Can Bearded Dragons Eat Collard Greens?

The short answer is:

Yes, bearded dragons can eat Collard Greens.
Yes, bearded dragons can eat Collard Greens as a staple diet.

Collard greens are one of the healthiest diets for bearded dragons that offer many essential nutrients and calcium.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Collard Greens Every Day?

Yes, collard greens are one of the healthiest staple diets for bearded dragons and your bearded dragon can eat it daily without any health concern. They are low in oxalates, with a good calcium-to-phosphorous ratio, and full of essential nutrients. As they are calcium-rich food, they prevent metabolic bone disease (MBD).

How Often Bearded Dragons Can Eat Collard Greens?

This superfood is equally beneficial for young, adult, and juvenile bearded dragons and bearded dragons of all ages can eat it safely.

Young or growing bearded dragons can eat collard greens every day, once or twice a day.
Adult bearded dragons can also eat collard greens every day, but only once a day.

Is Collard Greens A Super Food For Bearded Dragons?

Collard greens are very rich in calcium, 100 grams of collard greens contain 232 milligrams of calcium, which is very high and very beneficial for bearded dragons. This veggie is also low in oxalates and phosphorous, so the chances of calcium deficiency are none. These greens are low in sugar and also rich in vitamin A and vitamin K. Collard Greens are simply a superfood for your pet dragon.

What Are The Benefits Of Collard Greens For Bearded Dragons?

If you are wondering, why bearded dragons should eat collard greens? Are collard greens beneficial for bearded dragons? The answer is very simple, it’s a super food for your bearded dragon. The benefits of collard greens for bearded dragons are as under:

Collard Greens have High Calcium Levels:

Collard greens are a very rich source of calcium – 232 mg of calcium per 100g of collard greens. Calcium is vital for bearded dragon growth and overall well-being. Especially, when bearded dragons are in growing age, calcium and vitamin D3 are essential for their skeletal health, tissue development, and bone health. Feeding collard greens ensures that your dragon gets all the calcium that he needs.

Collard Greens Excellent Source of Vitamins:

Collard greens contain essential vitamins such as vitamins A, C and K. Vitamin A keeps the vision of your dragon sharp. While vitamin C boosts the immunity and growth of your pet dragon. Vitamin D helps your growing bearded dragon in bone development. All these vitamins are essential for the good health of your bearded dragon.

Collard Greens are Rich in Fiber:

Fiber aids digestion and raw collard greens are rich sources of fiber. They boost your dragon’s gut and reduce the health risks such as constipation or gut impaction. Adding collard greens to daily diet ensures a strong digestive system for your pet dragon.

Collard Greens have a Perfect Calcium-to-Phosphorus Ratio:

When selecting any food for bearded dragons, the calcium-to-phosphorous ratio plays an important role. Phosphorous tends to bind up with calcium and stops its absorption in bearded dragons’ bloodstreams. This can create calcium deficiency in bearded dragons which can lead to many health issues including metabolic bone disease (MBD) which affects the bones, skeletal health, and tissues of your bearded dragon. So, only foods that have high calcium and low phosphorous content are recommended for your bearded dragon.

Collard greens have an ideal calcium-to-phosphorous ratio – 9.3:1. This makes collard green a very suitable food for bearded dragons, especially for young or growing bearded dragons.

Collard Greens are Low in Calories:

Collard greens have relatively low carbohydrates, sugar, and fat. This is also a plus point of collard greens which make it a top-tier diet for your bearded dragon. While eating collard greens, your dragon will not face the health risks such as tooth decay, diabetes, obesity, etc.

Collard Greens Make A Balanced Nutrient Diet:

Adding Collard greens to any diet or salad makes it a nutrient-rich and balanced diet for your bearded dragon. It also contains potassium, antioxidants, and folate. These are essential for the growth of your pet dragon.

What Are The Foods That Can Be Served Alongside Collard Greens?

To give a balanced diet to your bearded dragons, you can mix collard greens with several other vegetables such as dandelion leaves, cactus pads, mustard greens, turnip greens, watercress, grape leaves, endive, etc. You can make a salad and serve your bearded dragon daily.

While mixing collard greens with foods such as kale or cabbage, you need to be careful as kale or cabbage or high in goitrogens which can cause thyroid problems.

Collard greens can also be added with occasional treats and fruits such as melons, mangoes, apples, grapes, tomatoes, and bananas.

Can Baby Bearded Dragons Eat Collard Greens?

Yes, Baby bearded dragons can safely eat collard greens. Collard greens are healthy and beneficial for bearded dragons of all ages. Baby, young, juvenile, and adult bearded dragons have many health benefits from eating this food.

Can a Bearded Dragon Eat Raw Collard Greens?

Bearded dragons can eat raw as well as cooked collard greens but raw collard greens are more beneficial. Cooked collard greens lose many of their nutrient value, so uncooked, raw collard greens are recommended for bearded dragons.

How to Feed Collards to Bearded Dragons?

So, how to prepare collard greens to food your bearded dragons? It’s very simple and easy. Following are the things that you should consider while preparing raw collard greens for bearded dragons:

Always Choose Organic Collard Greens:

Try to get healthy, organic collard greens. They are easily available at home gardens and are free from chemicals, fungicides, and fertilizers. But If you get the collard greens from the store, they will also be fine for your bearded dragon. You need to make sure to wash off all the chemicals while preparing them for your pet dragon.

Remove Longer and Stiff Stems:

After getting the collard greens, the second step is to remove longer, thicker, and stiffer stems as they pose a choking hazard to your bearded dragon.

Wash Them Thoroughly:

The next step is to wash collard greens thoroughly to remove dust and all types of chemicals. This will reduce the chances of any potential disease due to dust and chemicals.

Chop Up The Greens Into Smaller Pieces:

Before feeding the collard greens to your bearded dragon, you need to cut them into small, chewable pieces so that your bearded dragon can eat them easily. The largest piece should not be greater than the distance between the eyes of your bearded dragon.

Mix Up the Collard Greens With Other Vegetables:

Mix the collard greens with other veggies and make a well-balanced diet for your bearded dragon. You can add other veggies, plants, or fruits and make a yummy salad for your bearded dragon.

Conclusion

Collard greens are one of the safest and healthiest foods for your bearded dragon and your bearded dragon can eat it daily. For growing bearded dragons, you can feed them twice a day and for adult bearded dragons, you can feed them collard greens once every day. You can add collard greens with other veggies or fruits to make a delicious salad for your bearded dragon.

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