Tomatoes are an excellent ingredient to add to your cooking because they give food a unique flavor and texture. They can also help bring out other flavors in your recipe. While it’s safe for humans to eat, can bearded dragons eat tomatoes?
So, can bearded dragons eat tomatoes? Yes, bearded dragons can eat tomatoes. However, it should only be fed to them in small amounts and on occasion. Tomatoes are rich in vitamins and minerals, but it is also high in acid and contains too much phosphorus. This makes the tomato dangerous to your bearded dragon in large amounts.
Is It Healthy For Bearded Dragons To Eat Tomatoes
While tomatoes are not recommended for feeding bearded dragons, it does have some nutrition that they can benefit from.
Tomatoes are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, which include fiber, folate, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin K.
Nutrition Facts
A small (100-gram) raw tomato:
- Calories: 18
- Water: 95%
- Protein: 0.9 grams
- Carbs: 3.9 grams
- Sugar: 2.6 grams
- Fiber: 1.2 grams
- Fat: 0.2 grams
Provide Hydration
Tomatoes contain 95% water, which means they are great for hydration. During the summer, when it gets hot, giving your bearded dragon some tomatoes will help keep them hydrated.
Improve Digestion
Tomatoes are a good source of fiber, which is important for the digestive system. Fiber cannot be digested by the body. Instead, it will help bulk up the stool. This helps make the stool pass through the digestive system easier.
How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Tomatoes?
Bearded dragons can have tomatoes in moderation. While it contains plenty of essential nutrients, it has a too high amount of phosphorus and contains a lot of citric acids.
To ensure tomatoes don’t affect your bearded dragon’s health, only give them a small amount, once or twice per month.
Why Can’t Bearded Dragons Eat Tomatoes Every Day?
Bearded dragons cannot eat tomatoes every day or too often. While it’s nutritious, it has some nutrients that can be unhealthy for them to eat in large amounts.
Vitamin A Toxicity
Tomatoes contain beta carotene, which when the bearded dragon digest, it will convert to Vitamin A.
This isn’t a problem if your beardie consumes a small amount of it. Usually, your reptile will eat other foods that will have Vitamin A.
When the vitamin is consumed in large amounts, your dragon will start to have health problems from Vitamin A overdose. Some of the problems that your beardie can suffer from are swelling, dehydration, decrease in energy, and weight loss.
Too Much Phosphorus
Phosphorus in small amounts can benefit the bearded dragon’s health. However, when there is too much phosphorus, they will start to have health problems.
Phosphorus will bind with calcium in the body. This will prevent calcium from being absorbed by the body.
When there is not enough calcium, the body will start to extract calcium from the bone of the bearded dragon. When this happens, they can develop the metabolic bone disease (MBD). If left untreated, this disease can paralyze and even kill the reptile.
Acid Content
Tomatoes contain a lot of citric acids, but not as much as oranges do. This will cause problems for their sensitive digestive system.
Feeding your bearded dragon too many tomatoes will cause them to have severe diarrhea and dehydration.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Tomato Leaves?
The leaves of the tomatoes contain a toxin known as solanine. This toxin can make your beardie very ill and could even kill them.
Therefore, it’s best to avoid feeding them any tomato leaves.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Tomato Seeds?
The seeds of the tomato plant are small and have a soft texture. However, due to their small size, the seeds could cause your bearded dragon to choke on them.
Therefore, to avoid the problem, it’s best to not feed your bearded dragon any tomato seeds.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cherry Tomatoes?
Yes, bearded dragons can eat cherry tomatoes. Before you feed them any, make sure to wash it thoroughly to remove any chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Green Tomatoes?
Bearded dragons cannot eat green tomatoes. When it’s green-colored, the tomatoes are unripe and contain solanine. This is a toxin that causes serious health issues for the beardie.
How To Feed Tomatoes To Bearded Dragons
When feeding tomatoes to your bearded dragons, only give them tomatoes that are fresh and ripe. The color should be red and have no signs of spoilage.
It’s always best to use organic tomatoes as those don’t contain any chemicals. Pesticides are widely used to prevent pests from damaging crops. The chemicals used in pesticides are toxic and can harm your beardie.
If you can’t get organically grown tomatoes, make sure to wash them thoroughly with water. This will help remove some of the pesticides from the skin of the tomato.
Tomatoes that are organic should be washed no matter how clean they seem.
The next thing you want to do is peel the skin off the tomato. It is tough and could cause your beardie to choke.
Next, cut the tomato in halves and remove the seeds. Like the peels, the seeds pose a choking hazard for them.
After all the seeds are removed, cut the flesh into small pieces.
From here, you have the option to feed just the tomatoes to them or mix them with other fruits and vegetables. If you’re going to mix it with other food, make sure the other food is cut into smaller pieces too and in a small amount.
Then place them into their feeding bowl and serve them to your bearded dragon.
Conclusion
Tomatoes are nutritious, but due to their high phosphorus level and acid, the fruit should only be fed to your bearded dragon on occasion.
