Cilantro is a favorite herb to use in a lot of food. If you love the taste of cilantro, you’ll probably stock a lot of them in your kitchen. Since there’s a lot of them, you’ll probably be wondering if it’s safe to feed your bearded dragon’s cilantro. After all, it’s an herb, and herbs are known to have a lot of nutrition.
So, can bearded dragons eat cilantro? A bearded dragon can eat cilantro, but it should be fed to them on occasion. This herb should never be part of the dragon’s diet. It contains too much vitamin A to be fed to them daily.
Is Cilantro Safe For Bearded Dragons?
Cilantro is safe for bearded dragons to eat. However, the herb should be given to them on a limited basis. Feeding them too much cilantro could give them digestive problems.
Cilantro is rich in vitamin A, and too much of it isn’t a good thing for bearded dragons. If you feed them cilantro too often, they will suffer from Hypervitaminosis A. For many reptiles kept in captivity, including bearded dragons, this is a common disease.
As long as you’re feeding cilantro in moderation and not too often, the bearded dragons will benefit from the nutrition of the herb.
What Can Bearded Dragons Benefit From Eating Cilantro?
By letting the bearded dragons eat cilantro, they will get plenty of vitamins and minerals. This is great for your beardie as it helps meet their diet requirement.
The nutritional components of cilantro include:
- Antioxidants – Helps prevent inflammation and protect cells against free radicals
- Vitamin A & C – Important for growth, maintaining a healthy immune system, reproduction, vision, and maintenance and repair of organ and tissue
- Vitamin K – Helps promote healthy tissue and maintain blood cells count
- Potassium – Important in regulating blood pressure
- Magnesium – Aids metabolism
- Fiber – Keeps the digestive system healthy and promote digestion
- Calcium – Promotes bone growth and overall health
The calcium to phosphorus is the correct ratio, which is great for bearded dragons. If the ratio is off, it could lead to health issues for them. One of the health issues and which is also common among bearded dragons is Metabolic Bone Disease.
This disease occurs in bearded dragons or any reptiles. This happens when the reptile is fed with food that has disproportionate calcium to phosphorus ratio.
Nutritional Value
100 Grams of fresh [Raw] Cilantro leaves contains the following:
| Nutrients in Cilantro | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water | 92% |
| Vitamin A | 6748 IU |
| Vitamin C | 27mg/100g |
| Calcium | 67mg/100g |
| Sugar | 0.87g/100g |
| Phosphorus | 48mg/100g |
| Protein | 3g/100g |
| Ca:P Ratio | 1.4:1 |
Can Bearded Dragons Eat The Stems Of Cilantro?
Like other parts of the cilantro, the stems can be fed to the bearded dragons. Before feeding the stems, you should cut them into smaller pieces first. Feeding them the entire stem could be hard for the beardie to chew on and could become a choking hazard for them.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cooked Cilantro?
Cooked cilantro should be avoided when feeding bearded dragons. When cilantro is cooked, it will have a lot of moisture. For bearded dragons, that could be an issue for them. Too much water can lead to diarrhea and other digestive problem.
Additionally, cooked cilantro will lose most of its nutritional value. That means feeding bearded dragons cilantro that is cooked is similar to feeding them water.
However, if it’s really hot and cilantro is the only vegetable you have at the moment. Cooking and feeding cilantro to your beardie will help keep them hydrated for a while. This should be used as temporary food until you’re able to buy their staple food.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Frozen Cilantro?
You can feed frozen cilantro to your bearded dragon. However, it should be completely thawed first before feeding the vegetable to them.
Frozen cilantro should not be given to them too often and a lot of it. When it starts to freeze, the cilantro will absorb a lot of moisture. As it thaws, the cilantro will still retain a lot of moisture. This could be a problem for the bearded dragon, as too much water could cause them to have diarrhea.
As for frozen cilantro straight from the freezer, it’s definitely not recommended to feed them. Doing so will raise the chance of them choking on it.
How Much And How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cilantro?
Cilantro should be given to them every other day. These vegetables should not be part of their daily diet.
As for making cilantro a staple food for bearded dragons, these vegetables aren’t recommended.
The two main reasons why cilantro shouldn’t be part of their staple diet are the high amount of water content and too few vitamins and minerals.
The digestive system of the bearded dragon is very sensitive, and the wrong food could cause them problems. Cilantro is very high in water content. Too much water could cause them to have diarrhea. If the diarrhea is prolonged without any treatment, it could lead to severe dehydration.
As for vitamins and minerals, cilantro does not have a lot of these minerals. Feeding them cilantro every day will not meet their daily nutrition needs. Therefore, feeding them cilantro daily could cause them more harm than good.
Instead, it’s best to feed them every other day along with other fruits and vegetables.
How To Feed Cilantro To Bearded Dragons
To feed bearded dragons cilantro, you can either feed them the cilantro alone or mix it with other vegetables.
If this is the first time the bearded dragons are being introduced to cilantro, they will be reluctant to try. To get them to start eating cilantro, you can put them cilantro with other vegetables. Mix all their favorite veggies and add cilantro to the mix. Once they get used to the taste of the cilantro, you can feed just the cilantro to them.
Before feeding them cilantro, start by cleaning the veggies first. This will remove any contaminant and pest from the cilantro. After it’s cleaned, either chop them into smaller pieces or dice them. This will make it easier for the bearded dragons to digest.
What Other Herbs Can Bearded Dragons Eat?
Herbs are great options for bearded dragons. Besides cilantro, you can feed them other herbs such as oregano, mint, dill, basil, parsley, rosemary, and chives.
Unlike other plants, with herbs, you can actually grow them in the bearded dragon’s cage. This is a great way to let the beardie eat fresh herbs.
However, you don’t want to grow too many in the cage, as too much cilantro can be bad for their health. Instead, plant a pot of cilantro, so your beardie won’t eat too much of it. Also, since it’s real plants, it’ll make their cage look more beautiful.
