Can bearded dragons eat tomatoes?

This Advice Is Approved By Veterinarian Sara Ochoa

Bearded Dragons love eating fruits, vegetables, and insects. But there are only a few vegetables or fruits that you can feed to your beardie. That begs the question – Can bearded dragons eat tomatoes

The short answer is that a bearded dragon can eat tomatoes about once a month. 

Read on and we’ll break down the why and how to feed your pet dragon tomatoes (which is very important). 

Benefits Of Feeding Tomatoes To Bearded Dragons

• They are rich in Vitamin A, C, E, and K, and all these essentials are important in a healthy bearded dragon’s diet.
  
• The presence of healthy antioxidants in tomatoes (which can also be gotten from other foods) can help prevent the development of cancer and maintain a healthy immune system.
  
• Tomatoes are high in water and fiber, which helps a bearded dragon improve its digestive system. 
  

Dangers Of Feeding Tomatoes To Bearded Dragons

• Despite being rich in water, tomatoes are acidic (include malic and citric acid) and can cause problems such as dehydration, diarrhea, weight gain, and other health risks.
  
• Tomatoes are low in calcium and have oxalic acid that prevents calcium absorption. So, tomatoes can cause calcium deficiency and affect growth and reproductive health. 
  
• Phosphorus is very dangerous to bearded dragons and can lead to metabolic bone disease, also called MBD. Rule of thumb is to keep the phosphorus ratio to calcium ratio from  1:1 to 2:1. In tomatoes, which also belong to the nightshade family of vegetables, the ration of phosphorus to calcium is nearly 1:6.  

To avoid these negatives, keep the rotation of tomatoes low, and feed it with other calcium-rich foods.

What Nutrients Are Found In Tomatoes?

Check out the table below about the nutritional value of tomatoes. 

How Often Should I Feed Tomatoes To My Bearded Dragon?

The downsides of tomatoes means that you’d often be better off feeding it to your berdie once they’re grown up and have become adults – meaning above 18 months old. 

Then you can feed your bearded dragons with one slice of tomato or about a quarter (roughly around 20 grams) about once a month along with its healthy diet. 

But as mentioned, the same condition does not apply to a newly born bearded dragon. 

The diet of baby bearded dragons should be 75% insects and 25% healthy veggies. So, you should go for veggies like carrots, zucchini’s, and mustard greens rather than tomatoes. 

How To Prepare Tomatoes For Bearded Dragons?

Feeding tomatoes to bearded dragons might seem easy, but you have to take care of a few steps. 

Firstly, wash the tomato plant properly to clean it from pesticides and other chemicals. Now, peel the tomato and cut a small slice. Finally, remove the tomato seeds, if any, so your bearded dragon can eat tomatoes safely. 

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Tomatoes Of All Types?

No, bearded dragons can not eat all types of tomatoes. You should avoid feeding them with the tomato leaves and stems of tomato plants. They contain alkaloids and other toxic components. 

Apart from this, avoid feeding green tomatoes (unripe) because they contain solanine, which is also toxic for your bearded pet. 

And don’t even think about canned tomatoes because they contain preservatives and other chemicals that are definitely not good. 

Always go for natural tomatoes, whether they are cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, or grape tomatoes. We recommend regular and cherry tomatoes because grape tomatoes are high in sugar, which is not good for your beardie.

Can bearded dragons eat tomato hornworms? 

We will write a separate article about tomato hornworms, as this is a different topic. But bearded dragons can eat tomato hornworms. Though ensure you stay away from feeding wild tomato hornworms. They feed on the solanine in the tomato plant which is very toxic for bearded dragons. 

Final Thoughts

All in all bearded dragons can safely eat tomatoes as long as they are prepared properly and given only one time a month to adult dragons. 

Remember that tomatoes can have more harmful effects than their benefits, so they should therefore never be a staple of their diet. 

Whenever you can it’s also always better to go for organic tomatoes and feed a ripe, raw one (never feed unripe tomatoes) as a little salad topper for your beardie. Remember to wash, peel, and remove seeds before feeding them as well.

Do all this, keep the frequency on the lower end, and you should be able to add tomatoes into your beardie’s diet as an occasional treat. 

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 oranges?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat parsley?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat blackberries?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat pumpkin?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat pineapple?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat cantaloupe?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat green beans?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat cherries?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat asparagus?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat mango?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat cauliflower?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat avocado?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat brussel-sprouts?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat collard-greens?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat wax-worms?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat dandelions?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat nightcrawlers?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat earthworms?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat eggs?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat cicadas?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat basil?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat peaches?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat grasshoppers?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat sweet potato?
• Can Bearded Dragons eat hornworms?