Can Bearded Dragons Eat Oranges? Citrusy Feeding Facts For Owners

Oranges are citrus fruits that are rich in sugar and acid.

It is not really recommended to let your bearded dragons eat these fruits on a daily basis. Treating them with oranges only once or twice a month is considered to be safe.

Oranges have the potential to cause severe calcium deficiency in bearded dragons. This is because oranges contain oxalic acid, which, when combined with calcium, forms calcium oxalate. Calcium oxalate, in turn, reduces the amount of calcium in the body of a bearded dragon. This leads to several complications like metabolic bone diseases.

Other types of problems that can appear if bearded dragons eat oranges include obesity, tooth decays, diarrhea, and dehydration. The major part of the diet of a bearded dragon typically consists of greens and insects.

Fruits comprise only 10-20% of their diet. Therefore it is not recommended that bearded dragons eat oranges on a daily basis. All varieties of oranges like orange juice, orange peel, and orange seeds should not be fed regularly to a bearded dragon.

Instead, you can feed them other kinds of fruits like raspberries, strawberries, and apricots. However, this should also be done only occasionally.

Bearded dragons are actually omnivores, which means they will eat almost everything and anything that you serve them. Therefore when you are taking the responsibility of bringing one to your home as a pet, you should also know the dos and don'ts.

Risks Of Feeding Orange To Bearded Dragons

Having any kind of pet at home is a huge responsibility. Be it a cat or even a bearded dragon, it is important for the pet owner to know what kind of food is safe for them to eat. Oranges are citrus fruits that are not safe for your pet, especially a bearded dragon, to eat these fruits on a daily basis.

Oranges, in particular, contain high fruit acid and sugar. Although for humans, it may seem like a healthy alternative, it is not at all a safe food for bearded dragons. Eating oranges can disrupt the digestive system of bearded dragons and cause various health issues like diarrhea or dehydration.

Bearded dragons especially rely on insects and vegetables (greens especially) for their daily source of nutritional value. Oranges, on the other hand, are rich in acid and sugar and should be given in the proper amount. Oranges contain vitamin C, citric acid, potassium, and calcium. Other than that, they also have high sugar content. As per the advice of health experts, bearded dragons should have only 0.07 oz (2 g) of sugar content in their everyday meals. Oranges contain almost five times more than the recommended amount. Thus, you can well imagine the consequences if you feed oranges to your bearded dragons.

Not just diarrhea and dehydration, there are several other health problems that your bearded dragons can face. Feeding your pet these fruits can cause tooth decay, obesity, and indigestion as well. The digestive system of these animals cannot in any way bear such high sugar content in their body.

Can bearded dragons eat the orange peel?

Now that we have established what are the risks of feeding oranges to your bearded dragons on a daily basis let's take a look at whether you can feed orange peels to your pet. Frankly, the answer to this question is no. You cannot, under any circumstance, feed orange peels to your bearded dragon. Fruits like oranges are high in sugar and fruit acid. Orange peels especially contain a rich amount of oxalic acid. In fact, they contain more acid than the fruit itself.

A bearded dragon's diet cannot tolerate such high acid intake in one single go. One of the major reasons behind this is that orange peels have a high amount of oxalic acid. When this acid blends with calcium, it forms calcium oxalate. This results in a shortage of calcium in the body of your bearded dragon. When your bearded dragon's body does not receive the required amount of calcium, it extracts it from its bones. Thus, this will lead to weakness in your bearded dragon and ultimately severe health problems like bone diseases.

Furthermore, there can also be pesticides present on the orange peels. If your bearded dragon consumes these pesticides, it can cause a lot of damage to the bearded dragon's body. If you want to feed your pet any kind of fruit, you can do so in the correct amount. You can feed adult bearded dragons oranges only once or twice a month. You can also try other safe options like apricots, raspberries, and strawberries for your bearded dragons. However, these too should be given in a very limited amount and only occasionally.

Can bearded dragons eat orange seeds?

Oranges should not be fed to your beloved pet, even though your bearded dragons love to eat them. As a pet owner, it is your responsibility to look after the food your bearded dragon is eating and ensure that they live a comfortable and healthy life. For that, you need to know what kinds of fruits should be fed and in what amount.

Almost every citrus fruits contain a high level of sugar. Oranges, in particular, have high sugar content. This can easily disrupt your beloved pet's health. As per the guidelines, only 10-20% of their diet can consist of fruits. For baby bearded dragons especially, the amount is much lower.

Bearded dragons are omnivores, and they will eat almost any kind of food you present to them without thinking about the consequences. Therefore, looking after what kind of food they are consuming is essential. Orange juice, orange peel, or even orange seeds should not at all be fed regularly to bearded dragons. This does not mean you cannot treat them with citrus fruit at all. You can feed oranges to your bearded dragon only once or twice a month.

Some claim that it is safe to feed mandarin oranges to bearded dragons. However, that is not at all recommended. It is true that mandarin oranges have a much smaller acid quantity than regular oranges. However, the amount of acid found in mandarin oranges is still harmful to their body and should not be included in their diet.

Moreover, mandarin oranges also contain a much higher amount of sugar than regular oranges. This can cause many health problems in your pet. Therefore, such fruits should not be fed regularly. Having said that, not every fruit is harmful to your bearded dragons.

Some of the fruits that your beloved pet can eat include dragon fruits, strawberries, and raspberries, among a few others. They do not contain as much citric acid and sugar as oranges and therefore can be fed to your bearded dragons occasionally. However, these fruits should not be fed every day.

As mentioned earlier, only 10-20% of their diet can consist of fruits. The majority of a bearded dragon's diet consists of greens and insects. Although oranges can seem like a healthy option for humans because they are rich in vitamin C, they do not carry the same health benefits for a bearded dragon. This does not mean bearded dragons cannot eat oranges at all. They can eat oranges in a very limited amount, for example, once or twice a month.

How many oranges can bearded dragons eat?

Feeding your beloved bearded dragon too many fruits can prove to be fatal for their health. Orange, in particular, is a citrus fruit that contains a high amount of vitamin C, sugar, and acids. Therefore it is not recommended to include oranges in the diet of your bearded dragons. This does not mean you cannot feed your bearded dragon oranges at all. You can do so but in a limited amount. Oranges can be fed to your bearded dragon only once or twice a month and no more than that.

It is true that oranges contain a rich amount of fiber and vitamin C. They are also very tasty to eat and can be served as a delicious snack. However, they do not bear the same health benefits for your pet. They can very easily disrupt the digestive system of your pet and cause serious problems like calcium deficiency, obesity, and tooth decay.

A few types of oranges contain a higher amount of phosphorus than calcium. If your bearded dragon eats such oranges, it will disrupt the calcium level in their body. When the body is unable to receive the right amount of calcium, it will extract calcium from the bones. This, in turn, will make them very weak and ultimately lead to metabolic bone disease.

Yet another reason why any kind of fruit is not recommended for a bearded dragon is the high amount of sugar it contains. Citrus fruits are very high in sugar. If your bearded dragon eats such fruit on a daily basis, it can cause excessive fat in its body and ultimately result in obesity. Other than that, it can also cause diarrhea and dehydration as well.

If your bearded dragon loves to eat fruits so much, you can try feeding them other recommended fruit. This includes apricots, strawberries, and raspberries. You can always treat them with these types of fruit. However, it should be done in a limited amount as well, maybe a few times in a month. Too much of anything can actually prove to be detrimental for your beloved pet.

Animals do not have the sense to differentiate between what kind of food is good for their health and which ones are not. As a pet owner, the responsibility, therefore, falls on your shoulder. You should know what kind of food to feed them and how much you should feed them.

Bearded dragons eat almost any kind of food that you serve them without blinking an eye. However, without the proper precautions, these foods can harm them severely in the long run.