Pet owners are often curious or worried about the food that they are giving to their animals. They often wonder is the food is nutritious or even safe for their pet. So, Can Bearded Dragons Eat Mango.
This is no different when it comes to Bearded Dragons or any other reptile. Especially with lizards that eat fruit and veg, it can be difficult to know exactly what to feed them.
Many species of lizards can eat a wide variety of fruit and veg but can Bearded Dragons eat Mango? We are going to look at this in more detail in this article.
Why is it important to know what my Bearded Dragon can Eat?
As with all living creatures, Bearded Dragons have specific dietary requirements. They need to be fed an appropriate amount of protein, fats and carbs to sustain themselves.
On top of this, they need to receive an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals. While supplements can help to achieve this, it is always best to get as much nutrients as possible from actual food.
Therefore, it is very important to not only understand what a Bearded Dragon can eat, but what nutritional benefit it can bring to their diet.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Mango?
Mango is a healthy threat that you can give your Bearded Dragon. Many Bearded Dragons love mango and will readily eat it once it is placed in their enclosure.
While mango is a delicious treat for your lizard and provides some great nutrients, it is high in sugar so it should only be offered occasionally.
Mango can provide your lizard with a rich source of Vitamins such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Vitamin K.
It is also rich in fibre, antioxidants and minerals such as manganese, magnesium and zinc which all play a key role in keeping your lizard healthy.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Mango every day?
Mango should not be fed to you lizard every day. While it offers much needed nutrition to their diet, fruit as a whole should only make up around 10% of their diet.
Fruit is very high in sugar which can lead to several different health problems such as obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease and even tooth decay.
Mangos are rich in Vitamins which makes them a great source of valuable nutrients. However, most lizards are fed supplements which contain high levels of these important vitamins.
If you were to feed your Bearded Dragon a diet rich in mangos while also supplementing with multivitamins, it is possible that they could suffer from vitamin toxicity.
This condition is rare but can result from excessive amounts of vitamins in your animal’s diet. Symptoms of Vitamin toxicity include weight loss, dehydration and weakness.
While a mango is rich in many important vitamins and minerals, it doesn’t contain a huge amount of calcium.
While this is perfectly fine when mangos make up a small portion of their diet, it could cause issues if mango made up a large portion of their diet.
As all Bearded Dragon owners know, calcium is probably the most important nutrient they need in order to stay healthy and avoid serious issues such as Metabolic Bone Disease.
What are the Benefits if Bearded Dragons Eat Mango?
Mangos are a very nutrient rich food and are a great addition to your Bearded Dragons diet as long as it is only consumed in moderate amounts.
They are rich in Vitamins A and C which are vital for promoting a healthy immune system. These vitamins offer other benefits such as aiding with growth and helping with eyesight.
Mangos are also rich in Vitamins E and K. These vitamins play an important role in the regeneration of damaged cells. They also help prevent inflammation. Vitamin K helps to maintain healthy blood cells and tissue.
They also contain high levels of antioxidants which are important to protect your Bearded Dragons immune system.
They also have high levels of important minerals such as manganese, magnesium and zinc. These minerals provide a host of benefits such as maintaining healthy muscles and cells, regulating metabolism and aiding with recovery after injury.
How can Bearded Dragons Eat Mango?
Before feeding any fruit or veg to your lizard, it needs to be washed thoroughly. This is to ensure there is no pesticide or other kinds of chemicals on the fruit.
You can also purchase organic mangos which should be pesticide free. However, even then you should wash them just in case.
Cut the mango into small bite sized chunks. This makes it more manageable for your Bearded Dragon and reduces the risk of them choking on large pieces.
What other Fruit can you Feed a Bearded Dragon
Fruit is an important part of a Bearded Dragons diet as it contains a lot of vitamins and minerals that aren’t easily obtained from other sources of food.
However, the drawback is that most fruit contain high levels of sugar which isn’t good for them. Because of this, it is estimated that around 10-15 percent of a Bearded Dragons diet should be made up of fruit.
Some of the different types of fruit you can offer them include strawberries, apples, pear, watermelon, grapes, blackberries and blueberries.
What Vegetables can a Bearded Dragon Eat?
Another important element of a Bearded Dragons diet is vegetables. Veg can make up a large portion of their diet.
You should offer a variety of different vegetables to ensure that the lizard is getting as much nutrients as possible.
Some of the vegetables you can offer include lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, bell peppers and watercress.
Do not feed them iceberg lettuce as this is almost pure water and offers no nutritional value for your lizard.
What insects can a Bearded Dragon Eat?
Insects will make up the majority of a Bearded Dragons diet. Not only do Beardies love insects but they also provide them with exercise as they chase the insect around their enclosure.
Crickets and Dubia Roaches are the most common insects fed to these lizards. However, variety is key here also and you should offer other insects also when possible.
Some other insects you can offer include mealworms, super worms, hornworms and silkworms.
Mealworms are often the go-to food item when it comes to feeding lizards. The problem is they are not very nutrient dense. To compare, hornworms contain 10 times more protein than the same number of mealworms by weight.
Other Similar Articles
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Can Bearded Dragons Eat Grapes
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Can Bearded Dragons Eat Strawberries