Eating different types of insects comes naturally to the bearded dragons when they live in their natural territory. After being adopted they eat the items that their owners provide them with. As their nature of catching wild insects and killing or eating those stays, they often try and catch insects when they are left free.
Most of the new owners of bearded dragons panic when they see their pet bearded dragons are eating ants. But is there actually any reason to panic when this happens? Let us probe into this matter.
Contents
Can bearded dragons eat ants from outside?
As bearded dragons live in various kinds of areas, they tend to eat different types of creatures available there. When they are kept as pets, they are left free in the backyard and that is also needed for their health.
At this free hour, they can eat roaches, spiders, beetles, ants, and various other insects. Sometimes they even eat some small rodents when possible. Usually eating these creatures does not create a problem for them unless they are consuming pesticides along with the insects, which are often sprayed in the gardens to keep the plants free from pets.
Can my bearded dragon eat ants?
Bearded dragons are fond of insects and love to eat them when they see them moving around in the garden. Though many owners feel anxious as they fear that the ants may be harmful to the bearded dragons or can damage the pet dragon by biting them back, in most cases the bearded dragons are sufficient to kill the ants before they attack it. By body size, the bearded dragons are much larger than the ants and they are less likely to harm the bearded dragon unless the ants come in great numbers.
Can you feed ants to your pet bearded dragon?
Ants have a good content of folic acid in their body. This is not much good for bearded dragons. In fact, this content of folic acid in their bodies saves ants from their predators and this is one of the primary reasons the big creatures do not predate on ants much. This is how ants survive in the jungle even being a small insects.
So feeding ants to the pet bearded dragons is not a good idea for the owners.
Are ants a healthy treat for the bearded dragons?
We have already mentioned in this guide that ants contain a good amount of folic acid which is not a healthy ingredient for bearded dragons. Along with that it also contains such a ratio of calcium and phosphorus which is not good for the bone health of the bearded dragon.
What is the nutritional value of ants?
Ants contain a good amount of phosphorus and potassium which are essential for the bearded dragon but in a limited amount. It also contains some amount of calcium and magnesium which helps the bearded dragon in their bone formation. Along with that it also contains folic acid which helps them to stay protected from the other animals as folic acid in great amount is not good for various creatures.
Other than these nutrients, ants also contain a high amount of protein. 100 gm of ants contain 13.9 gm of protein. So ants can be a good source of protein for the consumers. For bearded dragons, protein is a good source of energy and it builds their body.
When they are of young age they need a good amount of protein to grow. So ants can get the required amount of protein which makes them healthy and grow well. When they are not adopted and live the free life, it has been seen that the young bearded dragons have the tendency of eating more live insects from nature than the matured ones. This is their natural system of becoming strong and growing faster.
Why feeding ants can be harmful to bearded dragons?
Feeding ants to the baby bearded dragons has a few negative sides. If you let your baby bearded dragon roam on its own and it catches and eats the ants available in the backyard then you should not apply pesticide in any form to your garden. Remember, the ants living in your garden may become food to your pet bearded dragon and the poison that you are applying to kill the pest or the weeds may make your pet sick.
The toxic elements like the pesticide and herbicide we use in our garden remain on the body of the insects living there. So when the pet bearded dragon goes to the garden it can suffer from different kinds of illnesses when it consumes some insects moving around it.
Another issue that can be faced by the baby bearded dragon while trying to eat the living ants in the backyard is, attacking the ant colony and then getting hurt. Ants that are scattered in the garden ground are not much harmful as they are not able to bite the predator when the bearded dragon approaches to eating it. But when the bearded dragon tries to invade an ant colony, if there is any in your backyard then the numerous numbers of ants can actually attack the small dragon and harm it severely.
So before you allow your pet bearded dragon to move in the backyard, check the garden thoroughly. Make sure that there is no ant colony or poisonous insects living in the yard which can eventually harm the little creature. Offering some freedom to your pet is a good idea but you should always be careful about the health of the pet.
Are ants toxic to bearded dragons?
Ants are not toxic for bearded dragons when you give them a small amount. Ants cannot be part of the regular diet of the bearded dragon; neither can they be a nutritious choice for the reptile. The inappropriate ratio of calcium-phosphorus in ants is much disturbing for the bone health of the bearded dragons. The folic acid amount is also not much helpful for the pets.
If you are experimental by nature then offering a few ants to the pet bearded dragon will be a good idea to execute.
