Yes, bearded dragons are omnivores that eat both meat and vegetation. With that being said, it is best if the slugs are store-bought versus being plucked from the wild. In fact, most of the time their diet will consist of vegetables but they also enjoy insects and other species.
What Can Bearded Dragons Eat In Captivity?
In a captive environment, a bearded dragon’s diet will be made up of vegetables and insects that include crickets, mealworms, super worms and wax worms just to name a few. It is important that the insects don’t have too much fat because this can lead to health problems for the lizard such as fatty liver disease. Mealworms are also known to carry parasites that can get into the lizard’s system easily during feeding. For the complete list please click here.
What Can Bearded Dragons Eat in the Wild?
Wild bearded dragons are known to eat small reptiles like skinks, young lizards and invertebrates such as grasshoppers and crickets. They also eat a lot of plant material like flowers, moss, and fruit in the wild.
*Assuming your bearded dragon is a pet, you should not feed it anything from the wild. Some potential food could have come into contact with pesticides or herbicides.
Which Insects Bearded Dragons Can Eat?
What Are Some Insects A Bearded Dragon Should Be Fed?
Crickets are commonly fed to captive bearded dragons because they are small and easy for them to digest. It is important that the crickets be gut loaded (fed nutritious food) before feeding them to your lizard. When it comes to mealworms, they can be eaten but there is a risk of parasites due to the lack of refrigeration in most cases when purchasing commercially available mealworms.
Can Slugs Make A Good Food Source For A Bearded Dragon?
No, slugs should not be fed on a regular basis to a bearded dragon because if they are fed too many slugs, their diet will consist of mainly protein and this can lead to a high level of stress on the lizard’s kidneys.
Risks Involved with Feeding Slugs To Bearded Dragons
There is a risk involved when feeding slugs to bearded dragons due to the fact that there isn’t any nutritional value in the slugs which means it takes up valuable space that could be used for insects or vegetables instead. In addition, some studies have shown that feeding only slugs on a regular basis cause irreversible kidney damage.
Though bearded dragons can eat slugs they should only consume them on rare occasions and they should be of a de-shelled species.