Many bearded dragon owners often ask us: can bearded dragons eat grapes? Are grapes safe for bearded dragons to eat? In this post, we will answer this question and explain how many grapes you can safely feed your beardie.
Yes, bearded dragons can eat grapes occasionally (a grape or two once a week). Grapes are high in fiber which is great for your dragon but it is also high in sugar and oxalates which could harm your dragon. So, you don’t want to feed it to your beardie too often.
How Often Can Bearded Dragons Have Grapes?
If your bearded dragons are healthy, you can feed them a grape or two once a week without any worries. However, if your beardie is suffering from obesity, diabetes, or a similar health concern, then you should not be feeding them grapes more than once a month. Always consult with your vet before making any changes to your pet’s diet especially when sick.
What’s Good About Grapes for Beardies?
Grapes are an incredibly convenient (and cheap) food that offers many key benefits for bearded dragons.
- Grapes contain fiber which helps in digestion and also prevents constipation
- It has a low acid level, therefore it won’t cause mouth burn or stomach lining damage like some citrus fruits or other meals with greater acid content.
- Antioxidants, particularly those found in the skin of red grapes, can reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce inflammation, and even keep your dragon’s allergies from developing.
- Grapes contain around 45-68% water which helps keep beardies hydrated and improve kidney functions.
- It also contains potassium which helps regulate blood pressure.
What’s Bad About Grapes for Beardies?
Here are the main reasons why bearded dragons cannot eat grapes as a staple food.
Grapes contain Oxalates (a type of acid) that bind with calcium in a bearded dragon’s body. Therefore, even if your beardie consumes a diet high in calcium, eating too many grapes might have a negative impact on their health since the oxalates will steal the calcium that their blood would otherwise be absorbing.
Grapes also contain phosphorus which behaves similarly to oxalates. Ideally, a bearded dragon’s diet should have equal proportions of calcium and phosphorus (1:1 or 1: 2). In grapes this ratio is whopping (5:1!), it’s easy to see why grapes should not be fed to beardies on regular basis.
High levels of oxalates and phosphorus can lead to calcium deficiency which may result in metabolic bone disease in bearded dragons which often proves deadly.
In high doses, fruits like grapes that are largely made up of water can actually cause severe dehydration in bearded dragons in the long run. Too much hydration causes diarrhea, which in turn will dehydrate your beardie.
Seeds are another reason why beardies cannot eat grapes all the time. In addition to being a choking threat, they can also cause gut impaction if swallowed, meaning they will obstruct your bearded dragon’s digestive track and make defecation impossible. If not cured on time, it can prove deadly for your beardie. Make sure to only feed your beardie seedless grapes.
Grapes contain a lot of sugar content. Even from natural sources like fruit, excessive sugar consumption in dragons can lead to tooth damage, fatty liver disease, obesity, diabetes (yes, dragons can develop diabetes), and in the rarest of cases, heart failure, and death.
How Can Bearded Dragons Eat Grapes?
Although bearded dragons can eat grapes whole, it is recommended to cut them into bite-size pieces to make it easier for beardies to eat. Cutting them into small pieces will eliminate any possibility of choking and will also ensure there are no seeds since even the occasional seedless grapes actually do have seeds.
Grape is a sweet fruit and beardies love them. You can feed it alone or within a mix of veggies.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Green, Purple, and Red Grapes?
Grapes can be found in many colors such as green, purple, or red. A bearded dragon can safely eat a grape or two of any color once a week. But if your beardie is sick, you should not be giving them grapes more them once a month.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Grape Leaves?
Yes, bearded dragons can eat grape leaves as they are high in protein and calcium and low in phosphorus. Grape leaves are in fact more nutritious for beardies than the fruit itself.
Feeding grape leaves to your beardie is pretty simple and straightforward. Simply wash and chop them, then place them in your beardie’s food bowl.
Conclusion
You can safely feed your beardie a grape or two once a week. But if your dragon is suffering from any health complication then you should not be feeding them more than once a month. Beardies cannot eat grapes regularly as a staple food because of their high level of oxalate, phosphorus, sugar, and water content. Make sure to cut the grapes into small pieces and remove any seeds before feeding them to your beardie.
