick (open new tab) a healthy 1:1 ratio is what you’re looking for in a calcium to phosphorus ratio.
If the phosphorus is too high it will stop the calcium from being absorbed into the bloodstream which will lead to metabolic bone disease eventually. MBD is caused from a lack of calcium in the bones.
Remember its just long term exposure to phosphorus over time which means you can take some time off from feeding your beardie phosphorus rich foods with low calcium.
You can safely give your bearded dragon about 3 to 5 leaves per month with no issue.
The best thing about spinach and most vegetables are the fact that they are low in sugar content. Which obviously avoids all sugar related problems like diabetes, fatty liver, heart disease and obesity.
Spinach contains more calcium than phosphorus so its totally safe to consume more often than not.
Spinach nutrient contents
- Vitamin K1 which helps with blood function and clotting
- fiber which helps with digestion. Keeps the pipes clean so to speak 🙂
- iron which is vital for oxygen flow to the organs
- Vitamin A Vision
- Vitamin C immune system function support
Why bearded dragons can’t eat spinach all the time
You’ve probably been wondering this yourself. humans can pretty much eat spinach and most vegetables all the time… why can’t beardies??
Spinach has one thing you need to worry about which is OXALATES
Oxalate bind to calcium as well. too much oxalate content will lead to Metabolic bone disease eventually
The best way to keep your bearded dragon healthy is with high calcium in their diets with low phosphorus and low oxalates
make sure you’re dusting their protein and other vegetables with calcium powder which you can purchase here if you want (open new tab)
Metabolic bone disease is completely preventable with the right diet with added calcium supplementation
One more thing you need to be aware of is beta carotene.
With too much spinach action in your bearded dragons diet you will be giving them too much beta carotene
See, if you give them too much of anything its going to be bad. spinach overall is going to be good for them BUT overdoing it happens much faster in beardies than it does in humans. With humans they can overdo it for years and still recover fine.
Vitamin A toxicity will happen and you have to be careful. If you see any of these talk to your vet. Talk to them before doing anything you’re unsure of with your beardie. They will tell you if its proper or not.
- Lethargic behavior, slow and sluggish
- dehydration
- weight loss
- swelling
Best way to feed your beardie spinach
be careful of anything too large going into your bearded dragons mouth. They can choke.
i like to chop the spinach a little bit so they can eat it in one bite
i do this with fruit as well and my little homie loves it
ALWAYS BUY ORGANIC. i never feed my bearded dragon anything other than organic veggies and fruits.
This is going to be the best for them as they will get all the nutrients without any nasty pesticides and other crap they spray on the regular food.
Wash it up and serve!
i will actually hold the end of the spinach leaf and he will just nibble on the end of it. When it gets too close to my fingers i will grab a different leaf
They are adorable when they eat. You can check out this YouTube channel on bearded dragons (this isn’t me but its a great resource)
One last thing about Metabolic bone disease
This is something that can happen over time. it takes many months or even years for this to develop.
What i want you to know is everything in moderation is the most important thing. Regular vet checkups are key as well. They can check for abnormalities. They are so experienced with everything they can spot something quickly. they can also run blood tests as well.
Long list of other greens and fruits your beaded dragon can eat
- Collards
- dandelion greens and flowers
- grape leaves
- mustard greens
- turnip greens
- bell peppers (all colors)
- carrots
- green beans
- peas
- sweet potato
- turnips
fruits
- apples
- pears
- tomatoes
- grapes
- berries
- bananas
- apricots
- oranges
- papayas
