Bearded dragons are a popular pet reptile known for their gentle demeanor and unique appearance. As with any pet, it’s important to ensure that your bearded dragon is receiving a balanced and nutritious diet.
While there are many types of fruits and vegetables that are safe for bearded dragons to eat, some may wonder whether strawberries are a good option.
In this article, we’ll explore whether bearded dragons can eat strawberries and what you should consider before adding them to your pet’s diet.
Can bearded dragons Eat Strawberries?
Strawberries are one of the fruits that bearded dragons can devour, nevertheless, this should only be done so on occasion. Strawberries have a low oxalic acid level and a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio that is considered to be below average. Strawberries also contain a relatively low amount of phosphorus. Although bearded dragons don’t particularly care for the taste of strawberries as a fruit, they do enjoy them when they are offered to them in the form of a treat.
Strawberries have a near-perfect ratio of 2:1 between calcium and phosphorus, the ideal ratio for Bearded dragons.
Using this as a guideline, you can safely feed your Bearded dragons strawberries.
A good counterexample would be tomatoes, which are NOT OKAY because their calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is the OPPOSITE (i.e., 1:2). On the other hand, in this instance, strawberries are Still ok.
Nutritional Value of Strawberries
As their common name suggests, strawberries are a type of berry. Most people think a strawberry tastes best when it’s just picked. When eaten fresh, strawberries can be enjoyed either by biting off a full one or by cutting them into smaller pieces.
Are Strawberries Good or Bad for Bearded dragons?
There are two key nutritional levels that must be considered when deciding if strawberries are healthy or detrimental for Bearded dragons.
- the proportion of calcium to phosphorus (Ca:P ratio)
- how much oxalic acid is present
Ca:P ratio of strawberries
To maintain good health and avoid an illness known as metabolic bone disease, Bearded dragons require calcium.
Calcium is essential for the growth and formation of eggshells, making it a particularly important nutrient for pregnant women, young children, and adolescents (in the case of gravid females).
The interaction between calcium and phosphorus is unique. Both calcium and phosphate levels fall as calcium intake increases, whereas phosphate levels rise as calcium intake decreases.
Because of this, Bearded dragons require a diet with less phosphorus than calcium.
The ratio of calcium to phosphorus is often used to establish whether or not a given food is appropriate for Bearded dragons. Ca:P ratios are sometimes expressed as percentages, but are most commonly written as 1:[number], where 1 represents the mineral with the lower concentration.
In order to use this method to determine the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, the lowest number must be reset to 1. If you divide the highest number by the smallest number, you get the ratio.
The optimal ratio of calcium to phosphorus (Ca:P) is between one and two, according to studies. The ideal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio for Bearded dragons is 2:1 or higher.
Oxalic acid in strawberries
Vegetables and fruits contain oxalic acid naturally. When the concentration of oxalic acid in food is sufficiently high, the bitter taste may be detectable. Rhubarb, star fruit, as well as spinach, are all examples of plants with high oxalic acid levels.
Inhibition of calcium absorption and the development of kidney stones have both been linked to oxalic acid in humans. Foods high in oxalic acid should likewise be avoided by Bearded dragons.
Oxalates will be formed when the molecule binds to minerals like magnesium and calcium (tiny rectangular crystals).
Because of the Bearded dragon’s need for calcium, it’s best to steer clear of foods containing a moderate amount of oxalic acid and completely avoid those with a high amount.
With only roughly 2 milligrams of oxalates per serving, strawberries are among the lowest oxalate foods Bearded dragons can eat.
Serving Strawberries to your Bearded dragons
If you want to feed your Bearded dragons some strawberries, purée them and give them a small amount of the soft output.
Depending on the extent to which your Bearded dragon responds to the pureed strawberry form, you may want to feed it to your Bearded dragon more frequently.
Strawberries left out in the open can be finely diced and served to your Bearded dragon as an alternative.
Keep in mind that this is how Bearded dragons naturally consume fruit in the wild. It doesn’t matter if the fruit is overripe or even partially rotten. Strawberries in this form will pose no problems for Bearded dragons, who frequently consume fruit in this manner.
You may also make “strawberry cubes” by freezing strawberries on an ice cube tray and then serving them to your Bearded dragon. This is something to think about, in particular, during the warmer summer months.
Your Bearded dragon will relish licking the “strawberry cube” much more as it melts in their mouth.
The last option is to combine strawberries with other fruits, as we discussed earlier.
You can acquire a sense of what it loves by experimenting with a variety of acceptable fruits, such as the ones we mentioned. If you have a Bearded dragon and you see that it is really like one kind of fruit mixture, you may want to give it more of that.
Can Bearded dragons Eat Strawberry with Seeds or without the seeds?
When it comes to feeding their pets, Bearded dragon owners frequently debate whether or not to remove the seeds from strawberries before giving them to their reptile companions.
Once more, everything comes down to individual preferences. Although some Bearded dragons prefer their strawberries seedless, some prefer them with.
In addition, when strawberries are pureed, the seeds are barely discernible since they, too, are mashed up; unlike the seeds of many other fruits, strawberry seeds are neither particularly large nor brittle.
Hence, it’s fine to leave the strawberry seeds in when mashing strawberries. You can blend strawberries with any other fruit and this will still be true.
What fruits Should You Be Feeding Your bearded dragons?
While fruits as well as fruit nectars are a staple of a bearded dragon’s diet in the wild, it only makes sense to feed them fruit when keeping one as a pet.
But, you should be aware that not all fruits are suitable for bearded dragons to eat; some are toxic, while others are simply not as healthy.
The calcium-to-potassium ratio is what’s utilized to assess if a fruit is good for a bearded dragon (Ca:P). Your bearded dragon will benefit from a diet of moderate to high Ca:P fruits, and can be fed these safely more frequently than once a month.
Conversely, fruits with a low Ca:P ratio are the less healthy choice and should be limited to once-monthly treats or mixed with fruits that seem to have high Ca: P.
Fruits With A High Ca:P Ratio
Very few fruits have a high Ca:P ratio.
You can safely feed your bearded dragon the following fruits because of their high-to-moderate ratio:
- Prickly pear is also known as tuna (fruit), sabra, nopal
- Mango
- Raspberries
- Papaya
- Fig
Fruits With A Low Ca:P Ratio
- Peach
- Strawberries
- Plum
- Blueberries
- Watermelon
- Grapes
- Cranberries
- Banana
- Kiwi
- Apricots
Some Foods bearded dragons Should Not Eat
Keep in mind that not every fruit is good for your bearded dragon. You should never, ever feed the hazardous ones.
They share a genus with citrus fruits, which is where their toxic properties first manifest. The high amount of these substances is what makes them so dangerous.
Oxalic Acid- In large doses, this acid can prevent the body from absorbing calcium.
Vitamin C – An excess of this vitamin might cause gastrointestinal distress.
bearded dragons shouldn’t be given the following citrus fruits:
- Pineapple
- Kiwi
- Orange
- Lemon
- Grapefruit
- Rhubarb
- Avocado
In Summary, can bearded dragons eat strawberries?
Undoubtedly, your bearded dragon will benefit much from eating strawberries. Fruits like figs, apples, papayas, but also mangoes all get a resounding “yes” from bearded dragons, but strawberries take the cake.
But, you should only give your bearded dragon a few strawberries every now and again; daily feeding is not recommended. We advocate this routine not only for strawberries but for any fruit it enjoys eating and is excellent for it.
In our opinion, the greatest strategy is always to combine and combine again.
Twice weekly, for instance, your bearded dragon might enjoy some fresh strawberries, but the other days of the week could feature various fruits like apples or mangoes.
Mixing two or maybe more fruits together allows you to experiment with new flavor combinations.
The point here is variety; just as you wouldn’t want to eat the same thing every day, regardless of how tasty or how much you like it, your bearded dragon probably feels the same way.
