CAN BEARDED DRAGON EAT CARROTS?
Yes, bearded dragons can eat carrots. It is highly nutritious and good enough for your dragon as food. Important vitamins and minerals are available in carrots. Carrots gives good health to the eyes to help strengthen the sight. Carrots help leverage blood sugar level in the body system.
CARROT
This is a vegetable plant cultivated as a root vegetable. Physical appearances are portrayed in a variety of colors such as purple, black, red, white and yellow. It was first discovered in Persia region which is now called Iran and Afganistan. Farmers cultivates it mostly because of the seed and their aromatic leaves. Carrot is a crunchy fruit with a wood like texture which has to be broken by the teeth in bits and chewed intensely into a mesh before swallowing. It takes the shape of an elongated triangle with a green head that served as the stem of the main plant it as cut from. Carrots are member of the umbellifer family Apiaceae and it’s harvest time is mostly two years making it a biennial plant. During the growth of the tap root clusters of leaves starts to grow as a sign of the gradual development. Carrot is a very popular vegetable known all over the world and it also forms part of the ingredients used in making vegetable salad. It is mostly consumed raw by both humans and animals although it can be cooked too as most cooks also use it as ingredients to spice up other types of foods like fried rice and the likes. It’s flavor comes in a slightly sugary taste with a little feel of bitterness. It is also called a garden vegetable. The root of this vegetable is a good source of vitamin A, K, and B6. Nutritionist recommend carrots for consumption, as it is effective for health in the eyes, maintenance of healthy skin and healthy immune system. Since bearded dragons cannot chew the fiber content in carrots strengthens their digestive system in the area of exoskeletal digestion.
HEALTH BENEFIT OF CARROT TO BEARDED DRAGONS
HEALTHY EYES
Eating carrots helps with improving effective eye functions. Basically, the eye is the most important part of the body of both humans and animals. It brings light to the body, helps the body’s sense of direction through visual details and helps both man and animals with protection from danger through sighting. So also your bearded dragon needs good vision for feeding as they can’t feed on what they can’t see and survival included. Vitamin A takes charge of this function after ingestion.
LEVERAGE BLOOD SUGAR
Bearded dragons are tried out with various types of meals of which some would support high sugar concentration in their body system. For example, foods with high level of carbohydrates is later broken down in the body and stored as simple sugar. With this, sugar level in the blood can begin to rise. The fiber content in carrots can help control the level of sugar stored up in the blood of your pet dragon.
BODY IMMUNITY
The body of bearded can easily be exposed to the danger of diseases and infections. Keeping the body of your dragon pet safe and resistant should be paramount to you. Bearded dragons find vitamin C very helpful as it’s integral functions is to fight diseases and infections and also keep the body in good health. Carrots houses this vitamin in sufficient quantity.
HEALTHY BONES AND TEETH
Bones and teeth are to be given special attention as they serve as the pillar of the body. Ensuring your dragon is fed with foods and fruits that enhances the bone health is something to take seriously. All animals need their bones for survival so calcium, vitamin K and phosphorus are helpful in that line which carrots are a good source of.
ANTIOXIDANTS
These play protective functions against free radicals in the body which are produced during the breakdown of foods in the body. Another way is through is through tobacco, smoke and radiation. Antioxidants mainly protects the body cells from harmful or unwanted substances in the body through ejection. Bearded dragons needs antioxidants for all round body protection and carrots consumption is helpful in this particular area.
SIDE EFFECT OF CARROTS ON BEARDED DRAGONS
CALCIUM DEFICIENCY
Calcium is present in carrots but not in the right amount that is sufficient to match up with that of the bearded dragon’s needs. When Calcium is not present in a particular food or fruit meant for your dragon it disqualifies such meals from their diet. Of all the nutrient calcium is the most highly recommended for all bearded dragons. Carrots are not the best source.
OXALATE OR OXALIC ACID
This is an organic compound that usually causes hinderance. In most cases where calcium is not absorbed into the body system oxalic acid is responsible for such inadequacies. It binds to minerals like calcium which causes calcium deficiency in the system of your bearded dragon. Some amount of this is present in your bearded dragon.
CONSUMPTION DIFFICULTY
By the very nature of the way a carrot is shaped, a bearded dragon cannot consume it as a whole. The texture is too hard to be broken by your pet dragon as it as no teeth to crush it during consumption. If swallowed by a bearded dragon without first chewing it can cause a great damage and discomfort to the throat and stomach of the dragon.
HOW TO FEED CARROTS TO BEARDED DRAGONS
- After uprooting from the soil, rinse thoroughly with very clean water until it is free of sandy particles.
- Cut off the excess clusters of green leaves sitting right at the top of the carrot fruit.
- Before serving it to your dragon ensure to use a grater to grate it as it is too hard for your dragon’s jaws to crush. To avoid mouth blisters.
- It can be served to them cooked or raw or even mixed with other vegetables. For retention of high nutritional levels raw consumption is encouraged.
- Trying the direct feeding method might not work with carrots as the hard nature might cause your dragon to loose interest in the fruit.
IN CONCLUSION.
Feeding farm vegetable products like carrots to your bearded dragon is a way to encourage nutritional health in their body system. If you have being considering the idea of feeding carrots to your dragons ensure to follow the guide above on how to feed it to them in order not to go about it wrongly. The main reason for feeding carrots to bearded dragon is to aid strong vision.
