Can a Bearded Dragon Eat Baby Spring Mix Bagged Salads?
The fact that you’re asking yourself, “Can a Bearded Dragon eat baby spring mix bagged salads” leads me to believe you’re a caring pet owner. Many uninformed beardie owners simply toss a bunch of vegetables into the terrarium without properly educating themselves about what a beardie can and can’t eat.
A baby spring mix salad can be harmful to your Bearded Dragon depending on the ingredients in the bag. Ingredients in this type of prepackaged salad varies, so one manufacturer may put certain things in it that another leaves out.
The primary green you want to avoid is spinach. It binds calcium to it and it causes your pet reptile a lot of discomfort because it can’t digest the spinach. In general, lettuce isn’t nutritious food for your beardie, either – because it lacks vitamins and minerals that your pet needs.
Here are some great alternatives:
Collard greens
Bok Choy
Mustard greens
Turnip greens
Chicory
Escarole
You can also add some other foods like squash and carrots, but only in moderation because reptiles can suffer from Vitamin A toxicity, a condition they get if they consume too many foods with Vitamin A in it – and it can kill your pet lizard if you’re not careful.
It helps to have some readymade pre-packaged foods on hand, too because your Bearded Dragon eating habits will need some variety (and convenience for you). Make sure that when you’re shopping, you know whether to buy juvenile food or food for an adult Bearded Dragon because their needs are different.
And lastly, you’ll want to supplement the greens, vegetables and prepackaged foods with some live prey for your new pet. Many beardie owners simply supply their reptile with a daily feeding of live crickets, while others use mice in the enclosure.