Arugula is a really nutritous and healthy vegetable for human but can bearded dragons eat arugula? The answer is Yes, but only if you feed them baby arugula. But what exactly is called baby arugula? It’s arugula that has been harvested young and has smaller and flavorful leaves.
You probably know that arugula has a pretty strong and intense flavor. However, the flavor of baby arugula is less intense but has still the same peppery flavor. Is it a healthy green that you can feed your beardie? That’s what we’re going to find out in this post.
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Is Baby Arugula Healthy For Bearded Dragons?
First of all we should look for the nutritional values of baby arugula. For bearded dragons it’s really important to look for the amount of calcium that a green can provide. On top of that the calcium:phosphorus ratio is a really important point that needs to be considered. Ideal is from 1:1 to 2:1.
Like many other greens and vegetables, baby arugula has a really low amount of fat and decent amount of water. The exact nutrition informations of ½ cup of baby arugula¹ are the following:
- Calories: 2.5 kcal
- Protein: 0.25 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.35g
- Fat: 0.06 g
- Ash: 0.14 g
- Fiber: 0.16 g
- Calcium: 16 mg
Feeding Recommendation
First of all you need to figure out if your beardie likes arugula or not. Since it’s bitter taste they might don’t like it . When feeding your bearded dragon with baby arugula you should mix it with other greens. We usually mix it with greens like collard greens, mustard greens, curly endive or kale.
Never mix it with lettuce that doesn’t contain any nutritional value or lots of water. You can also mix some superworms to the baby arugula and create a delicious salad for your bearded dragon.
We recommend to feed it only on an occasional basis like once a week. That’s why we don’t consider it as a staple diet food for your bearded dragon. When you serve it to your beardie make sure that you chop up the baby arugula to prevent your pet from choking. Additionally you should wash it like every other vegetable or fruit before serving it.
Further Information
We’ve listed you a few information about arugula² that you should know before buying it:
- Storage: since arugula is highly perishable you should always keep it refrigerated. If you keep it in a dry plastic bag it can last about a week. That’s why you should only buy a small amount unless you have a big bearded dragon family.
- When to buy: the availability is the highest from June to December but you can find it in stores throughout the whole year. Most of the time arugula is washed and packed in little plastic bags or boxes.
Reference¹:https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169387/nutrients
Reference²:https://www.verywellfit.com/arugula-nutrition-facts-4586353