Arranging and supervising your bearded dragon’s diet has to be one of the most stressful duties you can carry as a beardie parent. You need to understand your lizard’s day-to-day diet and discover the dangers of several foods you might have deemed safe as there are many things beardies shouldn’t and cannot eat.
While the majority are unhealthy types of vegetables and proteins, the other significant half is mostly fruits. Yes, fruits are healthy and all that, but they’re also not a natural food item for bearded dragons, and the little lizards cannot digest them as we do. This is why it’s important to have an in-depth understanding of a particular fruit before it is fed to your bearded dragon.
Peaches, fortunately, are safe for beardies if consumed the right way. They are high in vitamins A, C, & E and mineral calcium that are capable of improving your pet’s health ultimately. Peaches are also much lower in sugar in comparison to other safe category fruits like bananas and pineapples, putting them close to the best spot on the list of safe fruits.
In this article, we will be reviewing just how safe peaches are for bearded dragons to consume, including the risk factors you must take into account to prevent your pet from falling sick. Let’s dive!
Is It Necessary To Feed My Bearded Dragon Peaches?
A direct answer to why you should feed your beardie peaches will be to improve its general well-being, but usually, peaches are fed to the beardies that enjoy them.
It is not exactly necessary to feed bearded dragons peaches, but there is the necessity of the right amount of fruit in their diet to keep them robust. Peaches, like many other safe fruits, are a great way to boost your dragon’s immune system and improve its health. Your beardie will live a much healthier and longer life – much longer than the beardies in the wild – if the fruit is properly used in their diet.
Beardies being beardies, you can only successfully feed them the fruit they enjoy. Your bearded dragon might absolutely go bonkers for peaches; it might be attracted to the bright color, taste, and even texture. Meanwhile, another dragon may think grapes are a much better fruit. It all depends on the treat your beardie loves most. So, if your bearded dragon enjoys peaches, the fruit might just be a necessity to its diet after all.
4 Fantastic Benefits Of Feeding Peaches To Your Bearded Dragon
Peaches are choked with important vitamins that will aid the health of your bearded dragon. They contain vitamins C, A, and E that collectively defend the immune and neurological system, down to the cellular structures. Peaches also contain vital minerals like iron, potassium, and calcium that can altogether strengthen the bones and teeth and improve blood circulation in bearded dragons. To further brag about it, here are 4 good benefits of feeding peaches to your beardie:
1. A Stronger Immune System
Peaches are rich in vitamin C which improves the antibodies and decreases oxidative stress in bearded dragons. Including peaches once a while in your beardie’s diet will help it to build resistance to certain diseases or infections as they age. Examples of these illnesses are open-wound or gut infections as it runs around the terrarium interacting with different bacteria.
2. Peaches Help To Better The Eyesight And Skin
Although it’s uncommon for beardies to develop eye problems, the Vitamin A in peaches will significantly improve your dragon’s eyesight and help it to retain its vision as it grows old. Usually, when bearded dragons get to 6 years of age, several sensory functions start to decline, including their sight.
Feeding your beardie little amounts of vitamin A over time will enhance their eyesight and help fight against depletion during old age. Vitamin A and E collectively help to reinforce your beardie’s skin elasticity thereby protecting it from tearing or breaking during the shedding process.
3. Peaches Help To Improve Appetite
Dicing peaches and sprinkling them on your beardie’s plate of food can entice your rewarded dragon to eat more, especially if your dragon enjoys the fruit to begin with. Bearded dragons prefer fruit to veggies because of the sweet and savory taste they have. Thanks to this, you can trick your beardie into eating more by making a salad of fruits and veggies to entice it. The multivitamins of the fruit also actively fasten digestion and metabolism thus increasing your beardie’s appetite for food.
4. Peaches Aid Digestive Health
Peaches are high in fiber that aids your bearded dragon’s bowel movement. If your beardie is having unstable pooping patterns or the poop isn’t the right consistency, peaches can help to either hydrate or build up the proper bowel that is safe for its health.
The Right Way To Feed Your Bearded Dragon Peaches
There’s a debate on whether peaches should be fed to beardies with the skin or without. The answer is it depends on where the peach is gotten from. Overly processed, fertilizer-doused peaches are a no-no to feed beardies. Introducing chemicals into their diet is highly dangerous as they do not have the proper means to break these chemicals down. If you are not certain about how the peaches are grown, I suggest you peel them before feeding them to your beardie.
How Much Of The Peach Is Just Enough?
When feeding your bearded dragon fruits, it’s highly important not to go over the top with it as it could cause your pet to fall sick. From the whole peach, take 2 – 3 vertical slices resembling segments of an orange and cut them into tiny pieces that would fit the space between your dragon’s eyes. The size you cut their peach matters because if it’s too big, it could cause your pet to choke.
How Often Should I Feed My Beardie Peaches?
Peaches should be fed to bearded dragons once in two weeks because of the phosphorus-to-calcium ratio in the fruit. It measures 1:3 (Cal:Pho) which is bad for bone development. The ideal ratio is 2:1 for the safe circulation of calcium and excretion of phosphorus from the body.
Caution: Do Not Feed Peaches To Baby Beardies
From the ages of 3 – 6 months, bearded dragons are still developing in bone structure and size. Calcium is highly beneficial to them at this age. The last thing you’d want to do is introduce calcium-binding fruits into their diet as this will cause a great drawback in their growth. Once they reach at least 8 months, your beardie will be mature enough to deal with phosphorus.
Include Calcium Supplements Into The Peach-Veggie-Protein Dish
If you’re feeding your beardie peaches, it’s much safer to sprinkle calcium powder (view on Amazon) on top of the salad to balance out the calcium and phosphorus ratio. Since you’re only feeding it small amounts of the peach, there will be no direct effect of the mineral imbalance. However, it will do your beardie much more good to be able to replace the lost calcium from eating peaches.
4 Detriments Of Feeding Beardies Too Many Peaches
For your bearded dragon to eat too much of the fruit, they have probably consumed half or more of the peach or have eaten it several times in a considerable period. This could take a toll on their health and living. Here are 4 consequences your dragon could face if it has consumed way too much:
1. Diarrhea And Dehydration
Similarly, when you eat too many sweets and get a bad stomach from them, bearded dragons can get serious stomach problems from eating too much fruit. This could lead to diarrhea and then dehydration from frequent stooling. If it has gotten to this point, immediately take your bearded dragon to the vet for evaluation and treatment.
At home, you can help your beardie rehydrate by soaking it in shallow water for 15 to 20 minutes. This will enable them to absorb water and even drink some of it in the process. So it’s important to use clean water while at it so that your pet doesn’t acquire any more problems for itself.
2. Lethargy
In response to your bearded dragon coping with serious stomach problems from eating too much peach, it could eventually become lethargic. Lethargy is a state of inactivity, similar to fatigue, that could take as long as a few days to two weeks to completely overcome. It is a general symptom, almost like an alarm, to signify that something is wrong with your beardie.
If you notice your pet sleeping earlier or longer than usual, eating less, and moving about much slower than it is used to, it is probably lethargic and in need of professional evaluation. Please, do not hesitate to visit a veterinary doctor.
3. Vitamin A Toxicity
Vitamin A in high amounts is toxic to bearded dragons. Unlike vitamin C which is easily excreted, vitamin A is absorbed by the organs and is slowly metabolized. Since peaches are saturated with this vitamin, your pet could get serious liver problems from the high level of vitamin A in their body. This could even be lethal in some cases.
4. Weakened Bone Density
The major reason why peaches should not be fed often or in excess to beardies is because of the levels of phosphorus in them. Phosphorus readily binds to calcium thereby preventing your bearded dragon from utilizing little to grow its bones. It also formulates urate plugs (kidney stones) by combining with calcium, which takes a serious toll on your dragon’s kidneys and digestive tract. If this accident is repeated often, your dragon could be affected by metabolic bone disease and other infections.
Signs Your Beardie Is Suffering From A ‘Peach Overdose’
If you are suspecting that your beardie has accidentally eaten too much peach, these are possible signs you should be looking for:
- Lethargy
- Droopy or dry skin
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Bloody or pink stools
- Watery stools
- Loss of appetite
Are Dry Peaches Okay To Feed Bearded Dragons?
Dried fruit is not good for beardies to consume. They are way too dry and sugary for them. Dried peach will also be much tougher to chew and digest which will in turn lead to impaction. I do not recommend feeding dry peaches to your beardie.
Are Canned Peaches Okay For My Bearded Dragon?
Canned peaches are certainly not advisable to feed your pet dragon. It has been doused in preservatives that are not compatible with their digestive system and could lead to serious repercussions if fed in excess. Please, do not feed your bearded dragon canned fruit. It’s simply not worth it!
Wrapping It Up
In conclusion, peaches are safe for beardies to consume in the proper amount. At the end of this article, you should be able to navigate through the dos and don’ts of feeding peaches to your beardie. Ensure that you take full consideration the amount it is fed and the state of the fruit in question. That is, whether it is factory processed or not. If you follow through with all that is required, your bearded dragon will thank you for all the delicious peachy treats and the health benefits it provides. Good luck!
