It’s only right for bearded dragon parents to know what is safe for their pets to consume and what is toxic for them. There are only three classes of essential food bearded dragons need to survive – proteins, vitamins, and minerals – but due to the vastness of these categories, many items fit into these classes that are simply unsafe for your beardie.
In the complete beardie diet, fruits cover only 10% or less of the chart and are considered treats. Just the same way you shouldn’t eat too many candies no matter how healthy it’s marketed to be, bearded dragons should not eat too many fruits. In fact, some fruits are seriously toxic and are even lethal to dragons that consume them. So, what about bananas? Is it safe to feed it to your pet?
Bananas are safe for bearded dragons to consume as long as it’s fed in the proper amount. They are rich in promising vitamins that will improve the well-being of your beardie, but they also contain contents that are detrimental to their health if taken over the top.
In this article, we’ll be discussing everything you need to know about feeding bananas to your bearded dragon to ensure that you uphold the health of your lovely pet to a standard. Let’s get into it!
Should I Feed My Bearded Dragon Bananas?
When it comes to feeding your pet dragon fruit, it mostly sizzles down to how safe the fruit is for your lizard and if they enjoy it. As we have mentioned earlier, fruits are simply treats for bearded dragons, and not all beardies will enjoy the same treats. Yes, bearded dragons are individual creatures with diverse personalities! While your beardie may absolutely love bananas and go ballistic when they see the yellow fruit, another dragon may detest them and throw its face to the other side at the sight of it.
Bananas contain several vitamins such as vitamins A, B, C, & E, and several important minerals like potassium magnesium, calcium, and sodium. All of these materials help bearded dragons fight diseases, build immunity, and improve digestion. However, bananas also contain the notorious phosphorus which is even higher than calcium in quantity.
Phosphorus readily binds to calcium depriving your beardie of utilizing any/little for its bones. The combination of these two parties leads to kidney stones and urate plugs building up. While this is dangerous, it can be harmless if the proper amounts are used.
If your pet enjoys bananas, you can feed it some to lighten its mood. Serving your beardie its favorite fruit is also another way to bond with it and develop trust. The only thing you need to take extremely seriously is how much of the fruit you feed your dragon; they could get sick and die from an excess intake of bananas.
How To Feed Your Bearded Dragon Bananas The Right Way
Since bananas are both good and bad for bearded dragons, it’s important to understand the proper way to feed bananas to beardies. This includes the manner you present it, frequency of feeding, and the amount that your beardie ingests. Since it is high in calories and contains risky amounts of phosphorus, bananas should only be fed once or twice a month and cut into smaller pieces for your bearded dragon to eat without choking. You can feed your beardie bananas with or without the peel.
How Much Of A Banana Is Enough For My Bearded Dragon?
I suggest you cut 5 slices out of one banana and chop it into smaller pieces. It’s either your beardie eats all five slices, or fewer if it doesn’t think that much of the treat. Never feed your beardie any more than five slices of the banana! If you’re feeding your dragon the fruit without the peel, I suggest you dice it up in its salad to minimize the chances of the banana getting stuck in its teeth. Soft foods can lead to plaque buildup in beardies and other dental problems.
4 Benefits Of Feeding Your Bearded Dragon Bananas
Aside from being delicious, bananas have a ton of goodies your beardie can benefit from.
1. Instant Improvement In Mood And Environmental Awareness
Treats have a way of lighting up the mood, and all pet owners can agree to it. Beardies prefer fruits to vegetables, so if your bearded dragon enjoys bananas, you can boost its attitude positively by feeding it fruits. Especially if you notice your bearded dragon is stressed or uncomfortable. Bananas can help loosen the tension a bit and help it to relax.
2. Bananas Can Improve Your Beardie’s Eating Habit
One way to ensure your bearded dragon eats veggies is by mixing its treat with a similarly colored vegetable. For instance, you can mix chopped yellow bell peppers and butternut squash with bits of banana to trick your dragon into eating its salad. It works like magic especially if your pet particularly loves its bananas.
3. Bananas Boost Your Beardie’s Immune System
Feeding your beardie bananas once in a while will introduce vitamins A and C into its body thereby improving its immune system and giving them a better chance at fighting diseases. It also improves your dragon’s eyesight, growth, respiratory, and reproductive health.
4. Bananas Help Strengthen The Bone Structure
Calcium and magnesium are key ingredients for strengthening the bones, and bananas are loaded with them. Feeding your beardie bananas (in the proper quantity) is one of the many ways to enhance bone density and keep it strong through all stages of its lifespan.
What If Your Beardie Accidentally Eats Too Many Bananas?
If by accident your dragon has consumed bananas in excess, you’d probably be panicking wondering what could happen to your pet. The immediate response is usually vomiting or diarrhea, but before this happens, here are things you can do to help:
Place An Eagle’s Eye On Your Beardie
If your beardie has eaten too much of its treat, you need to observe it for at most 72 hours. During this period, you need to look out for certain changes that may occur. I have listed out the signs you should be looking for:
- Sluggishness and lack of attentiveness
- Loss of appetite
- Pale or droopy skin
- Irregular pooping routine
- General body weakness
- Basking less
- Hiding away in shaded areas
- Swelling of the limbs
Give Your Beardie A Bath
Soaking your bearded dragon in a warm bath can help it to poop and rehydrate. If it has consumed too many bananas, a bath can help it to dilute and excrete the concentration of phosphorus in its body. Soak your beardie in shallow water reaching its shoulders for at most 20 minutes to help it overcome the dilemma.
Feed Your Beardie Calcium-Laced Salad
Since the concentration of phosphorus is high in your beardie after the accident, it means calcium is lacking in its metabolism. This could harm bone density and cause other digestive problems. Including calcium supplements (view on Amazon) in your dragon’s diet will help balance the ratio of phosphorus and calcium and help it to fight against the lack of calcium.
Visit Your Veterinary Doctor
If the symptoms are worrying or perhaps there are no symptoms at all, you should pay a visit to the vet for a proper evaluation of the situation and a professional diagnosis. This will give you a better advantage in the situation to prevent it from worsening.
4 Dangers Of Feeding Too Many Bananas To Your Bearded Dragon
It’s crucial to understand the detriments of feeding your beardie treats in excess. For the major reasons why bananas should be fed at most twice a month, here are 4 problems that can arise from feeding your pet the fruit in excess:
1. Beardie Can Develop Metabolic Bone Disease
Metabolic bone disease in bearded dragons is a result of low calcium in their system. If they constantly eat low-calcium or high-phosphorus foods, they will eventually develop MBD. This takes a great toll on their bone structure weakening the density and shortening the dragon’s lifespan.
2. Beardie Can Suffer From Impaction And Kidney Stones
The buildup of phosphorus and calcium leads to kidney stones that will later be passed out at urate plugs. These plugs cause serious and painful impactions that may require surgery to remove. Other problems related to this could be inflammation of the kidneys and if prolonged, death.
3. Beardie Can Develop Dental Problems
Feeding extremely sweet foods can cause your beardie teeth to rot, and soft foods lead to the formation of plaque which is the starter plan for periodontal disease. Bananas are extremely sweet to bearded dragons and are too soft for them to eat frequently. There’s an entire survey carried out on bearded dragons in captivity in the United States and their dental health depicting the seriousness of the periodontal disease.
4. Beardie Can Suffer From Diarrhea And Dehydration
Excessive sweetness to bearded dragons destabilizes their digestive health and normal systematic functions. This could directly lead to expelling the ingested content by vomiting or pooping (diarrhea). Following suit is a dangerous level of dehydration that can be fatal to your bearded dragon if not handled immediately.
Can My Beardie Eat Fried Bananas?
While beardies can eat vegetable oil once in a while, I do not recommend it. They get all the fat they need from the bugs they eat which is totally sufficient for their diet. Even worse is fried bananas; the fruit is already one that your beardie can do without, and dipping it in oil is just unnecessary for your bearded dragon. It could lead to indigestion at the very least. So, I would rather not feed my pet fried bananas.
Can My Beardie Eat Plantain?
Raw plantain is problematic even for humans to digest with all the complexities of our digestive system. It is much higher in starch, sugar, and phosphorus which is simply dangerous for your beardie to eat. It can lead to chronic digestive problems, impaction, and neurological disorders. I do not recommend feeding plantain to your beardie. It should be a hard pass, and if there is an accident (your dragon ate plantain) rush to the vet immediately for evaluation!
