Alfalfa has a sweet bitter grassy flavor used for medicinal purposes to fight against issues in the body system like excess cholesterol in the body, diabetes, indigestion, blood sugar and some others.
Some of its nutritional benefits are vitamins, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and iron. Then vitamins include A, C, E, K and is also available as a supplement to supply it’s nutrient to those who need it specially. As regards to your bearded dragon, alfalfa sprout is low in calories but to a large extent has all the necessary useful nutrient needed by your dragon.
From the oral reports by most bearded dragon owners, most bearded dragon’s response to alfalfa when fed is spontaneous and positive, showing how much they like it. When it comes to what to feed your dragon, alfalfa is highly recommended. Supermarkets and salad bar have it at their disposal so the next time you visit a salad bar do well to have some alfalfa and buy some from the supermarket to give to your bearded dragon. They would surely be grateful.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Alfalfa Sprouts?
ALFALFA
Fabacrea, is the legume family that the alfalfa plant belongs to. It is a perennial plant that is very flowery in nature and can also be called lucerne. It is one of the most cultivated forage crop all over the world which has functional purposes like grazing, hay, silage, serves as green manure and cover crop. It is mostly planted In mass on a large expanse of land due to it’s high demand by individuals, farmers and food companies in order to avoid insufficiency during distribution.
The name given to this leguminous plant, was derived from the northern part of America as alfalfa is what they commonly call it. In the farming industry, alfalfa is planted and harvested to serve as food for livestock animals like cows, camels, goats rams and the likes. The consumption of alfalfa is mostly preferred in a garnished form.
HEALTH BENEFIT OF ALFALFA TO BEARDED DRAGON
As earlier stated in this article, alfalfa is a very nutritious plant with high nutritional values that is very helpful to bearded dragons. These are some nutrients you can derive from alfalfa
CALORIE:
In a whole day based on human calculation, three square meals are recoded for human morning, afternoon and night meal. Animals do not have this kind of food parting and timing. They eat whatever they see at anytime of the day or season. Varieties of food have gone into the system with each food having their own nutritional values that perform different functions. The energy released when food is broken down in the body during the process of food digestion in your system is called calorie. Alfalfa is low in calories meaning that it can be consumed in large quantity by your dragon with low risk encountered.
FIBRE:
Alfalfa is not just called a nutritious plant for hype sake. It is nutritious considering the nutrients that can be derived from it and one of the nutrients to look forward to is fiber. Fiber is capable of performing functions that are of great advantage life span and health of living beings. Fiber is capable of decreasing the level of cholesterol in the body, most especially to secure the effectiveness of the heart and kidney, controls blood sugar, keeps body weight at a moderate and healthy level, aids bowel health maintenance and increases life span duration. All these advantages are what should encourage you as a bearded dragon owner to add alfalfa to your dragon’s diet.
WATER:
Dehydration is not an encouraging situation for your dragon to be in. In order to keep your dragon on constant supply of water, give it food with high water content so as to meet up with the required water supply it needs per day. The alfalfa plant contains 92,8% of water. It can perform dual functions, just like other vegetable plants it has a good amount of water content in it that can relief your dragon of thirst during consumption. Water plays a major role in food digestion. Enough water is taken after food consumption to avoid choking, indigestion, hiccups, and aids easy excretion of body excesses.
CALCIUM:
Medically, calcium is very essential to every human and animal. As it’s main function is to make bones and teeth in the body stronger and healthier. Blood clotting, muscle contraction, heartbeat regulation and proper nerve functionality are some of the other functions that aligns with calcium nutritional operation in the body. Bearded dragons need this very much and it must not be excluded in their diet. Alfalfa is a good source of calcium and are both available as supplements. Calcium deficiency in your dragon’s diet is dangerous to their health.
FOOD SOURCE:
As a livestock business owner, feeding the animals in your stead with very nutritious food should be your major priority. Animals like cows, goats, rams, camels, donkeys, are known for being vast consumers of leguminous plant like grass. Which when eaten in it’s raw state has high nutritional impact leading to their fresh and fat looks. Alfalfa serves as a food source to livestock, considering the fact that it is a leguminous plant like grass and can serve the same nutritious purpose to animals. Bearded dragons also feed on alfalfa, as it is one of their favorites. Apart from animals, plants also benefit from alfalfa as it is used by farmers to produce manures.
SIDE EFFECTS OF ALFALFA ON BEARDED DRAGONS
- Alfalfa seeds, taken in excess over a long period of time consistently can have adverse effect on your dragon causing reactions that leads to autoimmune disease called lupus erythematosus.
- Cooking alfalfa before serving it to your bearded dragon can cause your dragon to miss out on the nutritional value of this plant. As overheating process can cause it to lose a lot of nutritional content. It is better served raw.
HOW TO FEED ALFALFA TO YOUR DRAGON
- Harvest as many as you want from the open field where it is usually planted.
- Rinse with clean water to shake off any sand particle and anti pest chemicals to prevent your dragon from swallowing hard and undigestible substances that can damage the kidney.
- Shred or slice to smaller size easy for your dragon to eat. Serve it raw. Once or twice a month intake is good.
IN CONCLUSION
The next time you would be experimenting on what your bearded dragon can eat, do try to use alfalfa and see how your bearded dragon receives it. It is fun trying out new things with your dragon that’s a way to socialize and understand them better. legumes are good for your bearded dragon. Prioritize on giving your dragon adequate attention so as to understand how and what to feed them with per time.
