I know it often happens when you run out of the food packet of your beardies, and then you think there must be something available in the home to feed your bearded dragon.
Your mind goes to sweet potatoes, but you become anxious about whether or not it will eat sweet potatoes?
If you are also facing this kind of problem and you want to know if bearded dragons eat sweet potatoes, then you should give it a read to this blog till the end as this article is going to solve all of your problems regarding your pet’s diet.
In this blog post, we will go deeper and check what both reptile experts and vets say about sweet potatoes?
This article has been reviewed by Dr. Dilber. Read more about our knowledge control process here.
Contents
What Do Bearded Dragons Eat?
First, it is important for you to know if bearded dragons like to eat sweet potatoes. It is not possible for you to feed the dragon the food of your choice.
Dragons are one of the wild animals that are very difficult to keep at home. From their diet to the environment, owners take care and make efforts to keep them in the same environment that they are accustomed to. i.e.: (wildlife)
The following list will give you an idea of what food bearded dragon eat:
- Meat:
- Earthworm
- Cockroaches
- Locusts
- Crickets
- Silkworms
- Fruit:
- Kiwi
- Grapes
- Guava
- Peaches
- Apricots
- Vegetables:
- Peas
- Cabbage
- Ocra
- Sweet potato
- Bell pepper
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Sweet Potatoes
Beardies come from a habitat where food is insufficient. So they intake different original foods. As they are omnivores, they enjoy green leaves of plants and fresh meat both, and even sometimes insects!
Now you’ve got the answer. Yes, the bearded dragons can eat sweet potatoes.
Let’s look at its nutrients so you can easily guess how and how many sweet potatoes to feed your pet dragon.
Sweet Potatoes- Nutritional Information:
When it comes to the most favorite foodstuffs of the bearded dragon, sweet potatoes are always present on the list. It is the only vegetable that gives your pet dragon multi-benefits and improves its health.
- They are rich in fiber.
- They contain different vitamins and minerals, like iron and calcium
- They are a superb source of Vitamin B and C.
- It has an antioxidant called beta-carotene that makes Vitamin A
Sweet potatoes also contain carbs, starch, protein, Vitamin E, B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.
USDA provided nutrition information of 130g of sweet potato, which is as follows:
| NUTRIENT Calories Fat Sodium Carbohydrates Fiber Sugars Protein | MASS 112g 0.1g 71mg 26g 3.9g 5.4g 1.57g |
This nutritional chart clears that bearded dragons can eat sweet potatoes as it fulfills all the basic nutritional needs.
Is it safe to feed sweet potato to bearded dragons?
As mentioned above, many key nutrients are beneficial in a particular quantity. Therefore, they are safe for bearded dragons to eat. Even UC Davis Veterinary Medicine listed sweet potatoes as secondary food that should be present in the plant-based diet.
Apart from this, sweet potato comprises a ratio of phosphorous and calcium that is noxious for bearded dragons. Thus it is safe to feed sweet potato to bearded dragons, but it doesn’t mean it should be a primary part of their diet.
What if I feed sweet potatoes regularly?
Sweet potatoes are very high in Vitamin A. Vitamin A toxicity may occur if you overfeed sweet potato to your pet. It will cause vomiting and abdominal pain. Besides, Sweet potatoes contain 38mg of calcium and 54mg of phosphorus.
You need to be aware of its side effects. Over-consuming of sweet potato isn’t healthy. It means that you should offer a limited amount of sweet potatoes to your bearded dragons.
Sweet potato should be offered occasionally. If you are providing vitamin A supplements or other food rich in vitamin A, phosphorous, and calcium, then it is better to avoid feeding sweet potato.
How do I offer a sweet potato to my bearded dragon?
I once had this condition. Sweet potato made me confused as to how do I serve it to my pet dragon, what does it like most raw, or boiled sweet potato?.
I discussed this with my pet lizard veterinarian. She told me I could feed sweet potatoes in both ways. But they like boiled sweet potato more because it is easy to engulf.
I would suggest you serve half cooked sweet potatoes to your beardies. It will give a blend taste of raw and boiled sweet potato.
- First of all, chop sweet potato in cubes, and then add it to a salad bowl with other green veggies and flesh cubes. Your bearded dragon is now ready to enjoy this bowl!
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Sweet Potato with its Skin?
Always remember that your given food should be free of any insecticide, pesticide, or bacteria. For this, Pet-Md suggests washing vegetables properly. They also recommend peeling off the skin as it may contain micro bacteria and germs.
A bearded dragon can obviously eat sweet potato with its skin, but you should remove its skin to cover safety goals. Hence, raw peeled and then grated sweet potato works fine for beardies.
Bearded dragons are fun reptile. They are wild by nature, so they demand to be treated specifically. They can eat a variety of food. Their diet is a copy of what he ate during his wild. It could be meat, vegetables, fruit, greens, and tiny insects.
I hope that now you have the answers to your questions about sweet potatoes and your pet bearded dragon’s diet and also know that bearded dragons can eat sweet potatoes.
When it comes to sweet potatoes, they are not bad for bearded dragons at all. All you have to do is take care of its intake. They may also face severe toxicity due to over-consuming sweet potatoes.
You will enjoy feeding sweet potatoes to your pet beardie as you can serve it in many ways. Just keep discussing your bearded dragon’s diet with a vet.