Can Bearded Dragons Eat Quinoa?

can bearded dragons eat quinoa

Quinoa has been dubbed a “superfood” due to its nutritional content. It’s a pseudo grain known for its health benefits by health conscious and foodies alike.

Before feeding your beardie with quinoa, you can’t help but wonder can bearded dragons eat quinoa?

No, you can’t give quinoa to a bearded dragon! It’s acidic in its various forms and has an unbalanced calcium to phosphorus ratio.

 

 Quinoa nutritional information

When considering a particular food for your beardie, you need to pay close attention to its nutrients. Particularly the calcium to phosphorous ratio (Ca:P).

Indeed, a high level of phosphorous can hinder calcium consumption. So, feeding your pet with foods that have more phosphorous than calcium could have some help implication for your beardie.

Other nutrient to watch out for include protein, water, fat, and sugar.

According to USDA, cooked quinoa has the following nutrients per 100g serving [1]:

Water 71.6 g

Protein 4.4 g

Fat 1.92 g

Calcium 17 mg

Phosphorous 152 mg

 

The Ca:P (Calcium to Phosphorous ratio) is disproportionate.

 

 

Summary

Generally speaking grains are not good for beardies so no you can’t feed quinoa to bearded dragons.

 

Recommended reading: Can bearded dragons eat kale everyday?