Can Bearded Dragons Eat Mango?

Can bearded dragons eat mango? Yes, bearded dragons can eat mango occasionally and most love them. They should only be fed as a treat though, since they’re high in sugar and water content. They have barely any calcium, indeed almost no nutritional value for a bearded dragon. But they are tasty and sweet and can help entice a dragon to eat more salad, although we find most of the time they eat the sweet stuff and leave the actual salad behind.

Is Mango Good For Bearded Dragons?

Mango is a lovely sweet, juicy tropical fruit, used in many desserts in the human kingdom. They’ve been cultivated since ancient times to include varieties of sweetness and colors which range from pale yellow, gold, green or orange. They contain a very large stone which is hard and cannot be used for eating purposes.

Mangoes contain a lot of Vitamin A and Potassium which are both essential nutrients for bearded dragons, but in some cases the level of Vitamin A can actually be too much. This is because bearded dragons are often given nutrient supplements which also contain vitamin A and this, if given too much, can lead to a condition called Hypervitaminosis A.

Mangoes also contain a lot of sugar and barely any calcium. So in general, although bearded dragons love Mangoes they’re really not that good for them. They can however be used sparingly as a treat.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Mangoes?

Bearded dragons can eat mango as an occasional treat. They offer very little nutritional value, but are a good source of water and do taste nice. Many bearded dragons do like the occasional piece of mango and mixing some small pieces into their salad here or there will be unlikely to cause any drama. It’s worth cutting them into small pieces and mixing them in nicely with the salad, as this well help entice stubborn dragons to actually eat their salad. You must make sure that there is no stone (or pip) present in the mango before you give it to your bearded dragon though.

We recommend not overfeeding mango though as they are very high in water content and sugar. Both can lead to digestive problems. Mango isn’t particularly high in oxalate per 100g though so it does at least have that going for it. But nevertheless, it is too high in sugar for a regular food item and must only be given every once in a while.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Mango Stones?

No, mango stones are not safe for bearded dragons. The stone is huge in comparison to the bearded dragon head and it is hard. You should always remove the stone/seed from the mango before putting it anywhere near your bearded dragon.

Advantages Of Mango For Bearded Dragons

Disadvantages Of Mango For Bearded Dragons

How Should I Feed Mango To A Bearded Dragon?

Mango should be fed to bearded dragons in small pieces and should not include the stone or the skin. The skin is quite tough on mangoes whereas the interior flesh is generally very soft – at least if the mango is properly ripe.

One of the best ways to cut Mango is to slice the fruit from top to bottom in what would like thirds. Slice around the stone though, which will be slightly bigger than a third of the fruit. Slice so that you’re working on the ‘flat’ side of the fruit. Then, with the fleshy third, score lines every cm or so both across the flesh and down. You can then try to turn the skin inside out (not fully of course!) and you’ll find little dices of fruit will pop up which can be picked off and added to your bearded dragons salad, or cut into smaller pieces first.

You can also hand feed mango to your bearded dragon but remember they do have teeth and they sometimes get a little bit over excited when trying to reach for fruit. Don’t get bitten!

How Much Mango Should I Feed A Bearded Dragon Or How Often?

Mango is not particularly nutritious. It is also made up of mostly water and sugars, which isn’t great for a bearded dragon’s digestive system. With this in mind, mango should form only a very tiny part of its overall diet – generally as a little treat now and then.

A few pieces of diced or sliced mango once a month would be our recommendation. It can help re-hydrate a dehydrated dragon as it does have a fair amount of water, but it’s probably too sugary for much of this. Watermelon may be a better idea for rehydration as the sugar level is lower.

Nutritional Data For Mango For Bearded Dragons

Nutritional Item	Content
Water Content (%)	83.5
Fat (%)	0.38
Protein (%)	0.82
Dietary Fibre (%)	1.6
Carbohydrate (%)	15 (moderate)
Calcium (mg/100g)	11 (0.011%)
Potassium (mg/100g)	168 (0.168%)
Phosphorous (mg/100g)	14 (0.014%)
Vitamin A (ug/100g)	54
Vitamin C (ug/100g)	36.4
Oxalates (mg/100g)	3 (Low)

Can I Grow My Own Mango?

Mango grows in warm tropical regions around the world. If you’re in one of these areas you can probably grow your own – but for most of us, who live in the temperate regions of the UK, USA or Europe, the tree can be grown but it won’t bear any fruit. Which rather defeats the point, particularly if it’s because you want to give it to your bearded dragon.

So unfortunately for most of us, Mango will need to be bought from the store when it’s available.

Summary

In this post we looked at whether bearded dragons can eat mango and mango seeds. The answer, we discovered, is yes, bearded dragons can eat mangoes as an occasional treat but should not eat the seeds. We also looked at how to feed mango to your bearded dragon and discovered it was relatively easy to do this.

We learnt that growing your own mango is not at all easy and relatively pointless unless you’re in a tropical environment – and we discovered the nutritional value of them is really quite low. But as a nice, sweet treat for your bearded dragon every now and then, they’re an OK choice and for rehydrating a dehydrated bearded they have some value.

Frequency: VERY OCCASIONAL TREAT.

For more information on other vegetables that Bearded Dragons can eat, please see our larger overview post at ‘What Vegetables Can Bearded Dragons Eat?’