Tomatoes go well with salads. They come in different kinds. Some are small, like the cherry tomatoes, and some are big. You can add them to sandwiches for extra zing and zest. You can eat them on their own, too. They taste good and are juicy when eaten alone.
Rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, tomatoes are healthy and good for people. It might not be the same for some pets one owns. Owners of bearded dragons, for instance, can ask the question: can bearded dragons eat tomatoes? To answer the question, yes, bearded dragons can eat tomatoes.
They just cannot be fed a lot of it daily. Feeding bearded dragons so many tomatoes every day can lead to their bad health. Tomatoes have some things in them that can negatively affect the health of your pet beardie. A high amount of acid is one of them.
Why can’t bearded dragons eat tomatoes every day?
There are many reasons why bearded dragons can’t eat tomatoes every day. Let’s look at some of them.
Beardies cannot have many tomatoes daily because, as mentioned earlier, they are acidic. The high amount of acid in tomatoes can cause diarrhea in your beardie. If this diarrhea is left untreated for so long, your bearded dragon can end up severely dehydrated.
Aside from acid, tomatoes are also rich in beta carotene. Beta carotene becomes Vitamin A once it’s in the body. Having just enough beta carotene is not a problem in itself. It is having too much of it that is the problem. Too much beta carotene in the body leads to vitamin A toxicity.
Some tell-tale signs of vitamin A toxicity include swelling, loss of weight, lowered energy, and dehydration. Bearded dragons need calcium daily. Tomatoes have little to no calcium content. If you feed your pet beardie too many tomatoes daily, it can lead to poor nutrition.
Poor nutrition among bearded dragons is why veterinarians advise giving them a good variety of food to eat every day. You can let your pet have tomatoes with leafy greens and some fruit like some pieces of watermelon in his salad bowl at least once a week.
Tomatoes also have high amounts of phosphorous.
It’s not good for bearded dragons to eat food with a lot of phosphorous. Phosphorous binds with calcium when it is in the body. We should remember that calcium is necessary for bearded dragons to have every day. We should, then, feed bearded dragons more food with high calcium content and less with food rich in phosphorous.
Expert Tip: Bearded dragons can get sick with metabolic bone disease or MBD if given food with high phosphorous contents.
How often can bearded dragons have tomatoes?
The advice of animal experts is to give bearded dragons just enough tomatoes at least once a month. Tomatoes can provide bearded dragons with high amounts of Vitamin A which is good. Its acidity and unfavorably high amount of phosphorous content, however, can negatively affect their health.
No one wants their beardies sick or in poor health condition if they value them very much.
How can bearded dragons eat tomatoes?
There is a certain, specific way to prepare tomatoes and feed them with other leafy greens in a salad bowl to your pet beardie once a month.
First, you’ll need to wash the tomatoes very thoroughly. Bearded dragons’ food should be without pesticides or herbicides. Pesticides and herbicides in the food you prepare can be detrimental to your beardie’s good health condition.
The second step is to chop the tomatoes into small chunks or cubes. You can add the tomatoes to the salad bowl for your pet beardie to eat with leafy greens this way. Do not cook the tomatoes. Doing so can lessen their nutritional content. Serve them raw in a salad bowl with other fruits and leafy greens to your bearded dragon instead.
We must keep in mind that tomatoes contain little to no calcium. Bearded dragons need a lot of calcium every day. Make sure that it’s just a quarter of the whole tomato you add to the salad bowl if you give your pet beardie some tomatoes.
Give your pet beardie more leafy greens than tomatoes. Leafy greens have high amounts of calcium your pet beardie needs daily. Your diced tomatoes or chunks of tomatoes can be toppers of your pet beardie’s salad. In tiny amounts, tomatoes can be an appetizer for them.
It can help boost their appetite for all the food in their salad bowl. Tomatoes on top of salads can entice your bearded dragon to eat more leafy greens. Feeding your bearded dragon chunks of or diced tomatoes once a month is healthy. Overfeeding them these can lead to the deterioration of their good health condition.
It is necessary to keep this in mind when preparing your pet beardie’s food. No one wants a sickly bearded dragon that could very shortly pass away. When preparing food for bearded dragons, we should know which fruits and vegetables are healthy for them to have and which aren’t.
Tomatoes, like watermelon, should be given less frequently to bearded dragons over leafy greens because they can be unhealthy when given in large amounts daily. Leafy greens are still the healthiest for bearded dragons due to their high calcium content.
Expert Tip: Make sure that your bearded dragon gets more leafy greens in its morning and evening salad over fruits like tomatoes.
Yes, you can feed your bearded dragon tomatoes. However, it is unhealthy to give them large amounts of tomatoes daily.
Instead, there is a proper way to prepare the tomatoes in bearded dragons’ healthy and well-balanced salad bowl meals. You can follow the steps shared here in preparing your pet beardie’s meals with tomatoes at least once a month.
Although it is not good to give bearded dragons tomatoes every day, tomatoes can still be healthy for bearded dragons to have. The Vitamin A that tomatoes contain in large amounts is still good for bearded dragons. Despite its high acidity, a bit of tomato once a month can still fire up your bearded dragon’s appetite.
You can use tomatoes as toppers to your bearded dragon’s salad bowl meal at least once a month.
