Can Bearded Dragon Eat Butternut Squash?
Yes, bearded dragon can eat butternut squash. It is nutritionally rich and has low calories. It serves as a recipe for commercial sweets and savory, making up some of it’s culinary uses. Commonly it is referred to as a vegetable but it is a fruit with strong sweet nutty flavor. It consists of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH
Butternut pumpkin or gramma is another popular name butternut squash is called in Australia and New Zealand. It is cultivated from the vine where it grows. The major color it is commonly identified with is yellow which the skin adopts coupled with an orange fleshy pulp having seeds on the inside at the base end. Scientifically the name given to butternut squach is cucurbita moschata butternut. It hails from the squach family aligning with ponca, pumpkin, calabaza and Waltham. It is an annually cultivated crop which when ripe produces a deep orange color as a sign as it becomes a lot sweeter and ready to consume. It is culinarily used as a vegetable which can be presented in different forms like roasted, sauteed, toasted, pureed for squash soup or in mashed form used for casseroles, breads, muffins and pies. Nutritionist has advised that in order to enjoy the best flavor of butternut squash, it is best be put aside for at least 2 months after cultivation. Water and carbohydrate are some of the benefits nutritionally derived from butternut squash as it contains 86% of water and 12% carbohydrate. The seed, the stalk and the skin of this fruit is usually thrown away as it is not edible. It can be served cooked or raw to your pet but advisably raw works better with your animal pet as it is more beneficial that way. A long list of nutrients is found in butternut squash some of which are fat, fiber, carbohydrate, protein, vitamin C, B6, E, folate, riboflavin, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc manganese, magnesium, pantothenic acid and much more.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF BUTTER SQUASH TO BEARDED DRAGONS.
HIGH NUTRITIONAL VALUE
Medically it is advised by the doctors to feed your body with very nutritious foods or fruits especially following the concept of a balanced diet. This is applicable to both human and animals. Bearded dragons consistently need high nutritious food to encourage good health. Butternut squash is packed with various nutrients that will have much benefit to your dragon. An all round supply of good amount of right nutrients to the body system of bearded dragons should be a major priority of the pet owner. Butternut squash is best served to your dragon in it’s raw state as it is highly nutritious to them when consumed raw.
WATER
86.4g of water is present in butter squash. Constant supply of water is good for your dragon. Aside from quenching thirst and stopping hiccups which is the popular essence of water known to people. Water aids the digestion of food ingested into the system and also helps in breaking food molecules in the body. The distribution of food nutrients to different parts of the body is supported by water. The blood vessels and blood production in the body is enhanced by water. Energy restoration is another function made possible through water. All this is what your pet dragon having water in their system stands to gain.
VITAMINS
Bearded dragons need vitamins likewise humans and every other kind of animal. Vitamins according to nutritional research are organic compounds needed in the body in little quantities. It is mostly derived largely from foods like vegetables and fruits. If vitamins are produced in the body it is in very small quantities. Vitamins are numerous in number and they come in different types performing specific functions in the body. Butter squash has some vitamins like thiamine b1, riboflavin b2, niacin b3, folate, vitamin C, E, and pantothenic acid. Feeding butternut to your dragon introduces them to vitamin enrichment.
MINERALS
Minerals perform some major exclusive roles in the body. They are derived from our everyday foods which is essential for the body development and effective functionality. Butternut squash is enriched with minerals too for example calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus and zinc. There is more bit these are the few found in this fruit which your pet dragon can benefit from.
DISEASE RESISTANCE
Butternut squash has antioxidants in it which fights against and neutralizes harmful and unhelpful substances in the body. During the break down process of food substances by the body some molecules are produced during this process called free radicals. These free radicals are in no way supportive to the body health so it is eradiated by the activities of the antioxidants. It also performs other functions like reduction oxidative stress, mental health, brain health, healthy aging and good vision.
LOW CALORIES AND POTASSIUM
The fear of having your dragon blow up excessively talking about obesity is not the case with butternut consumption. As the calory activity is low so eating this fruit at regular intervals is not a thing to attract fear. The potassium content help blood pressure stay regulated.
SIDE EFFECT OF BUTTERNUT SQUASH TO BEARDED DRAGON.
EXESSIVE INTAKE
Excessive intake of very nutritious foods or fruits like butternut squash can lead to an overdose of some more dominant nutrients in it. Incases where vitamins and minerals are in excess, which on a norm is needed in the body in only small quantities can result into a serious problem for your bearded dragon. As an animal, a bearded dragon has no ability to reason like humans so can’t tell what quantity it needs of a particular food type in order words if not well supervised can recklessly over feed itself with anything it sees or any food placed before it.
CALCIUM DEFICIENCY
Calcium is needed by your bearded dragon a lot. It makes up one of the nutrients that must not be lacking in any of their meals. Unfortunately, there are certain nutrients that can hinder it’s absorption due to excessive intake. Phosphorus is one of those nutrients that has a side effect of hindering the absorption of calcium into the system. If you regularly feed your dragon with phosphorus dominated meals calcium deficiency is prone to occur. Butternut squash has high potassium which is why when feeding it to your dragon it has to be in small quantity.
HOW TO FEED TO YOUR BEARDED DRAGON.
- After cultivation, rinse with warm water thoroughly to ensure it’s safe edibility as poisonous protective chemicals might have being sprayed on it to protect it from predators.
- To prevent choking and mouth blisters from occurring in your pet dragon, a little cooking can be carried out to soften it, enabling a smooth swallow during consumption.
- The seed and the stem can should be excluded to avoid harm to your dragon.
- Butter squash being served as a whole will be too big and difficult for your dragon to ingest so slicing into small chunks will ease up the digestion process in their body.
- You may be trying out butternut squash with your dragon for the first time so close observation has to be made to study their reactions and changes.
- It can be fed to your dragon once in a month in small quantities to avoid overdose and over concentration of the various nutrients that makes it up.
IN CONCLUSION
Butternut squash is incredible for the numerous vitamins and minerals it conveys which can nourish the body of your dragon. The sweet nutty flavor and the water content in it are some selling points that would get your dragon to enjoy it better. Understanding what kind of nutrients works best for your dragon enables you to know the type of foods or fruits to serve to them more often.
