Can bearded dragons eat aloe or not? Every owner wants to provide a healthy diet to their bearded dragons. Herbs play a big part in the beardies’ health, but is aloe suitable for them?
Sometimes, your lizard friend might eat aloe leaves in your compound, leaving you with much concern. Perhaps you are looking forward to having aloe as a plant decor in the enclosure, and you are wondering if it is safe.
In this article, you will learn about bearded dragons and aloe, and much more useful information.
This article has been reviewed by Dr. Dilber. Read more about our knowledge control process here.
Contents
What are the Nutrients Found in Aloe?
For safety purposes, I would encourage you never to feed your beloved dragon any food material if you are unaware of its nutritional content. Not all the foods are good for bearded dragons as some of them are toxic.
Below is the nutritional profile of aloe vera per 240 grams.
- Water: 230.9g
- Energy: 36kcal
- Total sugars: 9g
- Calcium: 19mg
- Sodium: 19mg
- Vitamin C: 9.1mg
- Iron: 0.04mg
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Aloe?
Bearded dragons should not eat aloe vera since it has low nutrients, hence limited nutritional benefits. Moreover, the aloe plant has laxative effects and can give your dragon diarrhea.
Therefore, it is not a good idea to let your bearded lizard eat this herb.
Bearded dragons will eat anything they find, and your dragon might munch on the aloe plant outside the terrarium. It is not that this is unheard of; the truth is that many bearded dragons tend to eat aloe in the home garden, enclosure, or compound.
You might also like: Complete list of common foods a bearded dragon can eat that people usually ask.
After understanding that aloe plants are so full of water and have little nutrients, it will be much better if you keep this herb away from your lovely pet.
However, Aloe has high water content in it, as a result, it is helpful for bearded dragons suffering from constipation. In the wild, Aloe helps to keep bearded dragons hydrated in the absence of water.
Aloe Vera as a Decorative Plant for Bearded Dragon’s Enclosure
There are many plants you can use to upgrade your natural bearded dragon habitat, and aloe is no exception. Ideally, never use a plant that you know is toxic to the bearded dragon for decoration as your beardie can munch on it at any time in the cage.
When it comes to aloe vera, this plant isn’t toxic, but the main issue about aloe is its laxative effects. So, I would recommend you to use aloe only when your bearded dragon doesn’t love eating plants growing in the terrarium.
There are a couple of plants that you can grow, including the blushing bride, Gasteria verrucosa, Cycadaceae, Callistemon, etc. All these are decor plants you can put in your lizard’s terrarium.
What Herbs are Safe for Bearded Dragons?
Bearded dragons can eat a variety of herbs, and most of them are highly nutritious and safe for the beardies. It might be challenging to know which herbs that your beardie friend can eat, mostly if you own a dragon for the first time.
Here, I’m mentioning a couple of plants which are safe to feed to bearded dragons, as well as some rare herbs.
Herbs that are alright to feed your bearded lizard are mints, fennel, lemongrass, lavender, and oregano.
That’s not all; some herbs are suitable for occasional consumption as a few of them are quite acidic. Check out the list below to see the ideal herbs to feed on an occasional basis.
- Basil: Basil is good for the beardies, but it is exceptionally high in fiber content.
- Rosemary: Just like basil, rosemary is also high in fiber.
- Cilantro: Cilantro is safe, and bearded dragons can eat it. However, it is quite acidic, thus not suitable if fed often and in large amounts.
- Thyme
- Tarragon
It is essential to check if there is any side effect on the beardie’s bowel movement after it eats herbs. Avoid herbs that cause the lizard to have a watery stool.
Note that, no bearded dragon is the same as the other; some beardies will not eat certain herbs or they can react negatively to them. So, ensure you keep an eye on your dear lizard.
Which Herbs are Not safe for Feeding Bearded Dragons Apart from Aloe?
Aside from aloe vera, there are some herbs which you will not want to feed your lizard friend because they’re toxic and can make the lizard sick.
You should avoid the following herbs;
- Dill: It is super high in acid content, and that’s why you need to avoid it at all cost.
- Parsley: It’s pretty high in oxalates.
- Chives: I would not recommend you to use these herbs since they are incredibly rich in acid.
- Garlic: This is another herb to avoid for beardies. Garlic is potentially toxic and will cause severe health problems to your pet.
- Sage: Sage is not suitable for bearded dragons to eat.
Perhaps, there are other herbs out there which are potentially harmful to the beardies. If you are in doubt about a particular food, make sure to avoid it. Always consult your reptile vet about the foods that you are not sure about their safety.
Aloe Vera Helps the Beardies with Shedding
Shedding process tends to be painful for some dragons, mostly when the skin remains.
If your dragon does not shed all its skin successfully, you will need to look for ways to help remove the remaining skin. Aloe vera can help in such an incident. It has soothing and moisturizing properties and can be of great help if applied to the dragon’s skin.
Make sure the plant is 100% pure aloe vera. After rubbing it on the skin, don’t let the lizard bask with the gel on to prevent burning.
Fully understanding your bearded dragon will help you better take care of them. As a suggestion, we would recommend you to get the best-bearded dragon book. Not to become an expert on bearded dragon care but will help you avoid the common mistake in new pet lizard owners.
Last update on 2022-12-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Wrapping Up
Well, now you know that bearded dragons should not eat aloe vera because it has low nutritional value. Additionally, due to too much water, aloe vera can cause diarrhea in the beardies.
Although aloe isn’t good for the beardies to eat, it is useful in other situations. The plant is effective during the shedding process in case there are shedding complications.
You can also use aloe as a decor plant in your bearded dragon enclosure, but you will have to ensure that your dragon will not eat it.