Eggs are certainly not one of the first things your mind will conjure as a typical food for bearded dragons to have in their diet. Usually, you’ll see a wide array of vegetables, the occasional fruit, and most importantly, insects as the staples for any healthy bearded dragon diet. In all honesty, they just need a variety of natural foods that are high in vitamins and minerals to promote health and wellness.
Eggs can actually be a fairly interesting addition to their routine in order to spice it up a bit and give them something a little different. Beardies get accustomed to the same old insects and veggies, which means the occasional egg much like fruit can be a fun treat for them. But do they have any benefits besides shaking their normal diet up?
Do Beardies Enjoy Eggs?
That is largely dependent on your individual beardie. You might find that some bearded dragons enjoy eggs, while others don’t really care for them. If you want to test it out, it is recommended to boil or scramble it plain without any condiments as they can’t digest any dairy.
Give them a few little pieces to try, but never a whole egg. A half or less of a chicken egg is plenty, especially if they’ve never tried them before. If you’re using a small egg, like one from a quail, they can enjoy the whole thing if they end up liking it.
Your dragon may already be enjoying bits of an egg without realizing it as most calcium supplements are made up entirely of powdered eggshells. However, it isn’t recommended for you to give them eggshells yourself as they can really tear up or get stuck in their throats if you’re not careful. It is also important to consider that younger beardies need more protein than older ones so they shouldn’t be eaten frequently.
If you’re looking for a good powdered calcium supplement we recommend is RepCal Calcium with D3 .Made from 100% natural ingredients and makes it easy to dust on your beardie’s food.
Are They Good For Them?
Eggs are packed with protein and are rich with essential vitamins and minerals such as:
- Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, and K
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Zinc
- Selenium
- Folate
Nutritional Chart Found at Egg Farmers of Alberta
The ones most important to your beardie’s health and well-being are Vitamin A, C, K, Calcium, and Magnesium. They hold a greater density of nutrition for bearded dragons than they do for humans so they can actually have a bigger impact on them. The calcium level in eggs is especially beneficial as beardies need a large amount of it to keep them going.
What detracts from these benefits though is how high eggs are in fat and protein. They really don’t need too much protein in their adulthood and they already get quite a bit from the insects that they ingest. They need a higher volume of vegetables than live food as an abundance of protein can have detrimental effects on their health.
Beardies can gain weight easily if they aren’t fed a proper diet. Too much protein can lead to weight gain, which can lead to issues with their liver. They may also get accustomed to having protein-rich foods and sugars that they become picky and unwilling to eat their normal greens and veggies that have one of the biggest impacts on their health.
Eggs can be a fun treat, but they really aren’t recommended to be a frequent addition to your beardie’s diet. Most bearded dragons don’t even eat eggs so if you’re going to give them to your pet you should only do so rarely.
Anything Else?
If your bearded dragon is struggling with getting enough calcium, you may really want to look into getting them a proper dusting powder made from crushed eggshells. Not only will a lack of calcium put their bones at risk, but it can also cause them to start nibbling on their substrate. Loose substrates aren’t a great idea for your little one anyway, but if they’ve started to eat it they are at risk of having it stick around in their digestive tract.
A powdered calcium supplement we recommend is RepCal Calcium with D3 as it is an ultrafine powdered supplement that is made from 100% natural ingredients and makes it easy to dust on your beardie’s food.
Giving them more calcium can help to avoid that, and eggshell powders are a good way to do it. Other than that, eggs don’t really have much of an impact on a beardie’s diet so you shouldn’t go out of your way to cook them for your pet. It may be more effort than its worth if you can get the same job done with these vegetables or insects that you already have on hand.
They can be a good treat, but might not be all they’re cracked up to be.
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