Can Bearded Dragons Eat Salmon?

Salmon is a popular fish that is consumed by humans for its health benefits. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and protein. With the rise in popularity of bearded dragons as pets, many owners wonder whether salmon can be part of a bearded dragon’s diet. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at whether bearded dragons can eat salmon.

An Overview of Bearded Dragons’ Diets

Bearded dragons are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and meat. What they normally eat are bugs and plants that grow in Australia’s deserts and dry forests. Common staples of a bearded dragon’s diet include:

• Crickets
• Mealworms
• Dubia roaches
• Vegetables like collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, squash, bell peppers
• Some fruits like blueberries and strawberries

A balanced diet is critical for a bearded dragon’s health. Their diet should consist of 70% vegetables, 20% fruits, and 10% insects/protein.

Bearded dragons require calcium-rich foods as their bones continue growing rapidly during the first year of life. Calcium is also essential for muscle function, egg development, and enzymatic processes

Can Salmon Be Fed to Bearded Dragons?

Salmon is not part of a bearded dragon’s natural diet Generally, fish should be avoided when feeding bearded dragons There are a few reasons why salmon and fish, in general, are not recommended

Nutritional Imbalances

• Salmon is very high in phosphorus but contains little calcium This skews the optimal calcium to phosphorus ratio needed for bearded dragons. An improper ratio can lead to metabolic bone disease.

• Salmon lacks fiber and complex carbohydrates that bearded dragons get from vegetables and fruits. Fiber aids digestion.

• Salmon is high in fat, especially salmon cooked in oil or smoked salmon. Excess fat taxes the liver and can cause fatty liver disease in reptiles.

Safety Concerns

• Raw salmon may contain parasites like nematodes that can infect reptiles.

• The high protein and fat content of salmon could stress the liver and kidneys of bearded dragons long-term.

• Smoked or grilled salmon contains carcinogenic compounds from charring at high temperatures.

• Salmon bones pose an impaction risk as they are small and easily swallowed accidentally.

• Preservatives like salt used to cure smoked salmon are unhealthy.

Salmon is Not Part of Natural Diet

• Bearded dragons have not adapted to efficiently process and digest fish over thousands of years. This makes fish less bioavailable to them compared to insects.

• Essential fatty acids found in salmon are not required by bearded dragons.

• Salmon does not provide any unique nutrients that can’t be found in the diverse produce that is part of a bearded dragon’s natural diet.

Healthy Alternatives to Salmon for Bearded Dragons

While salmon itself should be avoided, there are many other excellent sources of protein and fatty acids for bearded dragons:

• Insects: Crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms, and silkworms. Gut-load with vegetables high in calcium.

• Chicken, turkey, eggs: High quality sources of protein. Scrambled eggs are an excellent treat.

• Pinkie mice: If allowed to age 1-2 weeks, pinkie mice have an improved calcium-phosphorus ratio compared to other feeder rodents. Only feed occasionally.

• Cat food: Some owners feed a small amount of high-quality grain-free cat food. This should be limited to 10% of total diet.

• Calcium-fortified pellets: Made for herbivorous lizards to provide balanced nutrition. Can mix with fresh vegetables as part of a varied diet.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cooked Salmon?

Cooked salmon should also be avoided for bearded dragons. The high fat and phosphorus levels remain. Additionally, cooked salmon has some added risks:

• Bones: Bones become brittle after cooking and fragment easily. Harder to remove bones compared to raw salmon.

• Harmful compounds: Cooking produces heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that may be carcinogenic. The higher the cooking temperature, the more these compounds form.

• Loss of nutrients: Some vitamins like B vitamins are lost when cooking fish. Bearded dragons already have trouble properly digesting and absorbing nutrients from fish. Cooking further reduces any marginal benefits.

• Oils and seasonings: Oils, butter, and salt used to cook or season salmon make it unhealthy.

Overall, cooked salmon provides no benefit over raw salmon for bearded dragons and has additional risks. Both should be avoided.

Dangers of Feeding Salmon to Bearded Dragons

Despite salmon not being recommended, some owners still wish to try feeding their bearded dragon salmon. This carries several dangers that need to be considered:

• Metabolic bone disease: Develops over months from chronic nutritional imbalances like improper calcium to phosphorus ratios. Causes bone deformation and fractures. Difficult to reverse once established.

• Constipation and impaction: Bones, scales, and fish organs can obstruct the digestive tract when not easily passed. This is life-threatening.

• Parasites: Raw fish may contain harmful parasites like nematodes, flukes, tapeworms, etc.

• Diarrhea: The high protein and fat content of salmon could irritate the digestive tract and cause loose stools or diarrhea.

• Respiratory infections: Eating foods cold, wet, and foreign to their digestive system suppresses bearded dragons’ immune system. Can make them prone to respiratory infections.

• Fatty liver disease: Excess fat taxes the liver. Over time, permanent damage and liver failure can occur. Reptiles need to eat very little fat.

• Nutritional deficiencies: Not properly digesting and absorbing nutrients from salmon can cause vitamin or mineral deficiencies.

Ideally, salmon should never be part of a bearded dragon’s diet or fed only on the rarest of occasions to avoid these dangers to health. There are many better alternatives to provide proper nutrition.

The Verdict: Should Bearded Dragons Eat Salmon?

Additionally, the safety risks such as bones, parasites, preservatives, and cooking by-products make both raw and cooked salmon a poor choice. Salmon provides no unique benefits that a bearded dragon can’t get from a diverse diet of vegetables, fruits, insects, and occasional treats like eggs.

While salmon itself should be avoided, bearded dragons can still get high-quality protein and fatty acids from feeder insects that are gut-loaded with veggies. As always, it is best to replicate their natural varied diet as much as possible. Speak to an exotic veterinarian if you have any concerns about your bearded dragon’s diet.