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Can Bearded Dragons Eat Iceberg Lettuce?
Yes, Bearded Dragons can eat iceberg lettuce either as a part of their daily salad or as an additional salad ingredient from time to time. Iceberg lettuce is not the most nutritious food for your dragon as it is mostly water and contains virtually no vitamins or nutrients that benefit your beardie. If you are going to give your bearded dragon iceberg lettuce, make sure to give your dragon other leafy greens like kale, collard greens, turnip greens, or other healthy greens to eat.
Bearded Dragons are omnivores which means that they will eat a variety of foods including plants, leafy greens, fruits, vegetables, different types of feeder insects, and some commercial bearded dragon food. In this blog post, you will learn more about feeding your Bearded Dragon Iceberg lettuce.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Regular Iceberg Lettuce?
Yes, Bearded Dragons can eat regular iceberg lettuce. Iceberg lettuce doesn’t provide much in the wat of nutrients for your dragon as it is pretty much just made of water with hardly any vitamins or minerals that will benefit your growing bearded dragon. You should feed your dragon other types of lettuce, nutrient-dense leafy greens, feeder insects, and some occasional fruit.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Regular Lettuce?
Yes, Bearded Dragons can eat regular types of lettuce like Romaine, Iceberg, Buttercrunch, and other traditional lettuce varieties in their salad. These lettuces do not provide much nutrition for your bearded dragon. If are looking for leafy greens that your bearded dragon will eat and love then, you should try escarole, watercress, dandelion leaves, and kale as they are much better food items.
Is Iceberg Lettuce OK For Bearded Dragons?
Yes, Iceberg lettuce is ok for Bearded Dragons but shouldn’t be considered as a good choice for dragons on a regular basis because it contains virtually no nutritional value. So, is it ok for bearded dragons, yes, however, your bearded dragon will not benefit from eating a salad made from lettuce.
How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Iceberg Lettuce?
Bearded Dragons can have Iceberg lettuce and other types of lettuce once every couple of weeks or so as a treat in addition to their normal diet of leafy greens, fresh vegetables, and feeder insects such as Dubia roaches or superworms. A balanced diet is important to the overall health of your bearded dragon.
Is Lettuce Bad For Bearded Dragons?
Yes, it can be bad for Bearded Dragons as it is mostly made up of water which when given to your dragon too much or too often, can cause your Bearded Dragon to have diarrhea. The high water count in lettuce can overhydrate your bearded dragon essentially causing dehydration.
It is not healthy or safe for bearded dragons to consume lettuce in large amounts or more than once or twice a week unless your dragon is severely dehydrated or is constipated, in which case the lettuce could actually help out.
Does Lettuce Give Bearded Dragons Diarrhea?
Yes, lettuce has been known to give Bearded Dragons diarrhea when consumed in large amounts as it is mostly made up of water and very few nutrients that your dragon can use.
What Salad Is Good For Bearded Dragons?
A salad made up of kale, collards, turnip greens, dandelion greens, arugula, cress or other healthy greens is always a great option as it contains vital nutrients that your dragon needs. You can also supplement your dragon’s daily diet with the occasional fruit or another type of vegetables such as squash or bell pepper. Your dragon will absolutely love the change of pace.
The key to making a salad for your bearded dragon is to mix and match the leafy greens that you put in it. You shouldn’t give your dragon the same thing over and over but rather using different leafy greens and other vegetables so that you dragon can have a variety.
How Many Greens Should a Bearded Dragon Eat?
You should give your Bearded Dragon about a 1/2 cup of chopped salad made up of different nutrient-dense vegetables, fruits, and leafy greens. You should provide them with a fresh salad each and every day.
Recommended Amounts of Salad For Different Aged Dragons:
- 1/2 cup of chopped salad for a baby Bearded Dragon
- 3/4 cup of chopped salad for a juvenile Bearded Dragon
- 1-1/2 cups of chopped salad for an adult Bearded Dragon
What Are The Best Foods For Bearded Dragons?
The best foods for Bearded Dragons are Dubia roaches, superworms, fresh salad made from a mixture of leafy greens, things like bell pepper, sweet potato, watercress, arugula, and other vegetables.
Other Vegetables That Bearded Dragons Can Eat
Kale
Kale is a super healthy and very nutritious leafy green that you can give your bearded dragon. It contains beta carotene, vitamin K, and even iron. You can simply chop up some Kale and mix it in with your dragon’s daily salad. Feel free to mix and match the varieties of Kale that you use as they are all edible and very good for you and your dragon.
Just make sure to clean the Kale very well and remove the stems that can sometimes be hard for your bearded dragon to consume.
Collard Greens
Collard greens are often overlooked as a delicious superfood but they are incredibly healthy and packed with vitamins and minerals that your Bearded Dragon will need to be happy and healthy. Collard greens contain Calcium, Vitamin A, and several other nutrients that will benefit your dragon.
Collard Greens are another green that has oxalates and should be given to your dragon in small amounts. They can be a small part of a salad that includes other greens and vegetables as to not over do it with oxalates.
Romaine Lettuce
Romaine lettuce can indeed be a part of a bearded dragon’s diet. Just make sure that it is washed and free from pesticides, and provide your pet with fresh water daily.
Endive, Escarole, Chicory
Endive is another leafy green that you can give to your Bearded Dragons as a part of their salad. Endive is low in Oxalates which makes it a green that you can give your dragon regularly without worrying about it hindering calcium absorption. Endive can be given as a part of a salad or little snack all on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions:
Can lizards eat lettuce?
There are many different lizards that are either omnivores or pure herbivores that can eat lettuce as a part of their diet. Lizards such as Bearded Dragons, Iguanas, Chuckwallas, Uromastyx, certain varieties of skink, and Gargoyle Geckos to name a few. These lizards would be some of the ones that can eat lettuce or other types of leafy greens.
In Conclusion
In this article, you learned some of the reasons that iceberg lettuce isn’t the best choice for feeding your Bearded Dragon as it doesn’t really have any nutrition to offer your dragon. Remember, you can feed Iceberg lettuce can be given to your bearded dragon, but it should only be fed occasionally. You can give it once or twice a week without worrying about your dragon.
There are plenty of other lettuce types that you can feed to your dragon that will benefit your dragon’s health. Romaine and butterhead are just a couple to get you started.
