ᐅ Can Bearded Dragons Eat Sweet Potato?

Ups And Downs Of Feeding Sweet Potato To Bearded Dragons

Can bearded dragons eat sweet potatoes? Yes, bearded dragons can definitely eat sweet potatoes, and most dragons seem to enjoy them. That does not mean you can keep feeding your bearded dragon sweet potato daily.

Read this article to learn more about sweet potato and the benefits or risks in a bearded dragon’s diet, nutritional value, preparation, and more.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Sweet Potatoes?

It is entirely safe to feed sweet potatoes to bearded dragons and is non-toxic. This said you should feed your pet dragon sweet potatoes in moderation.

Sweet potatoes are a good treat for your bearded dragon but should never form the backbone of your bearded dragon’s diet.

We recommend that sweet potatoes only be given to bearded dragons occasionally, like once or twice a week.

Nutritional Value of Sweet Potato

Taking a look at the nutritional value of sweet potatoes will assist us in deciding if the quantities of key nutrients are beneficial in a bearded dragon’s diet or not.

Nutritional Information for Sweet Potato Per 100g

Nutrient	Amount
Total lipid (fat)	0.05g
Carbohydrate, by difference	20.12g
Fiber	3g
Sugars	4.18g
Calcium	30mg
Iron	0.61mg
Phosphorus	47mg
Sodium	55mg
Vitamin C	2.4mg
Vitamin D (D2 + 3)	0ug
Vitamin B6	0.209mg
Vitamin A RAE	709ug
Vitamin A UI	14187ug
Beta Carotene	8509ug
Vitamin E	0.26mg
Vitamin K	1.8ug
Water	77.28g
Energy	86Kcal
Protein	1.57g

Benefits Of Sweet Potato In Bearded Dragon’s Diet

Vitamin A

Sweet Potato is rich in vitamin A which promotes better eyesight and eye health, healthy skin, and a strong immune system. It also helps to break down unwanted materials in the body.

Vitamin C

Sweet Potatoes are full of vitamin C. It helps build a robust immune system that fends off potential disease.

Vitamin B

Vitamin B provides energy, improves brain health, and regulates cell reproduction.

Iron

Iron is essential for baby bearded dragons. It is one of those supplements that must be given very sporadically.

High iron intake can cause long-term health issues, so you must give it with caution.

Fiber

Fiber promotes regular digestion. If your bearded dragon is constipated, a little sweet potato will do the trick and get things moving again.

Too much fiber in your bearded dragon’s diet will result in diarrhea.

Risks When Feeding Bearded Dragons Sweet Potato

Vitamin A toxicity

You should be aware that too much vitamin A in your bearded dragon’s diet can cause Vitamin A toxicity. It is hard to overdose your bearded dragon vitamin A through diet alone.

Symptoms of vitamin toxicity include

Nausea
Vomiting

Loss of appetite
Abdominal pain

Unbalanced calcium to phosphorus ratio

Sweet Potatoe offers 30mg of calcium and 47mg phosphorus per 100g. This ratio is not a healthy balance.

Phosphorus binds with calcium and hampers its absorption from your bearded dragon’s intestines. Feeding calcium-poor foods to your bearded dragon over time will result in Metabolic Bone Disease. Symptoms of Metabolic Bone Disease are

Paralysis

Deformity
Shrunken Limbs
Lethargy

If left untreated; Metabolic Health Disease can even lead to death.

How Often Should Bearded Dragons Eat Sweet Potato?

Considering the high Vitamin A content and the poor calcium to phosphorus ratio, we recommend you only feed your bearded dragon sweet potato once per week.

It’s good to keep your bearded friend’s salad bowl interesting by adding foods like sweet potato, but at the same time offer calcium-rich foods.

Preparing Sweet Potatoes For Your Pet Bearded Dragon

The following steps will indicate how to prepare sweet potatoes for your bearded dragon.

Try staying organic

If you can find organic sweet potatoes, we recommend going for it.

As a bearded dragon owner, you need to ensure that all food be free of pesticides and herbicides.

Thoroughly wash first

Make sure you thoroughly wash the sweet potato before preparing it.

Peel Off Skin

We recommend that you peel off the sweet potato skin as it can contain micro bacteria and germs.

Bearded dragons can eat sweet potato skins, but you should remove them for safety. Raw, peeled, and grated sweet potato works best for your bearded dragon.

No need to cook

There is no need to cook the sweet potatoes before serving them to your bearded dragon. Beardies prefer the sweet potato to be raw.

How to serve Sweet Potato to your beardie

The best way to serve sweet potatoes to your bearded dragon is to peel off the skin and then use the peeler to peel the potato into thin strips. This method makes sweet potatoes much easier to eat.

Add the raw sweet potatoes in strips as a salad topper or mix them with nutritious greens like collard greens, leafy greens, etc.

Wrapping Up

In this article, we answered the question, “Can bearded dragons eat sweet potatoes?” We also looked at the benefits and risks of feeding sweet potatoes to your bearded dragon.

Other foods we suggest feeding your bearded dragon include: collard greens, green beans, leafy greens, etc.

It is always important to read about the new food you want to introduce into your bearded dragon’s diet. Even the healthiest food can have risks that make your bearded friend sick.

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 hornworms?