Bearded dragons usually can feed on numerous human foods, but as a beginner, you need to be very careful about what you feed your beardie. This is really important as not all human foods are safe for your bearded dragon.
So, can bearded dragons eat ice cream? Unfortunately, bearded dragons cannot feed on ice cream and should not be fed ice cream.
This is because ice cream is a dairy product that may potentially pose health complications to your bearded dragon’s digestive tract. Read on to learn more as to why bearded dragons cannot eat ice cream.
Nutrition Facts of Ice Cream
According to Healthline [1], ice cream is a dairy product that contains certain nutrients that are probably not safe for bearded dragons.
Below we provide clear illustrations about each of these nutrients.
- Calories
Generally, ice cream is a rich calorie source. This implies that it is a good source of energy and is, thus, extremely beneficial to physically active people.
However, this scenario is different for bearded dragons in captivity. This is because, unlike in the wild, where they don’t have any physical activities.
Feeding them high-calorie foods without a way to burn them could lead to the calories accumulating in their body as fat. This may make them develop health problems down the line.
- Cholesterol
Limited amounts of cholesterol play a vital role in helping the body build healthy cells. However, excessive amounts of cholesterol could trigger heart disease.
This also applies to bearded dragons. Since ice cream contains high cholesterol levels, feeding your beardie ice cream may affect their overall health, especially in the future.
This could also lead to health problems.
- Carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are typically essential nutrients that help the body restore lost energy. However, if this gained energy is not put into use, your body will store it as fat.
Too much stored body fat can trigger several health problems related to being overweight.
Consequently, carbohydrates are not suitable for bearded dragons in captivity who often don’t engage in enough activities. This means that you should keep them away from ice cream at all costs.
- Protein
Naturally, juveniles and newborn bearded dragons require a great protein source to stimulate growth. However, ice cream is a poor protein source.
This means that feeding ice cream to your beardie will not fulfill its protein requirements.
Your lizard friend, failing to get the body building nutrients it requires, may face muscle mass loss and stunted growth.
What Should You Feed Your Bearded Dragon?
There is a wide variety of foods that are safe for your bearded dragon. But, the most vital thing to consider is the calcium to phosphorus ratio, where 2:1 is the recommended ratio.
Most experts usually recommend that all the food your beardies eat should have the ideal calcium and phosphorus amounts.
Furthermore, there are numerous vegetables and greens suitable for bearded dragons that have the recommended calcium and phosphorus content. They include:
- Silkworm
- Mustard Greens
- Escarole
- Phoenix Worms
- Collard Greens
- Endive
- Alfalfa
- Squash Spaghetti
- Acorn
- Scallop
- Cactus Pad/ Leaf
- Cactus Pear
- Collard Greens
- Squash Butternut
- Squash Hubbard
- Dandelion Greens
- Squash Summer
- Turnip Greens
The foods mentioned above are essential parts of your beardies staple diet. This means that you can mix two to three types of foods from the above list to make a salad for your bearded dragon.
It is also advisable to include several types of greens into your beardies’ salad to make it more enticing and appealing for them to eat.
In addition to the foods listed above, there are other fruits, vegetables, and greens you can consider feeding your beard occasionally.
However, keep in mind that not any veggie, fruit, and green is safe for the health of bearded dragons. So, be careful when choosing the type of food you feed your beardies.
Quick Note: Avoid watery foods since they could potentially cause diarrhea and other digestive problems for your beardie especially, watery fruits.
Summary
Can bearded dragons eat ice cream? Ice cream and all the other dairy products may be safe for human beings but, this is not the case for bearded dragons.
This is because the digestive tract of beardies cannot digest these dairy products well. In fact, ice cream can pose severe health problems to your bearded dragon.
However, if you really want to feed your bearded dragon ice cream, remember to restrict the amount of ice cream you feed them.
This is because minimal amounts of ice cream may probably not affect the health of your beardie.
Recommended reading: Can bearded dragons eat zucchini squash?
My name is Brad and I am the main editor of BeardieZilla.com.
The only goal of this site is quite simply to be able to help you. To help you by the means of my experiment, of the relation which I maintain with my bearded dragon as well as some of my knowledge about beardies.
I hope that you will find answers to some of your most pressing questions here.
Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the blog!
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