We see that reptiles are adventurous creatures and love to try new things when it comes to diet. They try to gobble and try everything that is put in front of them.
In the wild, the bearded dragons tend to eat fruit but it is not dried. So, it is important to know if the raisins can be fed to the bearded dragons or not.
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Can Bearded Dragons Eat Raisins?
Well, bearded dragons can eat raisins safely, and that too without any fear. But when you get to know about the raisins then it won’t be the best thing that you can feed your bearded dragon.
Also, we see that if it is consumed in mass quantities then it can affect the health and diet of the bearded dragons.
Nutritional information for raisins:
If you are adding something to the diet of your bearded dragon then you need to know about the nutritional information and the content of fiber, calcium, fat, and even fiber. If we consider the ratio of 100 grams of raisins it consists of around 3.7 grams of protein and 0.46 grams of fat.
The bearded dragons need both so that they can be healthy and also stay strong. Raisins also have 3.7 grams of fiber and this is seen to be extremely important for the digestive health of bearded dragons.
Unhealthy ratio of calcium to phosphorous
Bearded dragons and the other reptiles need high amounts of calcium every day. This is because it helps in supporting their bone structure. Calcium is even necessary for the females as it helps in keeping the eggs strong and to endure the laying process.
Moreover, if there is a sufficient amount of calcium then the females will not have to face complications. But bit is not just about the calcium ratio but it is also about the phosphorous that is entering your bearded dragon’s diet. Phosphorous is very effective and helps to prevent calcium from being absorbed into the body.
So, due to this reason, calcium to the phosphorous ratio of 2:1 is necessary and by this, it is ensured that the bearded dragons get the correct amount of calcium that they need and you will even notice that by feeding raisins this gets completely flipped.
The amount of phosphorous gets doubled by feeding raisins and this can lead to serious problems like a metabolic bone disease.
Benefits of feeding raisins
Raisins are not the best snack that you can give your bearded dragon but we see that there are some health benefits of raisins. Raisins have a good amount of dietary fiber and in case your bearded dragon is having complications of bowel movements then this fiber can help in preventing this.
So, give them one or two raisins and do not only feed raisins for the whole meal.
Disadvantages of bearded dragon eating raisins
We see that raisins offer a good amount of fiber but the owners need to take precautions and before they add raisins to the diet they should know that the raisins contain either a high amount or the low amount of nutrients.
Now, let us have a closer look at the various reasons why you need to be cautious about adding raisins to the diet of bearded dragons.
High sugar content
As we have seen earlier the dry fruits have a high amount of sugar content. Raisins have 59.19g of sugar in 100 grams and this shows that sugar is very high.
When compared with the sugar content of other fruits such as strawberries we see that it contains 4.89 per 100 grams and this is a lot of difference.
You can even know if the strawberries are safe for your bearded dragon and you can add them to your beardies diet.
If you feed food that has a high content of sugar can have a negative effect on the diet of your bearded dragon and it has both short and long-term effects.
The effects are:
- Diarrhea
- Tooth decay
- And Obesity
So, due to this reason raisins are not good for the bearded dragon as it has high sugar content.
Feeding raisins to bearded dragons
The raisins are non-toxic and entirely safe to eat for your bearded dragon. So, it is recommended that you do not feed raisins to your bearded dragon regularly. The high sugar content and the calcium to phosphorous ratio can have an effect on the diet and health and even lead to serious complications.
Conclusion:
So, if you do not want to affect the health of your bearded dragon then give the raisins once a month. There are many other things that you can feed your bearded dragon that can even meet the nutritional demands, so go for those.
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