ᐅ Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cauliflower?

image of bearded dragon, cauliflower and a text that say: can bearded dragons eat cauliflowers?

The Yea-or-Nay Of Feeding Cauliflower To Your Bearded Dragon

As a bearded dragon owner, you know that they need a variety of veggies in their diet for them to thrive. Now, you might ask, can bearded dragons eat cauliflower?

The short answer is, yes, bearded dragons can eat cauliflower. But it’s essential that it’s fed in moderation and prepared correctly, or else it can be a dangerous food item.

So read on, and we’ll show you how you can integrate cauliflower as a safe treat for your beardie.

Benefits And Risks Of Feeding Bearded Dragons Cauliflower

Cauliflower contains nutrients that are not in your bearded dragon’s best interest. They also have some nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are also favorable.

Let’s start by looking at the health benefits when bearded dragons eat cauliflower.

Moisture: Most of the nutritional value of cauliflower consists of water. A bearded dragon weighing 300g should drink 10ml of water. It is crucial to keep your bearded dragon hydrated.

Low fat and sugar content: Too much sugar can cause diarrhea, obesity, and tooth decay

Fiber: Contain moderate levels of fiber. Fiber is vital for many functions like good digestion.

Protein: Cauliflower offers a small amount of protein. It is crucial to the growth and development of bearded dragons.

Vitamins and minerals: Beneficial Vitamins present in cauliflower include vitamin C, K, and B-6. Vitamin C is necessary for the maintenance and repair of tissue. Vitamin K plays a role in bone strength and blood clotting, while vitamin B-6 helps contain healthy immune systems.

Potassium: Cauliflower is abundant in potassium responsible for vital functions throughout the body.

The following are risk factors when you feed bearded dragons cauliflower:

Goitrogens: This substance is hazardous to your beaded dragon because it inhibits iodine from being absorbed. Bearded dragons need iodine for growth, development, reproduction, and skin shedding.

Tannin: The low amounts of tannin in cauliflower prevent the absorption of proteins and inhibits enzymes that help absorb iron and vitamin B12.

Calcium to phosphorus ratio: Cauliflower has inadequate calcium to phosphorus ratio. Calcium ensures healthy bones and prevents metabolic bone disease. Ideally, you want your beardie’s diet to have a 2:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus.

List of Most Relevant Nutrients Found In Raw Cauliflower

Water – 92.07g

Energy – 25 Kcal

Protein – 1.92g

Total lipid (fat) – 0.28g

Carbohydrate – 4.97g

Fibre – 2g

Calcium – 22mg

Iron – 0.42g

Phosphorys – 44mg

Vitamin C – 48.2mg

Potassium – 299mg

How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cauliflower

You might ask the question: “How often can I feed my beardie cauliflower?” We recommend that you feed your bearded dragon cauliflower occasionally and not serve it as a staple food. We recommend that you feed your bearded dragons eat raw cauliflower no more than once a month.

Your next question is probably how much cauliflower you can give your beardie? It is usually half a floret to include in your bearded dragon’s diet. You must keep the portions too small quantities at no more than 6 – 10g but, we urge you to stay on the low side. How To Prepare Cauliflower For Your Bearded Dragon

When you as a bearded dragon owner decide to feed your bearded friend cauliflower, make sure to follow these steps:

Wash the cauliflower heads and greens thoroughly with clean water to remove dirt and pesticides.

Cut the cauliflower in small bite-sized pieces, no larger than the width between your beardie’s eyes.
Ideally, you can feed cauliflower pieces as a salad topper or treat.
The majority of the salad bowl must consist of a wide variety of staple vegetables and a small number of safe fruits.

As a final measure, we recommend you sprinkle some calcium powder on top to compensate for any food with inadequate calcium.

Are Cauliflower Greens Safe For Beardie?

You’ll be surprised to know that the cauliflower leaves are much healthier for your dragon than the cauliflower itself. Cauliflower greens and the rest of the cauliflower contain different nutritional ratios. Its leaves are higher in calcium and lower in phosphorus. Include the cauliflower leaves in your beardies diet to prevent metabolic bone disease.

The cauliflower leaves are also much lower in goitrogens. This substance can affect your beardies thyroid function, leading to all sorts of health problems.

Can Baby Bearded Dragons Eat Cauliflower?

Baby, and juvenile bearded dragons, are a lot smaller than adults, and they need different vitamins and minerals to grow strong. We do not recommend that you feed cauliflower to baby beardies because it is too low in calcium.

We recommend that you choose nutritious greens high in calcium, like dandelion greens and mustard greens, for your bearded little pet.

Final Thoughts

Both cauliflower leaves and cauliflower contain nutrients beneficial to bearded dragons. Remember that they have a high calcium-phosphorus ratio compared to the recommended ratio. Feeding cauliflower to your bearded dragon will not harm it as long as it is only offered as an occasional treat or combined with other calcium-rich vegetables.

Other alternatives to cauliflower are parsley and green beans. We recommend that these vegetables are also placed into your feeding rotations. Please read more about these vegetables before feeding them to your dragon in our dedicated articles.

Continue to read our main article “What do Bearded Dragons Eat?” for all the ins and outs on general diet questions, and get a further detailed breakdown of other popular foods in the articles below:

Can Bearded Dragons eat tomatoes?