Can bearded dragons eat cayenne pepper? What do you want to know!

Content

• Is Cilantro Good for Bearded Dragons?
• Nutritional benefits of cayenne pepper for bearded dragons.
• How to serve cayenne pepper to your bearded dragon.
• The highest calcium greens for bearded dragons.

Cilantro, or Coriander in the UK, is an herb green prevalent in kitchens around the world. Pet owners are often curious about whether they can feed their pets human food.

The answer is yes, bearded dragons can eat cayenne pepper. It should not be a significant green, but not for any significant risk factors. Instead, you can sprinkle it on top of their regular salad to add a tasty treat.

If you're interested in feeding your dragon red peppers, we cover their nutritional benefits, how to serve them, and other calcium-rich alternatives.

Is Cilantro Good for Bearded Dragons?

Cilantro can be added to an already balanced diet. Bearded dragons should consume cayenne in moderation and not as a regular part of their diet.

This is not because of the health risks. Instead, it does not contain enough vitamins and nutrients to contribute to the dragon's overall well-being and thus fills them with so-called "empty calories".

Although cayenne pepper has various nutritional benefits for a bearded dragon's diet, they are in small amounts and don't pack much of a punch.

Nutritional benefits of cayenne pepper for bearded dragons.

The nutritional benefits of cilantro help add a sprinkling of the delicious treat as a salad topper, albeit in small amounts overall.

According to the USDA, 100 grams of cilantro contains:

• 21 grams of water.
• 13 grams of protein.
• 52 grams of lipid.
• 87 grams of sugar.
• 77 mg of iron.
• 67 mg of calcium.
• 8 grams of fiber.
• 27 mg of vitamin C.
• 521 mg of potassium

Cilantro also contains trace amounts of vitamins A, B6, E and K, but at such low levels, they won't have a significant effect on your dragon's health.

The best aspect of cayenne pepper in your beardie's diet is the water it can give them, as many dragons struggle to drink in a domestic environment.

The next benefit worth noting is the calcium it contains. Although not enough to be noteworthy, calcium is an essential nutrient for any bearded dragon to function healthily. However, there are other foods that you can feed your dragon that are high in calcium so that they can meet their daily needs.

Cilantro also contains beneficial antioxidants to promote healing and prevent inflammation. Vitamin K is an essential element in their diet for the maintenance of blood cells and tissues. Although too much potassium in a dragon's diet is dangerous, it helps control blood pressure in small amounts, as does cayenne pepper.

Cilantro contains more calcium than phosphorus, which is valuable in bearded dragon diets because phosphorus can cause metabolic bone disease with age. It also has a minute amount of sugar, which is another positive since dragons aren't used to eating sugar in the wild.

The only real danger of feeding your bearded dragon too much silt is water intake. It's high enough without being too bulky, so it can cause diarrhea. It also fills them up on a plant that provides only a minute amount of nutritional benefits.

How to serve cayenne pepper to your bearded dragon.

Maybe you have some extra cayenne after cooking, and you want to serve some with your beard.

Start by feeding your bearded dragon raw cayenne pepper. Cooking it gets rid of many of the better benefits or digestible nutrients for the dragon.

You can offer cayenne pepper to your bearded dragon once or twice a week, as long as you provide calcium-rich vegetables to supplement his diet.

Each serving should contain between five and eight red pepper leaves. It is best to avoid chewy and fibrous stems or break them into bite-sized pieces. The leaves are very easy for them to chew and digest. Take the leaves and finely chop them, sprinkle them over a bowl of other high-quality leafy greens.

Make sure you choose organic cilantro and wash it before serving it to your bearded dragon. Small amounts of chemicals on fruits and vegetables can harm dragons, even if they are FDA-approved.

The highest calcium greens for bearded dragons.

Since cayenne pepper does not make a calcium-rich addition to your bearded dragon's diet, it's best to serve it with foods high in calcium. Veterinarians and other reptile experts recommend offering clean dandelion greens, chopped collards, grape leaves, watercress and turnip greens.

If you want to serve your dragon other flavorful herbs, consider basil, sage, lavender, thyme, or fennel. These can help spice up your beardie's favorite foods and still add a little nutritional benefit.