Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cucumbers Cool Feeding Facts For You

Cucumbers are consumed mainly by human beings owing to their high water content and vitamins and minerals, but are they healthy for bearded dragons to consume?Bearded dragons are a unique kind of reptile as they are omnivores and eat vegetables and fruits too. Bearded dragon owners, thus, often look to bring variety to their diet and introduce new foods to them, but you must check if everything you are feeding them is healthy for them.Cucumbers are used by us humans in many different ways, but some of you might not be sure how effective it is to feed this vegetable to your pet beardie. Although cucumbers are a very low-calorie vegetable and aren’t toxic to bearded dragons in any way, they do not provide significant nutritional value. At the same time, you have to be precautious about cucumber peels and seeds before feeding your pet beardie.Researchers usually advise bearded dragon owners to use cucumber as a way to bring some change to their bearded dragon’s diet. It would be best if you did not make it a part of your bearded dragon’s staple diet at any cost. So, bearded dragons can actually be fed cucumbers, but it must be regulated and in a controlled diet, perhaps once a week just like you feed your beardie a cabbage or broccoli or fruit like cantaloupe. The calcium to phosphorus ratio in cucumbers plays a significant role in deciding whether you should feed such watery veggies to your pets. A deficiency of calcium or excess of phosphorus can lead to health issues like metabolic bone diseases or MBD in bearded dragons. A healthy amount of calcium is required in the body of bearded dragons to keep their bones and teeth strong.If you enjoyed this article on whether or not bearded dragons can eat cucumbers, why not also read about Can bearded dragons eat kale? as well as Can bearded dragons eat mango? here on Kidadl?Can bearded dragons eat cucumber peels?You can occasionally include cucumber in your pet bearded dragon’s diet, especially in the case of adult bearded dragons who eat more veggies and fruits rather than having a carnivorous diet. This diet is exactly the opposite in the case of juvenile beardies, whose diet is dominated by small insects, some tiny reptiles, and other carnivorous foods. Only 10-15% of their diet comprises of herbivorous food. It would be best to feed cucumbers to adult beardies as they would generally show more interest in consuming it than baby bearded dragons.As long as a cucumber is fresh, its skin properly cleaned and peeled, your beardie can consume it. Yes, you need to peel off the skin of cucumber if you plan on feeding it to your beardie. A cucumber peel is highly dangerous for beardie consumption as they are unable to chew the peel and could suffer from dangerous repercussions if swallowed. If your bearded dragon eats cucumber skin, it can lead to a blockage of the digestive tract, which is also known as gut impaction. In simpler terms, your beardie can choke if it consumes a cucumber peel.Additionally, it is recommended to peel off the cucumber skin as sometimes, even after you wash the cucumber, some pesticides or bacteria remain on its skin. You must be wondering why those chemicals do not affect humans when they eat without peeling the cucumber? Well, those chemicals, more often than not, do not pose a threat to humans, but beardies are small creatures with simpler body systems. If they consume pesticide-infected peels, it may damage their digestive system.Can bearded dragons eat cucumber seeds?Cucumber seeds are no different from cucumber peels, although, at times, your beardie can eat consumer the seeds as they do not pose as much of a potential problem for your bearded dragon. Whether or not you need to scoop out the cucumber seeds entirely depends upon the type of seed.If the seeds are small and soft, they can be easily consumed by a bearded dragon, and they wouldn’t choke your pet. However, if the seeds are big and hard, then it is a matter of concern. The key is to buy cucumbers which are expected to have relatively smaller, thinner, and softer seeds. A bearded dragon can chew such seeds and digest them without any hiccup. On the contrary, if the cucumber you decide to feed to your pet beardie has larger seeds that are rough in texture, you need to scoop them out before feeding the cucumber to the beardie.Although your bearded dragon can consume tiny seeds, it is advisable not to feed it a lot of cucumber and its seeds, too, even if soft. Excessive consumption can lead to diarrhea as cucumber has high water content, and at the same time, its seeds have a considerable amount of fatty acids. A wise owner would try their best to avoid this situation and instead feed their pet relatively nutritious vegetables as cucumber isn’t the healthiest vegetable you can feed to your beardie. Instead, some nutritious fruits and vegetables for your bearded dragon include apples, figs, cherries, watermelon, papaya, peaches, plums, and kiwis as well as asparagus, dandelion greens, and cabbage. Remember always to wash and peel any fruits and vegetables, remove any seeds or pits, and cut them into small pieces before feeding them to your pet.What nutrients do cucumbers contain?Cucumbers are not high in many nutritional elements, such as vitamins and minerals, which would significantly improve your bearded dragon’s health. Still, they are one of those vegetables that are great food for a change in your bearded dragon’s diet. Whenever you feed some greens or fruit to your bearded dragon, you need to have at least some idea about how much calcium and phosphorus, and potassium it is consuming. Excess of any of these can upset your bearded dragon’s health.Let us take a look at the number of nutrients you can get in an average unpeeled cucumber. After a number of researches, it has been discovered that cucumbers contain 95-96% of water, ten calories, and just 0.0014 oz (0.04 g) of fat. Now let us look at the vitamin and mineral content of cucumbers.Cucumbers contain protein, calcium, phosphorus, sugar, dietary fiber, and vitamin A and vitamin C. Due to the low sugar and fat levels in cucumber, there is only a tiny amount of carbohydrates in an average cucumber. It is important to look at the calcium and phosphorus levels in a cucumber. Typically, cucumbers do not have positive calcium to phosphorus ratio. It is recommended that bearded dragons must consume more calcium than phosphorus to maintain a healthy balance and avoid calcium deficiency.95-96 water percentage shows that cucumbers are mostly water and certain other nutrients. The high water content in cucumbers can be a benefit but may also cause problems when fed in abundance for your beardie. When your bearded dragon does not drink water normally, you can feed it cucumber to keep it hydrated, but the excess water content in cucumbers can at times lead to runny stools. Too much water will cause digestive distress to your pet.Along with the vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A and vitamin C, cucumbers also contain a considerable amount of antioxidants, which play a crucial role in developing the immune system of a bearded dragon. Thus, cucumbers aren’t bad for bearded dragons, but they must not be your first choice even if you want to feed some other greens to your beardie for a change. There are various other vegetables that bearded dragons can eat that have more nutrients and offer an overall better nutritional value. Some such vegetables include collard greens, broccoli, green beans, red cabbage, and swiss chard. These vegetables can be a part of your bearded dragon’s staple food as they offer a better ratio of calcium to phosphorus and are a pretty healthy snack in comparison to cucumbers.On the other hand, there are certain vegetables that your bearded dragons must not eat at any cost. Some of those include spinach, avocados, and lettuce. Do not let your bearded dragons eat these veggies, as they can adversely affect your pet’s health.How often should you feed bearded dragons with cucumbers?In order to keep your beardies healthy, do not let your bearded dragons eat cucumbers more than once a week, regardless of the vitamins and minerals they contain or their nutritional value. Eating an excessive amount of vegetables like cucumbers can damage the health of your pets. Some of them have very high nutritional value and contain vitamin C and vitamin K, but it is a double-edged sword. Along with the benefits, you will also have to deal with the drawbacks that come with it. This can be the case of excess fruit consumption, too.It is thus very important that you regulate carefully how frequently and in what quantities you feed your bearded dragon. Researches suggest that if the bearded dragons eat cucumbers twice a month, it is best to make the most of the nutrients they provide and avoid any health issues. Remember to wash the cucumbers before they eat them and make sure they are peeled and chopped up into small pieces to prevent gut impaction. The high water content and the unideal calcium to phosphorus ratio are the main reasons behind limited cucumber consumption for bearded dragons.When bearded dragons are in the tiny baby stage, they do not need to eat cucumbers or even fruits. Instead, they can be fed insects or other food rich in protein as in the baby stages of their life. Bearded dragons tend to have a carnivorous diet for rapid growth. Thus, it would be best for them if bearded dragons were fed cucumbers in moderation, such as once a week or every two weeks chopped up into small pieces. Eating new foods can be fun for your bearded dragon pets, but remember to ensure these foods are healthy and safe for them to have.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Can bearded dragons eat cucumbers? then why not take a look at Can bearded dragons eat orange? or bearded dragon fa

Cucumbers are consumed mainly by human beings owing to their high water content and vitamins and minerals, but are they healthy for bearded dragons to consume?