No, bearded dragons cannot eat avocados. That being said, this is not to say that they simply don’t like it. No matter how much your beardie begs for some avocado or tries to convince you he would really love to try a bite of yours, do not give in. Avocado is very unsafe for bearded dragons and has been known to cause serious health problems.
The high-fat content of avocados is the largest safety issue. Fatty foods, such as avocado, can cause health issues with any animal and their digestive tracts aren’t designed to process this food. About 0.5% of a known adult human’s diet should be made up of fats, while bearded dragons need only about 10%. Check out the list of vegetables for bearded dragons.
What Is The Nutritional Profile in Avocado?
Avocado is high in fat and low in sugar, so it contains good amounts of vitamin B-6.
It has a moderate amount of magnesium and copper, no calcium, very little potassium, but also contains small quantities of vitamins C, E, thiamin (B-1), riboflavin (B-2) niacin (B-3), pantothenic acid (B5), folate (B-9), choline, beta carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, omega 3 fatty acids, protein, manganese, iron, phosphorus, sodium.
Each tablespoon has 16 calories.
What Are The Benefits of Feeding My Bearded Dragon Avocado?
There are no benefits to feeding your bearded dragon avocado. In fact, there are a multitude of reasons not to, including:
- The high-fat content can cause obesity.
- The low calcium-to phosphorus ratio causes calcium malabsorption and can lead to metabolic bone disease. The lack of vitamin D3 causes metabolic bone disease.
- The high-fat content can cause pancreatitis. Avocado has been known to cause serious health problems in bearded dragons.
It has been known to cause digestive problems in some beardies, such as runny stool or diarrhea, which can be fatal if allowed to continue unchecked for too long.
What Are The Risks of Feeding My Bearded Dragon Avocado?
Some of these problems include:
- Intestinal blockage: The high-fat content can cause large deposits to form in the bearded dragon’s intestinal tract, basically clogging them off and causing a life-threatening intestinal blockage that cannot be treated medically.
- Malnutrition: The lack of vitamins and minerals causes serious malnutrition, such as metabolic bone disease (the most common problem associated with not enough calcium or vitamin D3), which can cause deformities, seizures, paralysis trouble walking, difficulty breathing and seizures; these conditions can all be fatal if they are not diagnosed early on and treated with the appropriate supplements and diet changes.
- Pancreatitis: (inflammation of the pancreas) is also another very dangerous side effect that can occur when feeding avocado to your beardie.
The high fiber content causes gastrointestinal problems such as loose stool or diarrhea, which will dehydrate your bearded dragon and can cause life-threatening electrolyte imbalances, which is why it’s important to be aware of the symptoms and treat them immediately.
Bearded dragons love avocado but it is not safe for them to eat. They cannot metabolize the fat properly and will overload their bodies with fat if they eat too much, putting them at risk for pancreatitis or an intestinal blockage.
Vegetable List for Bearded Dragons
Can I Give My Bearded Dragon Avocado Oil Instead?
No, you should never give your bearded dragon any type of oil derived from avocados.
Alternative Foods for Bearded Dragons
If you want to avoid the avocados, here are a few other choices:
- Collard Greens
- Mustard Greens
- Turnip Greens
- Dandelion Greens
- Kale must be cooked and never fed to a beardie who is under a year old.
- Swiss Chard
Just make sure it doesn’t have any type of chemical pesticide on the leaves or in the water that it was grown in.
Bearded Dragons need greens as part of their natural diet. It’s important they get them from good sources though.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Avocado? – The Conclusion
No, bearded dragons should not eat avocado at all, and feeding your dragon avocado in any form is dangerous.
The high-fat content will cause serious problems if they eat too much of it in any type of quantity and can lead to serious health problems.
It’s best to just give your bearded dragon a diet that consists of as many greens as possible, and be sure they contain all the vitamins and minerals they need.