Bearded Dragon Diet - Bearded Dragon

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Parsley?

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Parsley
Written by Mehwish Imtiaz

You must have grown a few parsley in your kitchen window or your lawn. Parsely is one of the most common herbs used in the kitchen. It has its unique aroma and flavour due to its special place in most of the dishes. However, many bearded dragon owners question us if they can include parsley in the diet of bearded dragons? Parsley is not among one of the common foods in the salad bowl of the bearded dragon.

Moreover, it is not among the greens eaten by wild Australian bearded dragons. So, we decided to do in-depth research by feeding parsley to our bearded dragon. We also collected reviews from multiple bearded dragon owners and vets about their parsley experience in the bowl of beardie. In this article, we summed all we gathered from our research of months.

Continue reading to learn the answers to all of your questions about parsley as a diet of bearded dragons.

Bearded dragons can have parsley safely. However, remember to add parsley to the diet only once a fortnight or twice a month. Remember to use only fresh parsley and include it only in a small amount.

Suppose you are concerned about parsley’s safety profile for a bearded dragon. In that case, you must rank it in moderate to safe levels. Safety is compromised due to high oxalates levels in the herb. However, it is the richest source of A, C, and K, along with calcium. Bearded dragons need these nutrients in adequate amounts for healthy growth and development.

So, it would be best if you were careful about the amount and frequency you are feeding. Bearded dragons need to have variety in their diet. So, you better have complete knowledge of all the foods you can provide to your beardie. Pair any of them with parsley or sprinkle it on the salad bowl to have the correct proportion for your little friend.

Let us talk about the nutritional value of parsley in detail in other sections.

Nutritional Chart Of Parsley.

arsley has a load of vitamins, minerals, and fibres. All these components are necessary for the regular and healthy metabolism of the body. It is like all in one hit. If we dive into an in-depth analysis of nutrients present in parsley, we come up with the following chart :

100g Of Parsley Have

All these are the vital components that can be present in any food. However, if we scrape down more, we discover that it has 36kcal in one cup. Moreover, we also have other essential vitamins and minerals in it as given below:

You know that the herb you have been using in your meals since childhood is a powerhouse of calcium and vitamins. And the best part is it contains very few sugars, no fat and a small number of calories. Moreover, it’s a good source of hydration and fibres.

Let us have a more in-depth look into the health benefits of parsley for your bearded dragon.

Health Benefits Of Parsley

Some of the most significant health benefits of parsley are listed as under:

Antioxidant Source:

Remember, antioxidants are compulsory for any living being. Hundreds and thousands of free radicals generate every day that has the highest potential to weaken the immune system and cause cancer. Antioxidants fight with these malicious agents and deactivate them. So, your bearded dragon needs an adequate amount of antioxidants in the diet to maintain a healthy immune system. However, unfortunately, bearded dragons cannot have most of the fruits rich ins antioxidants such as lime, oranges, etc.

So, you need to look for other sources of antioxidants, including vitamin C and E. These can be found in raspberries, cantaloupe, parsley, celery, etc. Other than raspberry, none of them has an adequate concentration on its own. You need to combine fruits and vegetables with sufficient vitamin C and E content in one salad bowl. Make sure you avoid any unripe or sour fruit as a source of vitamin C for your beardie. It will do more harm than good.

Parsley Is Low In Sugar

Digging around the benefits of parsley, we can see that it is low in sugar. This aspect makes it great for bearded dragons. High sugar foods cause obesity in bearded dragons, which can initiate many other cardiovascular problems. Moreover, high sugar content can also cause severe diarrhoea leading to electrolyte imbalance and dehydration. It is also reported that the consumption of high sugar foods in bearded dragons leads to multiple chronic kidney problems.

Low caloric foods such as parsley and celery are some of the best food choices for bearded dragons fighting obesity. Obesity is one of the most addressed problems in bearded dragons, with the most common fatty liver outcome. Because beardies do not have enough room to move in the house premises as they did in the wild, they do not have to strive to get food, making them store fat around the vital organs.

Another most common problem caused by high sugar fruits is the gum problem. Unlike humans who have teeth rooted in the socket, bearded dragons have their teeth directly in their jaw bone. High sugar content in the diet can rot the teeth, worsening a lot in the bearded dragon. The pain and rot spread to the whole jaw slowly, which can cost it to lose its teeth. So, always be careful with the sugar content of the food you are giving to your beardie. You can easily balance it with low sugar foods like celery, kale, mustard green, dandelion, etc.

Prevent Blood Clotting:

While clotting can be beneficial in sealing and eventually healing wounds, it can be problematic when there is an excess of it. Excess clotting can thicken up blood and put a lot of strain on vessels, which eventually weakens them. Moreover, it also causes thrombus formation, leading to multiple severe problems, e.g., heart attack, tissue necrosis, etc. Vitamin K in Parsley helps avoid all such issues. Moreover, it is also necessary for the healthy upgrowth of the body of your little friend.

Vision:

One of the essential components of parsley is vitamin A. This vitamin is necessary for healthy vision. Moreover, it is also necessary for the average growth of epithelial tissue. Vitamin A also plays an active role in reproduction. So, if you plan on breeding, you should include vitamin A-rich foods in your bearded dragon’s diet. It not only strengthens the reproductive and immune system but also helps in healthy growth. So, it is a must in the diet of bearded dragons.

Fibres Are Necessary:

Parsley has the right concentration of fibres. It helps improve the mobility of GIT, thus prevent any chance of ulceration and constipation. So, it is the best diet remedy for constipation in bearded dragons. However, it would be best if you always were very careful about the number of fibres you are feeding your dragon. Never provide more than one or two-component rich in fibre in a single time.

Moreover, avoid fibre-rich foods when your beardie is suffering from diarrhoea. Consuming fibres in diarrhoea can worsen the situation a lot. So, be careful while feeding fibres.

Moreover, fibres, when given in excess to even a healthy adult dragon, can cause severe diarrhoea. So, always keep its amount under check to have the benefit instead of a loss.

Good Hydration:

With its high water content, parsley stands out to be an ideal hydrating source for bearded dragons. Most of the bearded dragons don’t like drinking from the water container. So, they start getting dehydrated. The best way to avoid this is to include water-rich sources like parsley, broccoli, etc., in the bearded dragon’s diet. However, make sure that you never overdo it. An excess of water is the most significant cause of diarrhoea in pet beardie. It can then cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

Avoid Anaemia:

Parsley is rich in iron, which is the main component of haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is the major component of red blood cells, which transfer food and oxygen to a different part of the body. Same cells form the central part of blood. So, high iron foods help in the average production of red blood cells. In this way, parsley helps fight anaemia and increase RBC count in bearded dragons. Not only this, but it also plays a role in maintaining the normal functions of the spleen and liver.

Adequate Calcium To Phosphorus Ratio

As you see from the graph, parsley has a high calcium content. Many vegetables and fruits have calcium in them. What makes parsley stand out of the crowd is the very high calcium to phosphorus ratio. As a general rule, you should feed only foods having 2:1 or 1:1 for calcium and phosphorus.

Phosphorus inhibits calcium absorption from food into the blood. Therefore, hypocalcemia can occur. Low calcium levels or hypocalcemia is one of the significant problems in bearded pet dragons. It can lead to multiple bone metabolic disorders, including the deformed skeleton, brittleness of bones, and even immobility.

Parsley is a good source of calcium for bearded dragons and facilitates the absorption of all the food’s calcium into the blood. Again, bone metabolic disorders can become a lot severe. However, if you get an early diagnosis, you can quickly treat them with supplementation and even with food.

Harms Of Parsley If Given In Excess.

After reading the above points, you must be thinking that parsley is one of the best choices for your bearded dragon. And you cannot wait to add it to its next salad bowl. Well, slow down a bit before reaching any hasty conclusion.

Parsley is undoubtedly a great source of many valuable nutrients, but it also contains some components that can be extremely harmful if they cross the safe levels. Let us talk about the harms of excess parsley for your bearded dragon.

Stones Formation

Parsley has a moderate to the high concentration of oxalates in it. Oxalates are usually found in most greens. However, all that matters is how much quantity of oxalates you are consuming. Oxalates have two significant effects on the body of any living being

  1. Oxalate binds to calcium and inhibits its absorption in bones. This unavailability of calcium can lead to significant bone metabolic disorders. Due to oxalates in the diet, the calcium cannot reach bones even if you provide adequate supplementation. So, the condition can become chronic and also fatal sometimes.
  2. Oxalates from stones by chelation. These stones have very sharp edges that can cause ulceration and vessel obstruction.

In a broader term, oxalates are significant concerns for bearded dragons when feeding greens to them.

Let us compare the oxalate concentration of parsley with other greens.

Oxalate Concentration In 100g Of Greens

As you can see from the graph, parsley has the highest concentration of oxalates in all five greens. So, it would be best if you were careful while feeding such into a bearded dragon. Just remember that do not exceed the recommended quantity and never provide it frequently. Moreover, it would be best if you did not combine parsley with other greens in one bowel.

Diarrhoea:

Parsley is rich in fibre and water content. Both of these components in excess can cause severe diarrhoea and loose, watery stools. Diarrhoea in bearded dragons causes severe dehydration and also severe electrolyte imbalance. The situation can worsen to the extent that it can become hazardous for your beardie.

Less Energy

Parsley contains only 36cal in 100 grams. If you include it in an adult beardie diet, the amount of calories is not enough to maintain normal body metabolism. So, your bearded dragon will feel fatigued and have no energy to move around actively. Bearded dragons have a much smaller stomach, so every bite counts. Yeah, it is though great choice for bearded dragons fighting obesity. But including a lot of greens in the diet is not healthy anyway. So, be smart when it comes to feeding your little friend.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Parsley Root?

No, Bearded Dragons should not eat parsley root.

As you know, parsley roots have a rough texture, so it is always best not to include such objects in the diet of bearded dragons. There are specific reasons why you should not involve parsley root in the diet of the bearded dragon:

  1. The first and foremost thing is that parsley roots are pretty rough and tough to chew. So, your bearded dragon will have a hard time chewing it.
  2. Bearded dragons usually do not like chewing things a lot. They tend to swallow something as it is. So, there are many chances that it does not even try to chew it and swallow it as it is choking its throat as a result.
  3. Roots harbour a lot of bacteria and chemicals in them. These can prove harmful for your bearded dragon when they reach its gut. You can never remove them all in one go. So, roots can become a primary source of infection for bearded dragons.

As you can see, roots are not entirely feasible for bearded dragons.

So, Please avoid feeding parsley roots to your pet beardie.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Parsley Leaves, Flakes, Or Stem?

Parsley leaves and stems are entirely safe for your bearded dragon.

Parsley leaves and stems contain loads of vitamins and minerals. However, the parsley flakes have a lot of added preservatives along with the other ingredients. These chemicals can affect the normal flora of the gut of your bearded dragon. So, it would be best if you avoid flakes.

The best way to feed parsley is to combine both stem and leaves and blend them so that they are no more distinguishable in the salad bowl for your bearded dragon. Never provide it alone; otherwise, you will end up overdoing it.

How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Parsley?

It is quite a complicated question, and different veterinarians and bearded dragon breeders have different opinion on this. As we all know, plant-based material makes the central part of the diet of a bearded dragon. So, you will automatically be playing with the level of oxalates, fibres, and water in one single bowel.

Therefore to stay at a safer end, you should use parsley and other greens interchangeably and occasionally. Include a lot of variety from nature, so you give all in one go to your beardie. That’s much more sensible than making a single food the staple diet for your bearded dragon.

You should feed parsley once a fortnight or twice a month to your bearded dragon. In this way, you will not overfeed it and also keep the level of oxalates under check, so your bearded dragon is not malnourished.

Can You Feed Parsley To The Juvenile Bearded Dragon?

It would be best if you omit parsley in the diet of the juvenile bearded dragon.

The bearded baby dragon must have 80% non-plant based material in its diet. So, the rest 20% of plant-based material should be used effectively. Moreover, baby bearded dragons have a week metabolism and immune system, so you better not include vegetables like celery, parsley, etc., in the diet of juvenile bearded dragons.

Remember that you should always take care of high protein and calcium content in the diet of bearded dragons in their first few months. So, even if you include herbs, be very sure to use them occasionally and never overfeed them. Moreover, always combine it with other staple foods and protein sources while feeding.

How To Feed Parsley To Your Bearded Dragon?

Parsley is very simple to prepare. Following are a few steps you can consider

  1. Always try to pick fresh parsley for bearded dragon.
  2. Wash it thoroughly to remove all the harmful microbes and chemicals from it. These agents can be hazardous for your pet beardie. Wash twice under plenty of water.
  3. Now, chop the stem and leaves finely. Make sure that the size is small enough for your bearded dragon to grab and swallow easily.
  4. Get a half handful of parsley and mix it with other veggies like mustard green, dandelions, etc.
  5. Your salad bowl is now ready to feed.

Is It OK If I Feed Frozen Parsley To My Bearded Dragon?

Veterinarians do not recommend feeding frozen parsley. It is because it becomes too cold for your beardie and can cause choking.

If you feed frozen parsley, you should better thaw it at room temperature before providing it to your bearded dragon.

Frozen parsley is relatively low in nutrients and has a lot of moisture even after thawing. So, it will not be an ideal choice for your bearded dragon. It is best that you go for fresh parsley or altogether avoid it.

What Other Greens To Feed Bearded Dragons Instead Of Or Alongside Parsley?

It is always recommended that you feed other greens along with parsley to your bearded dragon. Thanks to the fact that you can include many plant materials in the diet of the bearded dragon. Below are the best options that can be used in combination or instead of parsley to provide a fair amount of nutrients to your bearded dragon:

  1. Dandelion Greens
  2. Mustard Greens
  3. Swiss Chard
  4. Bok Choy
  5. Kale

Following is their Nutritional Content In 100 grams

Name Dandelion Greens Mustard Greens Swiss Chard Bok Choy Kale
Water
85.6 g
90.7 g
92.66 g
95.32 g
89.63 g
Energy
45 Kcal
27 kcal
19 kcal
13 kcal
35 kcal
Protein
2.7 g
2.86 g
1.8 g
1.5 g
2.92 g
Carbohydrate
9.2 g
4.67 g
3.74 g
2.18 g
4.42 g
Fiber
3.5 g
3.2 g
1.6 g
1 g
4.1 g
Calcium
187 mg
115 mg
51 mg
105 mg
254 mg
Phosphorus
66 mg
58 mg
46 mg
37 mg
55 mg

As you can see, all these greens are a great source of calcium and calories for your bearded dragon. Moreover, they do not have high oxalate or phosphorus levels. So, you can easily combine them with parsley or feed them all alone.

Conclusion:

After a lengthy discussion about almost every aspect of parsley that can affect your beardie, I hope you now know the safety and efficacy of it. No doubt, parsley is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals; however, you should never use it often. You can give your beardie parsley stems and leaves but avoid roots. Moreover, also avoid feeding parsley to a juvenile bearded dragon. And last but not least, do not include fibre, oxalates, and water-rich foods if your bearded dragon is suffering from diarrhoea and metabolic bone disorder.