Yes, bearded dragons can eat turnips. They are omnivores, which means they will eat both plant and animal foods. While they prefer to eat insects and other small invertebrates, they’ll also eat plants if the right conditions exist.
Turnips are an excellent choice for a bearded dragon that is looking for easy access to nutritious plant matter. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about how turnips fit into a bearded dragon’s diet and what foods should be avoided.
Why Is a Turnip Useful to Bearded Dragons?
Bearded dragons are omnivorous lizards. They are natural insectivores and will eat a wide variety of small invertebrates. However, turnips are a high-fiber food that are rich in vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein. Turnips also contain beta-carotene, which is an important source of vitamin A.
Vitamin A is important in the bearding dragon’s reproductive system and helps maintain the health of their eyes and skin. Turnips are high in calcium, manganese, and iron, which are all important minerals in the bearding dragon diet. Vitamin A, Beta-carotene, and Potassium are also found in turnips.
So can bearded dragons have turnips?
Turnips are a fantastic vegetables to feed a bearded dragon! The leaves and the white-purplish root can be offered – just make sure the root bulb is chopped up well. Turnips are a good source of vitamins A, C, and E, plus provide some calcium and fiber.[1]
Can bearded dragons eat raw turnip?
Bearded dragons can eat turnip greens for food every day. Serve them with other essential vegetables to give them a flavorful and healthy veggie salad. You should serve turnip greens raw, never cooked. Cooking them breaks down some of their chemical boundaries and makes them less effective and healthy for the dragon.[2]
Can Beardies have turnip greens?
Acceptable vegetables that should represent a high percentage of the diet include collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, broccoli, turnip greens, alfalfa hay or chow, bok choy, kale, parsley, Swiss chard, watercress, clover, red or green cabbage, savory, cilantro, kohlrabi, bell peppers, green beans, escarole.[3]
How to Feed a Turnip to Your Bearded Dragon
A bearded dragon that is fed a diet that includes turnip will enjoy a similar diet to one that is primarily fed insects and other invertebrates. If a bearded dragon is fed a diet that is high in turnip, they will enjoy eating a variety of fresh greens. You will need to purchase lettuces that contain a high concentration of the vitamins, minerals, and beta-carotene that your bearded dragon needs.
In addition, you will also need to buy dandelion greens and other herbs for your dragon to eat. You will need to wash the greens thoroughly and then place them in a bowl next to the bearded dragon’s tank. Turnip should be offered daily and can be chopped up into small pieces to make it easier for your dragon to eat. If your dragon is not interested in eating the greens, you can offer them as snacks throughout the day.
What Shouldn’t Be Eaten with a Turnip?
Depending on the specific species of turnip that you choose, there are some species of turnip that bearded dragons shouldn’t eat at all. The most important thing to understand is that if you feed your dragons a high-turnip diet, they will likely be Vitamin A deficient.
If you feed a bearded dragon too much beta-carotene (a Vitamin A-rich vegetable), they will likely develop a Vitamin A deficiency. This can cause a bearded dragon to have ruffled (bright yellow) skin and be more susceptible to skin diseases.
Conclusion
Bearded dragons are natural omnivores. They are able to get all of the nutrients that they need from a variety of vegetables and fruits. If you choose to feed your bearded dragon a turnip-based diet, they will enjoy having fresh greens available. In order to get the most out of your turnip, you may want to consider purchasing a turnip-based diet.
These are formulated with high-quality ingredients, including beta-carotene and Vitamin A. Your dragon can enjoy fresh greens that are high in beta-carotene, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. If you choose to feed a turnip-based diet, you will need to make sure that your dragon doesn’t eat any species of plants that contain toxic compounds.
Resources
[1] https://www.beardeddragoncare101.com/vegetables-bearded-dragon/
[2] https://petkeen.com/can-bearded-dragons-eat-turnip-greens/
[3] https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/bearded-dragons-feeding
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!
- Are you supposed to clip a bearded dragon’s nails? - October 21, 2022
- What do you do when you first get a bearded dragon? - October 21, 2022
- What is the best vegetable for bearded dragons? - October 21, 2022