Celery leaves are not just a garnish for food or a pretty decoration. They are also an important and nutritious ingredient that should never be forgotten when making salads. While celery leaves are fine for humans to eat, you may wonder, can bearded dragons eat celery leaves?
Can bearded dragons eat celery leaves? Yes, bearded dragons can eat celery leaves. The leaves contain essential vitamins and minerals that the beardie needs to stay healthy. However, celery leaves should only be fed to them in moderation because it’s high in oxalates. It’s best to feed them celery leaves every other week and in small amounts.
Is It Healthy For Bearded Dragons To Eat Celery Leaves?
The leaves of the celery plant are very nutritious and can be fed to your bearded dragon. While they may not enjoy eating them, it’s important that they get enough nutrients in their diet, and these leaves will help them do that.
The leaves of the celery plant are rich in vitamins and minerals. Celery leaves are a great source of fiber, antioxidants, vitamin K, and folate.
Below are some of the health benefits of feeding celery leaves to your bearded dragons:
Calcium
Bearded dragons need calcium to stay healthy. Bearded dragons, as many as 90% of them, can develop metabolic bone disease which is caused by a lack of calcium. Celery leaves provide the necessary amount of calcium that bearded dragons need to prevent this disease.
In addition, they need it for their bones, muscles, and other body functions. Celery leaves contain a type of calcium that bearded dragons can digest. You can supplement them with calcium.
Vitamin C
Reptiles get their vitamin C from the food they eat. This is because they produce very little on their own. Green vegetables, like celery leaves, are a great source of vitamin C for bearded dragons.
Bearded dragons can be fed celery leaves in order to provide them with extra vitamin C and support the immune system.
Can Baby Bearded Dragons Eat Celery Leaves?
Baby bearded dragons are very small and delicate. They need certain types of food to stay healthy. Celery leaves are not recommended for them because they contain oxalates. Even just a small amount can hurt the baby beardie.
Therefore, it’s best to leave celery leaves out of their diet until they are an adult.
How To Feed Celery Leaves To Bearded Dragons
When it comes to feeding celery leaves to your bearded dragons, you have a couple of options. You can either feed them just the leaves or mix it with other vegetables.
The first option is to feed just the celery leaves to them. Simply wash the leaves first and cut the leaves into small pieces. This will make it easier for the bearded dragons to eat.
Then place it into their feeding bowl to let them eat.
Some beardie doesn’t like the taste of celery leaves. If your reptile won’t eat it, you can mix the celery leaves with other vegetables. Celery leaves can be mixed with many different vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, and others. This is not only a great way to get them to the leaves, but give them a boost of nutrition.
How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Celery Leaves?
Celery leaves are nutritious for bearded dragons. They contain vitamins A, C, K, folate, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin. Celery leaves also contain minerals like calcium and magnesium.
However, celery leaves contain oxalates. The oxalates will bind with other minerals in the dragon’s stomach which will prevent it from being absorbed by the body.
To ensure that celery leaves don’t cause any health issues to your bearded dragon, it’s recommended to feed them a small amount every other week.
Conclusion
Not only can bearded dragons eat celery, but they can eat the celery leaves as well. The leaves are known to be nutritious, but they can also be toxic to bearded dragons if eaten in large quantities. With the high concentration of calcium that celery leaves contain, it is important not to feed them to your dragon more than once or twice a month.