Fruits make up 10% or less of your beardie’s diet and are considered treats. Despite how healthy they are for us, some fruits can be toxic or outright lethal for them to consume. Before you feed your pet fruits, you must ensure they’re safe. So, what’s the gist about bananas?
Bearded dragons can eat bananas but in small, appropriate amounts. They contain nutrients that can improve their well-being but are dangerous if consumed in excess. If your beardie loves bananas, feeding it some can help strengthen your bond with your pet during mealtime.
In this article, you’ll figure out how to safely feed bananas to your bearded dragon, ensuring it doesn’t fall ill from eating them. But first, are bananas necessary treats?
Should I Feed My Bearded Dragon Bananas?
Feeding your bearded dragon bananas is not a necessity—it’s a choice that depends on whether your pet enjoys them. However, safely adding it to its diet can improve its appetite and vitamin intake.
Bananas contain vitamins A, B, C, and E, including minerals like potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium. These nutrients assist in fighting diseases, building immunity, and improving digestion. Nonetheless, bananas also contain phosphorus which can contribute to the formulation of urate plugs, and reduce calcium absorption potentially leading to metabolic bone disease. This is why you must feed your pet bananas with care.
The Safest Way To Feed Your Bearded Dragon Bananas
Your bearded dragon should eat bananas every other week to prevent illness. I recommend feeding it with the peel to help deter plaque formation and provide fiber to aid bowel movement. Plaque forms when soft, squishy foods get stuck in their teeth, and can eventually harbor bacteria causing dental problems. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t feed my dragons blended, soft foods; they don’t have the crunchy texture of fresh veggies that get into the teeth removing gunk.
How Much Of a Banana Is Enough For My Bearded Dragon?
Five slices of banana are enough for your beardie. If you’re feeding your dragon the fruit without the peel, I suggest dicing it and mixing it into its salad to minimize the risk of the soft chewed pieces getting stuck in its teeth.
4 Benefits Of Feeding Your Bearded Dragon Bananas
Added to their deliciousness, bananas have a ton of goodies your beardie can benefit from, as listed below:
1. Boosts Mood and Heightens Awareness
Treats have a way of lighting up the mood, as you know. Since beardies enjoy their delicacies, you can stimulate your pet’s mood by giving it bananas in safe amounts, especially if it is stressed. A banana treat can excite or help it relax.
2. Bananas Can Improve Your Beardie’s Eating Habit
One way I ensure my bearded dragon eats its veggies is by mixing a treat with a similarly colored vegetable. For instance, mixing chopped yellow bell peppers and butternut squash with bits of banana can encourage your dragon to eat its salad as the treats pique its interest. It works like magic particularly if your pet loves bananas.
3. Immunity Boost
Feeding your beardie bananas introduces vitamins A and C thereby improving its immune system. It can enhance or help maintain your dragon’s eyesight, general development, and respiratory and reproductive health. Remember, this can only be achieved by feeding the fruit in moderation over time; too much could make your pet sick, which is counterproductive.
4. Can Serve As a Supplement Tool
Calcium and magnesium are key nutrients for strengthening bones, and bananas have a fair amount. Feeding your beardie a banana treat loaded with powdered calcium supplements can help keep its bones healthy. If it’s a sick beardie suffering from appetite loss, it can be challenging to feed it healthy greens without the help of a treat. However, this method is still insufficient since bananas reduce calcium absorption. The best way to boost your pet’s nutrient intake is by providing a highly nutritious and supplement-rich diet.
Dangers Of Feeding Your Bearded Dragon Too Many Bananas
It’s crucial to know the detriments of feeding your beardie excess treats, what to expect, and what to do when an accident happens.
Your Beardie Can Develop Metabolic Bone Disease
Metabolic bone disease develops as a result of low calcium in your bearded dragon’s system. If it consistently eats low-calcium or high-phosphorus foods like bananas, its bone development will suffer, leading to deformities. The affected bearded dragon can die from severe MBD, especially if it has underlying health difficulties.
Your Beardie Can Suffer From Impaction
The buildup of phosphorus and calcium can lead to kidney stones that are passed out as urate plugs. These plugs can cause serious and painful impactions that may require surgery to remove. Inflammation of the kidneys can also occur from this, and if prolonged, your beardie can pass away.
Beardie Can Develop Dental Problems
Feeding extremely sweet and soft foods frequently to your pet can cause it to develop plaque which is usually the cause of periodontal disease. A survey was carried out on the dental health of bearded dragons to depict the seriousness and commonness of the disease among captive beardies.
Beardie Can Suffer From Diarrhea And Dehydration
Excessive sugar destabilizes the digestive health and normal behaviors of bearded dragons. This can directly lead to vomiting or diarrhea. Consequently, dehydration follows which can be fatal to your bearded dragon if not remedied with care.
What If Your Beardie Accidentally Eats Too Many Bananas?
If your bearded dragon ate too many bananas, it may induce vomiting or diarrhea. Before the situation worsens, here are things you can do to help:
Give Your Beardie a Bath
Soak your pet in a shallow bath for up to 20 minutes to help it flush its bowels and rehydrate. Soaking your bearded dragon in a warm bath stimulates pooping especially if your pet is impacted.
Feed Your Beardie Calcium-Enriched Salad
The high levels of phosphorus your beardie ingested from the accident can cause a drop in calcium levels negatively affecting metabolism. This can harm bone density and lead to other digestive problems. Feeding your pet a salad with calcium supplements (view on Amazon) as soon as possible can remedy the imbalance and restore the lost calcium.
Observe Your Beardie
If your beardie has eaten too many bananas, monitor it closely for up to 72 hours for the following signs:
- Sluggishness and lack of attentiveness
- Loss of appetite
- Pale or droopy skin
- Irregular pooping routine
- General body weakness
- Reduced basking
- Hiding away in shaded areas
- Swelling of the limbs
Visit Your Veterinarian
If the symptoms persist, pay a visit to the vet for a proper evaluation of the situation, diagnosis, and treatment. This will prevent the condition from worsening, saving your pet from the worst-case scenario. Bearded dragons are quite unpredictable; it’s possible to lose your pet from symptoms you presume are stable. I’ve seen beardies die from something as simple as indigestion or choking.
Alternative Fruits to Feed Your Bearded Dragon
Beardie-safe fruits have relatively low levels of oxalate, potassium, phosphorus, and goitrogen compared to many of the fruits we consume. Aside from bananas, you can feed your dragon the following:
- Prickly pear
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Apples
- Mangoes
- Papayas
- Figs
- Strawberries
Can My Beardie Eat Fried Bananas?
While beardies can consume vegetable oil, I do not recommend it. They get all the fat they need from bugs, which is sufficient. Feeding your pet fried bananas or oily banana meals can lead to indigestion at the very least. It’s simply not worth risking your pet’s life for.
Can My Beardie Eat Plantain?
Raw plantain is problematic for even humans to digest despite our complex digestive system. It has high levels of starch, sugar, and phosphorus making it dangerous for your beardie to eat. Delayed digestion can lead to chronic stomach problems, impaction, and neurological disorders. I do not recommend feeding your pet plantain, but if your dragon accidentally ate some, consult your vet for guidance. Good luck!
