What vegetables and greens can my bearded dragon safely eat?

Since lettuce is mostly water it is not nutritious for bearded dragons. Because of this it is best to avoid feeding your bearded dragon lettuce or any greens with the word "lettuce" in the name. Spinach is also another food to avoid. While spinach is healthy, calcium binds easily to it which can make it hard for your bearded dragon to digest. Do not feed your bearded dragons avocados. They are toxic, but their toxicity levels are unknown so it's best to avoid them. Your Bearded Dragon's diet should replicate what she would eat in the wild. It should include insects, vegetables, fruit and greens. Insects: Crickets Mealworms Kingworms Waxworms Earthworms Cockroaches Locusts Fruits: Figs Kiwi Melon Apples Mango Papaya Dates Peaches Apricots Plums Strawberries Vegetable list: Broccoli Ocra Peas Green beans Butternut squash Sweet potato Bell pepper Greens: Kale Collards Parsley Clover Dandelion greens Turnip greens Mustard greens Endive Here are some items they can eat occasionally: sprouts, tomatoes, blueberries, pears, grated carrots, banana, grapes and cucumber. You will need to prepare some of fruit and veggies by taking the peel off and/or cutting it down into bite-sized pieces. This is a good article that has more information that may help you: http://www.thebeardeddragon.org/bearded-dragon-nutrition-data.php#fruit Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Beardies are omnivores and eat a mix of greens and live prey. Adult beardies will eat more greens than prey. At his age, Majesty can be fed once daily. Alternate between prey and greens. Don't forget to dust food with a calcium supplement as well as a multivitamin. Always have fresh water available. Offer different types of greens such as mustard greens, dandelion greens, kale, bok choy or raw cabbage. Vegetables that can be fed include celery, carrots, squash and pumpkin. This list is my no means inclusive. If he won't eat greens, chop them finer and add strawberries or blueberries to the mix. Mixing in crickets or mealworms may also stimulate the appetite. As long as the stool is formed, size isn't an issue. It will change depending on how much and what he eats. A light cycle of 12 hours on and 12 hours off is sufficient. To get him acclimated to you, simply spend time with him. Initially, you'll want to just sit by his cage, then progress to placing your hand in the cage then actually touching and holding him. Begin each stage with short periods of time and gradually increase the time as he accepts you. The links below will provide more information. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=17+1796&aid=2730 http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html

Some of it depends on the age of the beardie. If young, make sure any live food is small enough for it. Meal works, crickets or even pinkie mice Here's a good recipe for a reptile salad. Basic Salad Recipe 1/2 cup shredded raw green beans 1/2 cup shredded raw orange-fleshed squash (such as acorn, banana, kabocha, spaghetti, and pumpkin) - you can occasionally alternate with carrots 1 medium or 2 small raw shredded parsnips (in areas where these are seasonally hard to find, you can substitute with asparagus or cooked or canned lima, navy or kidney beans that have been well rinsed and minced or mashed. If you use beans, add extra calcium to offset their high phosphorus) * 1/4 cup mashed/minced fruit (strawberries, raspberries, mangos, papaya, figs, cantaloupe, cactus pear) Alfalfa ** Multivitamin and calcium supplements * If parsnips are a seasonal vegetable where you live, you can use 1/2 cup shredded asparagus, trading off with 1/2 cup drained, rinsed, and chopped canned cooked lima beans, plus additional calcium to make up for the lousy calcium:phosphorus ratio in beans. Cooked beans are acceptable for short term use only due to their phosphorous content and other chemicals that can impede the uptake of minerals and trace elements. Asparagus is comparable in protein to parsnip, but does contain oxalates, so should not be a long-term staple. ** The quantity of alfalfa you use will depend upon the alfalfa product you are using. You want to add about 15 grams of protein. That is about 1/2 cup of alfalfa rabbit pellets, or about 1/4 cup or less of alfalfa leaf tea or a tablespoon or so of alfalfa powder. The older the healthy iguana is, the less protein they need, so you may end up using only a couple of teaspoons for an adult iguana. Thoroughly mix all the Basic Salad Recipe ingredients together. Makes about 3.5-4 cups. Add in a multivitamin supplement (any multivitamin supplement for birds or reptiles is fine, but the best, actually, is powder from a crushed Centrum tablet) and a calcium supplement. You do not need to get a calcium supplement that has phosphorous or D3 in it, as the iguana is already getting considerably phosphorous from the plants and multivitamin, and their D3 is best manufactured in their bodies by regular exposure to direct sunlight or special UVB-producing fluorescents. And more good info on husbandry and feeding isnhere. If temperature is not correct they also may not eat. http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html

Both can eat dark, leafy greens. Vegetables such as squash, peppers, peas, carrots and corn can also be offered. Cooked is fine, raw is healthier. Fruits should be offered sparingly to both species to prevent loose droppings. Apples, pears, banana, mango, grapes and peaches are all acceptable. Be sure to remove pits or seeds.

It wouldn't be recommended as a staple diet. There are healthier options than baby lettuce/greens and the radicchio has a disproportionate calcium to phosphorus ratio which makes it unhealthy to feed regularly. Acceptable greens include but are not limited to: collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, kale, beet greens, bok choy, parsley and alfalfa hay.

Although I can find no specific reference for or against Malabar spinach (aka indian spinach, palak, climbing spinach), I would recommend not feeding it to Joey. It may be similar enough to bind or block calcium as true spinach may do if fed in large quantities. There are a multitude of other greens that can be fed safely instead.

Feed him as many appropriately sized (no bigger than the space between his eyes) crickets or dubia roaches as he will eat in 10-15 minutes. Baby beardies are eating machines consuming as many as 80 crickets or more daily! Juveniles will eat more live pretty than vegetables. Offer about a tablespoon or two of finely chopped spring mix for him. Change it daily. You can also offer squash, peppers, asparagus, pumpkin and yams just to name a few other veggies. Avoid iceberg lettuce, celery and light colored greens. These offer little in the way of nutrition.