Bearded dragons are one of the most fantastic pets anyone can own. Originated from Australia, these reptiles were habitual of living on a variety of fruits and insects. These are particularly omnivores and can have everything from fruits, vegetables, and meaty things like human beings literally. However, considering their small size, little throats, and potential metabolic abnormalities, we need to know what we feed to our little friends. Like all the other seasonal fruits, cantaloupe is very common in the market. Bearded Dragons love this juicy and sweet fruit. However, sometimes the food that your little friend gobble a lot is not that good if given frequently.
Therefore, when you ask us if you can feed your bearded dragon a cantaloupe? The straight answer is yes!
You can give cantaloupe to your bearded dragon. However, it would be best if you only fed it Every Fortnight or so.
Considering its contents and much sugar, you should not feed cantaloupe regularly. You can only give it as a yummy treat in the big bowl of salad for your Bearded Dragon!
However, even feeding occasionally never exceeds a single slice of 100-500 grams in a month for an adult beardie.
For a juvenile bearded dragon, limit this amount to a maximum of 200 grams per month.
You do not want to stress its metabolism with lots of sugars and minerals, do you?
So, let us talk in detail about the benefits and health hazards of feeding a cantaloupe. Keep reading to learn a lot more about the diet of your little friend. After all, it is necessary to have an in-depth knowledge of all the diet options for your bearded dragon to ensure he has a healthy diet with various varieties.
Table of Contents
Staple, Treat, Or Off Limits: Can Bearded Dragons Have Cantaloupe At All?
Your bearded dragon has a green light to cantaloupe if you feed it occasionally. However, if your dragon is already fighting with obesity or diarrhea, then it is entirely red. Wait for it to get healthy, and then you can give this rare treat now and then.
You must be wondering why frequently giving cantaloupe can cause any harm to your bearded dragon? To understand this, you need to look deep into the nutritional contents of this sweet melon. You can then quickly examine the quantities and qualities that make it difficult for bearded dragons to have it daily.
Benefits Of Feeding Cantaloupe To Your Bearded Dragon:
Cantaloupes have many health benefits not only for humans but also for bearded dragons. You must have known them before if you love having these sweet melons for you too! It is rich in beta carotenes, folates, and other minerals and fibers. Moreover, it contains loads of energy also.
| 1 Cup (160 g) Of Cantaloupe Contains | |
|---|---|
|
Energy |
54 Kcal |
|
Carbohydrates |
14 g |
|
Dietary Fiber |
1 g |
|
Protein |
2 g |
|
Sodium |
26 mg |
|
Fat |
0.3 g |
|
Other nutrients are Calcium, Iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Magnesium |
|
Following are the significant health benefits you can get from this heavenly pulpy fruit.
Loads Of Beta-Carotene And Vitamin C
Cantaloupes are rich in beta carotenes. These are one of the few fruits that can be a great source of it.
These convert readily to one of the essential vitamin A. This vitamin is necessary for good eyesight. Moreover, it helps you boost your little friend’s immunity to fight all the harmful bacteria and severe conditions. Better immunity will not only fight off any illness but also help your little friend grow at a much faster pace with a lot of healthy reproduction rate.
Folates Are Treasure
Cantaloupes are among some of the fruits that are the natural source of folates. One of the others having a good store of folates is broccoli. Folates will help in maintaining the health of the heart and its functioning. Moreover, it is y essential in the maintenance of the health of other body tissues and organs. So, cantaloupes are the best way to have a sufficient amount of folates in the bearded dragons’ diet.
Fibers re Necessary
With lots of fibers, cantaloupe helps proper digestion and moves the contents smoothly through the whole track. So, cantaloupes are great if your bearded dragon is suffering from constipation. However, the situation goes the complete opposite if your little beardie is suffering from diarrhea. You can also give grapes, strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries a try too. They all have high fiber content.
However, know not to exceed the recommended quantity. Excess of high fiber content is always bad for the health of little beardie. So, along with the amount, consider the number of high fiber food in the diet too!
Almost 90% Of Water
Cantaloupe consists of more than ninety percent of water. Some of the bearded dragons do not like to have water from the water bowl placed near them. So, to help these reptiles with proper hydration, cantaloupes are one of the healthiest choices. However, plenty of cantaloupes can create abnormal excess of water in the body, which can cause diarrhea.
Potassium Source
Cantaloupe has a remarkable amount of potassium in it. It can help maintain heart health and also blood pressure. Moreover, it is essential to maintain proper nerve functioning.
Carbohydrates Surplus
Cantaloupes are rich in carbohydrates. So, they are an excellent source of instant energy for your little beardie. However, it can cause high blood glucose levels, improper nerve functioning, and diarrhea in excess.
Why Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cantaloupe Only As A Treat?
As mentioned before, Bearded dragons need to have a variety of foods on their daily menu. However, you cannot feed them fruits daily. As for general rule, always remember,
- Never feed the same types of fruits daily.
- Do not feed high sugar foods daily.
- And most important, always consider the current health condition of your Bearded dragon before feeding any fruit.
You can give some fruits more frequently without posing many health risks, e.g., apples, grapes, etc. So, it would be best if you researched thoroughly all the things bearded dragons can eat safely to provide a proper nutritious diet to your dragon.
However, as far as cantaloupes are concerned, they are not the best staple fruit for your little bearded dragon. Following are some reasons proving this fact:
Too Much Sugar
Sugar is the primary reason that makes fruits unsuitable to be used regularly. Most of the fruits have much sugar. Even if we consider this cantaloupe, it is one cup alone with 13 grams of sugar, quite a considerable amount, right. However, to your surprise, most of the fruits have a lot more sugar than that!
This amount of sugar content can affect the metabolism and cause various diseases related to indigestion and water loss. So, occasionally a small amount of cantaloupe can become a decent treat without causing any harm.
Let us compare the carbohydrate contents of the most common fruits available for bearded dragons:
So, now you can have a better idea of which fruit best suit your situation and how you can make a perfect bowl for your bearded dragon.
Pro Tip!
If you have a selective fussy eater, then cantaloupes can help you build the hunger. The same goes for other bight sweet fruits such as raspberries and blueberries. They can not only make the boring bowl of salad more attractive but also more delicious. So, sprinkle any of the delicious fruit, including cantaloupe, on the bowl to coax your beardie to eat green well.
Over-Hydration
As you know, cantaloupe contains more than 90% of water. It can not only cause hydration in the right way but can also become a curse for your little friend. This over-hydration can lead to diarrhea, which has a significant drawback of causing massive electrolyte imbalance and dehydration. It can ruin your little one’s health in days along with causing much weakness.
Too Much Phosphorus Compared To Calcium
In easy words, phosphorus hates calcium. As you know, cantaloupe has a good percentage of phosphorus as compared to calcium. So, any time you feed it a lot, the concentration of phosphorus increase in the blood. It will prevent active calcium absorption into the bones. Phosphorus enriched foods are the primary reason for calcium depletion despite adequate supplementation in bearded dragons. The situation can aggravate in bearded dragons already fighting with hypocalcemia. Lack of calcium absorption can cause severe metabolic bone disease. MBD can lead to pain in joints, brittleness of bones, and so on. This condition can worsen to the extent that the pain and lack of skeleton strength can lead to life-threatening situations.
So, now you know, a little cantaloupe once in a while does not affect anything a lot. However, feeding on a daily or even every week can become dangerous for your little bearded dragon.
How To Serve Cantaloupe For Your Bearded Dragon
First thing first, never feed any rotten food! When you pick a cantaloupe for your bearded dragon, ensure it is ripe and juicy. Always go for organic foods for your little one. However, if you cannot put your hands on organic cantaloupe for your little beardie, that’s fine. In this case, the most important thing to do is washing it before slicing. Cleaning before peeling off the rind is necessary because there are tens of pesticides, preservatives, and other chemicals. These can find their way with pulp while cutting the fruit. So, better wash it thoroughly before making any cut into it.
Now, the question is, how will you serve cantaloupe to your bearded dragon? For this, you need to:
- Wash it thoroughly and peel off the rind completely. Bearded dragons are not a good chewer. So, you better not put any challenging fibrous part in their food bowl.
- Remove the seeds thoroughly. Bearded dragons tend to swallow the food as it is. So, they can choke on the seeds. So, before feeding any fruit having seeds make sure you double-check it, so there is no possibility of leaving any inside the bowl.
- Always slice the cantaloupe into a tiny piece. The size of cantaloupe pieces should be so that these are smaller than the size of the throat. It is to prevent any accidental choking of your little friend.
And yeah, your beardie is going to love this delicious sweet treat enough to satisfy its sweet tooth!
Conclusion
Cantaloupe is an excellent source of nutrients. However, like all other fruits, excess of it is not recommended. However, you can feed it once-twice a month. Make sure you never exceed 500 grams in a month to avoid any undesirable health hazards.
I am a graduate of a veterinary university. Dealing with all the kinds of pets from the dawn to dusk, it’s like understanding their language. That is the best time ever, I must say!
Writing has always been my orphenadrine. I love to share my experience and talk about the most common issues people have been facing with their pets. My writing career began in 2015. I aimed to work for pets to share my experience and make pet humans relation a lot better. I usually talk about the most significant or recurrent cases of the day. During my practice at pet centre, I face a lot of questions by pet owners. Moreover, I also own a variety of pets myself including different species of mammals, birds and reptiles.
Therefore, I have decided to educate all the pet owners about their little friends who can’t talk the way we do. Understanding what they are telling us is all we need to do. And most of us fail to perceive.
So, I am here to serve the purpose. Let’s help each other in better understanding the needs, behaviours, and problems of our best friends with the best possible solutions!
