Greens are consumed by the bearded dragons in large amounts. The owners of the bearded dragons feel safe in when offering green vegetables to their pets. But due to some issues, there are certain vegetables which are not suitable for the system of the bearded dragons.
Kale is one of the popular and healthy vegetable which is offered to bearded dragon and it has never triggered any problems so far.
Can Bearded dragons Eat Kale?
This green vegetable is leafy and it looks very much similar like the mustard greens. If you are planning to feed the dragon with something leafy, then opt for kale, which is much better than the spinach, another famous leafy vegetable.
There are certain types of kale, and we have described them below:
Dinosaur kale – these are large green leaves which are named after dinosaur due to the crinkly texture of the leaves. There is a strong stem around which the leaves are attached.
Redbor kale– these are much ruffled and it comes in unusual tone of purple to deep red and not green.
Curly kale –these are the commonest form of kale. When we think of kale, this one comes to our mind. The taste is pungent and it comes with a strong flavor.
Russian kale – this is one of the most uncommon versions of kale as it comes in shades purple, red and green. These are hard to come by and it contains a sweet taste along with being peppery.
Nutritional value:
If you take a cup of kale, it will provide you great amount of energy, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper and manganese among minerals. In vitamins it provides with vitamin C, folate, beta carotene, lutene and vitamin E, K and A. it also contains high amount of water.
As it contains high amount of calcium along with some amount of phosphorus, it is pretty helpful for the diet of baby bearded dragons. Calcium intake is mandatory in baby dragons’ diet as it helps to make the bone strong at the growing period. If they do not consume enough calcium at that age, it will result into metabolic bone disease when they mature.
High water content of kale makes it ideal for bearded dragons’ consumption. Dragons do not drink much water separately as they are the creatures of desert originally. So feeding them with veggies which contain high amount of water is really helpful for them to stay balanced and hydrated.
Calorie and protein intake will be really low when the dragons will consume kale. More proteins make them obese as they do not have much opportunity to move and exercise within the terrarium. It is not advised to take them out in open every day, which may give them a chance to exercise.
Lots of minerals and vitamins are present in kale, as we have mentioned above. Oxalate level is much low in kale so you can provide them with this vegetable to offer carotene and vitamin A safely. However, too much vitamin A can result into vitamin A toxicity, so offer them kale on every alternate day in a small portion.
Know more:
Conclusion:
This vegetable is rich in nutrients and most of the nutrients are helpful for the system of bearded dragons. You may not use it as the staple food though.
Bearded dragons are non vegetarian in nature and they do not get many greens when left in wild.
So the digestion system and body functioning of theirs is much more depended upon the protein portion of their diet. They get the nutrients mostly from the insects that the catch on the deserts of Australia. So when you are feeding them in the terrarium, make sure to offer more protein and less greens to keep them healthy and hearty.
