Can Bearded Dragons Eat Blueberries? 7 Benefits | Full Guide

Blueberries are known to be a firm fruit for bearded dragons. Your pet dragon loves them. But can bearded dragons eat blueberries? Blueberries can be fed to bearded dragons as small treats if they are raw and do not contain pesticides. They are not toxic but have a lot of sugar and should not be fed as their staple diet. Overfeeding your bearded dragons with blueberries can result in health issues such as obesity, diarrhea, and MBD. 

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Blueberries?

A bearded dragon can eat blueberries. Being the owner of a bearded dragon, you should take care of your pet’s diet. Bearded dragons are omnivorous, and their diet can include fruits, insects, vegetables, and leafy greens. Bearded dragons require a certain percentage of variety in their diet, so you will want to keep in mind what you put in their diet throughout the week. You can include blueberries in their diet. They are a healthy and tasty part of a bearded dragon’s diet, but you should give them moderation.

How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat blueberries?

It is hard to prescribe a precise amount of blueberries for a bearded dragon, as you should feed your bearded dragon as a treat instead of staple food. An adult bearded dragon should eat 4 or 5 blueberries every week. Nonetheless, a few blueberries every month is a popular and conservative suggestion.

7 Benefits of Blueberries for Bearded Dragons

Blueberries can deliver your bearded dragon with several nutrients and aid them in the following ways. If your bearded dragon’s diet lacks specific nutrients, it may begin showing some indications of malnutrition. When this occurs, it can influence their behavior and even lead to disease. Loading up on blueberries ensures that they are getting plenty of:

1: Antioxidants Reduce Inflammation

Blueberries, particularly their skin, are booming in antioxidants, which help lessen inflammation and facilitate healthy heart function. They are full of carbohydrates, which deliver the bearded dragon with power. 

2: Vitamin C Keep Bones Healthy 

Blueberries and oranges contain Vitamin C, which will help maintain their connective tissue, bones, and cartilage healthy and strong. It also enables protection against illness and benefits the absorption of iron from plant matter.

3: Fiber Maintains a Healthy Digestive System

If your dragon is not consuming enough fiber-rich foods, it will suffer from diarrhea or become constipated due to too many bacteria in its digestive area.

4: Iron Enhances Good Flow Of Oxygen in the Blood

They also include iron, which is accountable for the transportation of oxygen into your bearded dragon’s blood. The shortcoming of this mineral leads to Anemia in your pet.

5: Manganese Aids the Metabolism

This mineral in blueberries assists with bone development and aids the metabolism of carbs and protein.

6: Potassium Maintain Fluid Balance

Blueberries and apricots are rich in potassium. Potassium is an electrolyte that regulates your bearded dragon’s body by enabling them to maintain fluid balance, regulate nerve and muscle function, and build energy within cells.

7: Vitamin K Aid their Health

Blueberries are not the best source of vitamin K, but consuming them will still help your bearded dragon get just enough to aid its health in some minor way.

2 Risks of Feeding Blueberries to Bearded Dragons

Bearded dragons should only consume blueberries as a treat, not as a meal staple. For blueberries there are two primary reasons they can not be a daily snack: 

1: Too Much Sugar Can Lead to Obesity

High sugar quantity is one of the largest reasons fruit is off the regular menu for your dragons. In their natural habitat, bearded dragons scramble around and have tons of space to burn calories, and even then, their diet does not include much sugar. In a house, bearded dragons have less chance to run in such open space, so it’s even more significant to restrain your dragon’s sugar consumption. Bearded dragons who consume too much sugar can face diabetes, obesity, heart problems, and even death. 

2: An Unbalanced Phosphorus and Calcium Ratio Prevents Calcium Absorption

The best ways of producing bearded dragons to consume on an everyday basis generally have at least a balanced percentage of phosphorus and calcium. Calcium is the main mineral that bearded dragons require to survive, but phosphorus counteracts calcium by connecting with it before they can consume it into the bearded dragon’s blood. 

No harm is usually pursued when a dragon eats small quantities of phosphorus-rich foods. But extreme amounts of phosphorus in a dragon’s diet can result in health problems, including MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease), a severe and paralyzing condition that sometimes results in death. So conserve your bearded dragon from this common yet preventable situation by limiting his consumption of phosphorus-rich foods, comprising blueberries.

How to Prepare Blueberries for Your Bearded Dragons?

Preparing blueberries for your dragon does not have to be a complicated procedure. Read on to follow the steps;

Choose Healthy Blueberries 

The initial step to preparing blueberries for your bearded dragon is selecting only the most excellent berries possible. You will want to avert any berries that are not a beautiful shade of dark blue. Green berries or reddish berries are not ripe, and they will taste bitter to your bearded dragon and may even provide them stomach pain. Blueberries that are too soft or too dark should also be averted, as should any squared or moldy berries. If you would not eat it, opportunities are that your bearded dragon should not either.

Wash Them Thoroughly 

Rinsing the blueberries is another crucial step. Both organic and non-organic blueberries can have residue that requires washing off before you can provide them to your bearded dragon. Non-organic berries are frequently treated with pesticides, and organic blueberries can comprise traces of dirt and manure. 

Put the blueberries in a strainer, then rinse them in cold water. Gently shake the filter, and wash them one more time. Keep in mind that the berries are dry before you settle them in the fridge; this enables them to keep mold from forming; place them on a kitchen towel to dry.

Chop Them in Half

Consuming a whole blueberry is not difficult for humans, but a bearded dragon cannot gulp an entire berry. You should cut the blueberries in half before feeding them to your bearded dragon. 

Serve Them in a Bowl

After all the steps, you can now try providing the blueberries to your bearded dragon. Sometimes your dragon will consume all of the blueberries and leave the rest of the food untouched. Blending the blueberries in with the other food is a decent idea. Use a shallow bowl that they can not easily tip over. A shallow pot will make it convenient for your bearded dragon to consume to the ground of the bowl.

Conclusion

Now that we know the answer to the question, can bearded dragons eat blueberries? We can conclude that adult bearded dragons can consume fresh blueberries about once a week. You should feed your bearded dragon with blueberries in moderation. However, it is significant to be careful while feeding them. Keep in mind that you only provide them with washed and clean blueberries. However, fruits should never include more than ten percent of their whole plant-based food. They should receive their daily diet from insects and leave vegetables.

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