Kale is a green leafy vegetable that’s popular for its high nutritional value. Therefore, many people will have kale stored at home. Since kale is a vegetable, you may be thinking to feed some of these nutritious greens to your bearded dragon.
So can bearded dragons eat kale? Kale is one of the vegetables that a bearded dragon can eat. These leafy greens are packed with vitamins and minerals, which make them great for bearded dragons.
However, kale should only be fed to them occasionally. Even though kale is a vegetable, it’s not their staple food.
In this guide, we will cover the benefits of kale for bearded dragons, the different types of kale they can eat, how often to feed them kale, and how to prepare and feed kale to your bearded dragons.
Is Kale Safe For Bearded Dragons?
Kale is safe for bearded dragons to eat when it’s fed to them occasionally. Kale can be part of a balanced and varied diet for them.
This vegetable contains a lot of vitamin A and when it’s consumed too much, bearded dragons can suffer from vitamin A toxicity.
Water is another reason to not feed them a lot of kale. Kale is high in water content. Bearded dragons can suffer from digestive problems when they consume too much water. The most common digestive problem among this lizard is diarrhea.
Therefore, kale should not be fed to them on a daily basis. This green leafy vegetable should be given to them as a treat.
What Can Bearded Dragons Benefits From Eating Kale?
Nutritional Value
100 Grams of Raw Kale contains the following:
| Nutrients in Kale | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water | 90% |
| Vitamin A | 4812 IU |
| Vitamin C | 93.4mg/100g |
| Calcium | 254mg/100g |
| Sugar | 0.99g/100g |
| Phosphorus | 55mg/100g |
| Protein | 3g/100g |
| Ca:P Ratio | 5:1 |
- Water – Kale has a very high content of water. Great for keeping your beardie hydrated. However, too much of it can cause your bearded dragons to have diarrhea
- Vitamin A – This vitamin is important for normal vision, the immune system, and the reproduction of bearded dragons. Too much vitamin A can be dangerous for them as well
- Vitamin C – This vitamin will help keep your bearded dragons immune system strong and help heal wounds. Also, vitamin C is important for the growth, development, and repair of all body tissues
- Calcium – The mineral is important for building and keeping the reptile bones and teeth strong
- Protein – This is needed for muscle development and repair. Baby and juvenile require a lot of protein to help them grow healthy and strong
- Phosphorus – This is important in the formation of bones and teeth. Also, it’s required for the body to make protein for the growth, maintenance, and repair of cells and tissues
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Kale Greens?
This part of the vegetables is the best part for your bearded dragons. It has the highest concentration of nutrients in it.
Before feeding them kale greens, make sure to wash the vegetables thoroughly first. Vegetables usually contain debris and even parasites on them. This could be from while it was growing on the farm or your garden. It can also be from transporting between the farm and grocery stores.
Therefore, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
After washing it, chop them into small pieces that are safe for your bearded dragon to eat.
The foods that are being fed to them should be the width of their eyes or smaller.
Any larger, it could cause impaction. Impaction is a very common issue among bearded dragons.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cooked Kale?
When it comes to cooked kale, it’s not recommended for feeding bearded dragons. Kale that is cooked will lose some of their nutrition. Also, it will become a bit spicy when it’s cooked.
By feeding them cooked kale, you’ll basically be feeding them a low nutrition vegetable that’s high in moisture content. As the kale is being cooked, it will absorb a lot of water.
Again, if your bearded dragon is consuming to much water, it may lead to diarrhea.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Frozen Kale?
You can feed frozen kale to your bearded dragon. However, it should completely thaw first.
Feeding them kale that is still frozen could cause them to choke on it. Frozen kale is still in solid-state and it will be the same as them swallowing a piece of rock. Even though the frozen kale is the correct size for them to eat.
Also, all that moisture in the ice could cause them to have a digestive problem such as diarrhea. Diarrhea is common with bearded dragons when they consume too much water.
Always let the frozen kale thaw completely first. Then take a dry paper towel and pat down the kale to remove any excess water from it.
How Much And How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Kale?
The amount of kale to feed bearded dragons should be a handful. This should supply them enough nutrition since they will be eating other food as well.
Feeding kale to bearded dragons should only be twice a month. It can be fed to them once every two weeks. Since there are a lot of other vegetables that your bearded dragons can eat, they shouldn’t depend on just kale.
Additionally, their staple food of vegetables has plenty of nutrition already. If they are fed kale too often, they may develop a health issue due to the high level of vitamin A.
How To Feed Kale To Bearded Dragons
Buying Kale
Always buy fresh kale to feed your bearded dragons. The freshness will ensure that they have the highest nutrition in them. Like other vegetables, once they start to go bad, they will also start to lose nutrients.
When buying kale, avoid those that have leaves that are starting to rot. It will usually be in the form of yellowing and having wilting leaves.
Preparing Kale
Make sure to wash kale thoroughly first. Run each leaf under running water for about 15 seconds or so. This will help remove any chemicals, debris, and parasites that may be on it.
Once it’s washed, start by cutting the leaves into smaller pieces. The size of the kale should be the size of one of their eye or smaller. If it’s bigger, the piece of kale could cause them to choke.
Serving The Kale
You can feed kale to your bearded dragons in two ways. One is to feed them directly and the other is to use it in a salad mix.
If feeding them kale directly, you can either let them eat off your finger or place it in their feeding bowl.
Feeding them by hand could result in an injury to one of your fingers. These reptiles are not aggressive, but as they try to bite the kale, they may bite your finger by accident in the process.
If you’re not comfortable with hand feeding, you can always feed them by placing the kale into the bowl. Put a couple of kale at a time and wait until they finish eating before adding more.
If they are stubborn or this is your first time trying to feed them kale, mix it in with other vegetables. They tend to eat kale as well while eating other food in the salad. After a couple of times, they will get used to the taste of kale.
However, each bearded dragon has a different taste and some will not eat kale at all. Therefore, it’s a good reason to try other vegetables as well.
Related Questions
Can bearded dragons drink kale juice?
A bearded dragon can drink kale juice. However, it depends on where you get it from. Most juice that is sold in stores will have additives added to them. Manufacturers add these additives to keep the kale juice from going bad too quickly.
On the other hand, if you made fresh kale juice at home, it should be fine to let your bearded dragon drink it. Again, try to not let them drink too much of the juice as it could lead to diarrhea.
