Can Bearded Dragons Eat Strawberries?
In this post we learn that bearded dragons can eat strawberries and we learn how often they should be given them, as well as nutritional information
Last Updated: February 23rd, 2022
By: Steve
Table of Contents
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Strawberries?
Bearded dragons can eat strawberries 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 strawberries and mixing one 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.
We recommend not overfeeding strawberries though as they are very high in water content and sugar. Both can lead to digestive problems. We’ve seen other sources online state they’re also high in Oxalate content – but that’s just not backed up by the data (1.9mg/100mg[2] is not a high Oxalate content). Of course if you use dried strawberries then the percentage of everything goes up by weight since most of the weight of fresh strawberry is water.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Strawberry Leaves?
Yes, bearded dragons can eat strawberry leaves as an occasional treat. It’s hard to get official data on the nutritional content of strawberry leaves since they’re not the primary part of the plant that’s consumed. There are some studies that show they’re high in anti-oxidants and generally quite good for people, but we were unable to find any quantifiable data for more general nutritional qualities.
Nevertheless, given that the fruit itself is palatable and enjoyed by bearded dragons, and there’s nothing to suggest the leaves contain anything untoward, it seems as though strawberry leaves can indeed be given them on occasion.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Strawberry Seeds?
Yes, strawberry seeds are perfectly safe for bearded dragons. The seeds are small and contain nothing untoward for your bearded dragon. You don’t need to worry about scraping them off or anything fiddly. Just prepare the strawberry by cutting it (see below) into appropriate sized chunks and serve it.
What Are Strawberries For Bearded Dragons?
Strawberries are a delicious fruit with a lovely smell and a fabulous red colour. They have the seeds on the outside and technically aren’t actually a berry at all. The seeds themselves, although appearing seed-like on the outside of the fleshy fruit, are actually an ovary from the plant with the seed contained inside. The fruit also is not from the plants ovaries, which is why it’s technically an ‘accessory fruit’ rather than a berry.
Nevertheless, it’s delicious when eaten by humans along with some whipped cream and is a firm favourite served this way in England around the time of the Wimbledon tennis season. Strawberries for bearded dragons shouldn’t include any cream though! They also make excellent jam, although they’re low in pectin and require a bit of a boost using lemon. Strawberries are also used in milkshakes, juice, pies, ice cream and many more foodstuffs. Their scent can be used in candles and air fresheners too.
Advantages Of Strawberries For Bearded Dragons
Disadvantages Of Strawberries For Bearded Dragons
How Should I Feed Strawberry To A Bearded Dragon?
A strawberry or two (if they’re small) can be added to your bearded dragon’s salad bowl to help entice them to eat the salad – though the chances are quite high that they’ll eat the strawberry pieces and leave everything else. They can also be fed by hand as a treat and to help you bond with your bearded dragon through hand feeding exercises. Do be aware though that the strawberry can be a bit squished on your finger and the bearded dragon may be quite eager. This can lead to inadvertent bites from a bearded dragon if you’re not careful.
Strawberries should be cut into smaller pieces, preferably quarters or smaller depending on the size of the strawberry versus the size of the dragons head. We would use the same rule of thumb as we do for insects in that the width of the strawberry slice should be no wider than than the space between your bearded dragons eyes. To clear up confusion, this is the width of the strawberry slice should fit between your dragons eyes not the length. The length is irrelevant so long as the width is small enough. To be fair though, with strawberries being as soft as they are, there’s little danger of anything untoward if they’re left a bit bigger.
How Many Strawberries Should I Feed A Bearded Dragon?
Strawberries should be fed by cutting into quarters and with a maximum of perhaps one or two per week, as a treat. They should not be fed strawberries routinely as the high sugar levels will ultimately end up causing digestive issues.
Nutritional Data For Strawberries For Bearded Dragons
| Nutritional Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Water Content (%) | 91.1 |
| Fat (%) | 0.22 |
| Protein (%) | 0.64 |
| Dietary Fibre (%) | 1.8 |
| Carbohydrate (%) | 7.63 (moderate) |
| Calcium (mg/100g) | 12 (0.012%) |
| Potassium (mg/100g) | 89 (0.089%) |
| Phosphorous (mg/100g) | 20 (0.02%) |
| Vitamin A (ug/100g) | 1 |
| Vitamin C (ug/100g) | 56 |
| Oxalates (mg/100g) | 1.9 (Low) |
Can I Grow My Own Strawberries?
Strawberries grow well in temperate environments such as the UK, and many places will grow strawberries in fields which are harvested in July and August. They’re relatively easy to grow in your back garden but they will require some way of keeping the strawberry fruits themselves off of the soil, as they’ll rot quickly if left on the floor. They’ll also need protection from birds who seem to love them.
The Royal Horticultural Society gives intricate and detailed instructions for growing your own strawberries.
Summary
In this post we looked at whether bearded dragons can eat strawberries, strawberry leaves and strawberry seeds. The answer, we discovered, is yes, bearded dragons can eat strawberries, strawberry leaves and seeds as an occasional treat. We also looked at how to feed strawberries to your bearded dragon and discovered it was relatively easy to do this.
We learnt that growing your own strawberries is fairly easy, depending on your climate – and discovered the nutritional value of strawberries is really quite low. But as a nice, sweet treat for your bearded dragon every now and then, they’re a good option.
Frequency: OCCASIONAL TREAT.
Click for more information on other fruits that Bearded Dragons can eat.
References
1: US Department of Agriculture FoodData Central. Fetched on 13th September 2021 from https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/747448/nutrients
2: Oxalate (oxalic acid) content of 750+ foods, with numbers from university and government sources – sourced from https://oxalate.org/ on 13th September 2021.
Featured Image by ALEKSEIY GROMOV from Pixabay