Can Bearded Dragons Eat Slugs? [Advice]

Bearded dragons are omnivores, as they consume both meat and vegetation. If you have a bearded dragon, you may be concerned about their nutrition, but which foods are healthy and harmful for them? Can bearded dragons eat slugs? 

Yes, the beardies can eat slugs, but only the right kind. Many bearded dragon owners feed them slugs regularly or after one day without oil. Because these foods include useful nutrients for your pet bearded dragon, they provide excellent food sources for your bearded dragons. A bearded dragon cannot eat disease-carrying slugs because they are inedible to the animal.

Beardies and Slugs

Beardies are classified as omnivores. Naturally, their diet includes a variety of foods, including lush green bushes, live insects, small birds, and small animals.

Beardies should be given daily access to green plants such as salad leaves when kept in captivity. However, there are differing ideas on how frequently they must consume live prey.

In addition, a diet rich in calcium is essential for maintaining strong bones in beardies. They can eat cuttlefish, calcium-dusted leaves, or live prey provided calcium-rich food.

Although snails are mostly composed of water, the rest of their bodies are also rich in other nutrients, including proteins, lipids, vitamins, and essential minerals. Because calcium carbonate makes up practically the entire composition of their shell, this mineral might be of great use to bearded dragons.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Slugs? Is It Safe?

Slugs are non-toxic and bearded dragons may eat them. However, before you feed your pet dragon any slugs, there are a few things you need to take into consideration first.

As slugs are slippery, your pet dragon may have trouble digesting them. Moreover, slugs may carry toxic parasites and germs. For this reason, it is recommended to ensure that a clean slug free of dangerous parasites is provided.

If you desire to feed your pet dragon slugs, you must first thoroughly clean it. In addition, it is recommended that you give your pet bearded dragon slugs on occasion as a special treat, and even then, only in a moderate quantity.

Risks Involved With Feeding Slugs to Bearded Dragons

Bearded dragons shouldn’t be fed slugs since they lack nutritional value and take up space that could be utilized for insects or veggies. In addition, research has demonstrated that feeding slugs exclusively causes irreparable kidney damage.

Although bearded dragons can eat slugs, they should only do so on rare occasions and only if they are of a species with a shell.

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The Risk of Obstruction

Obstruction is yet another common/essential condition that can affect bearded dragons. Impaction happens when bearded dragons consume anything too large for them to digest safely, and as a result, it causes a clog in their digestive tract.

It is even possible for the blockage to push against the vertebral column, which can result in discomfort or a lack of feeling in the back legs (due to damage to the spinal cord). You may prevent this issue in your bearded dragon by ensuring that the snails they consume are never any larger than the distance between their eyes. Here are the most common animals that eat slugs.

How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Slugs?

Certain dietary benefits are associated with eating slugs, but feeding them to your pet dragons will not give them additional advantages. However, it has a significantly lower nutritional content compared to other food products.

To avoid overfeeding your bearded dragon, feed slugs every other day. This eliminates any digestive difficulties your pet dragon may have. It is recommended to offer snails only on occasion.

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Molted Slugs?

Yes, bearded dragons eat molted snails.  Slug skin doesn’t break from the outer layer; thus, it seems whole after separation. Bearded dragons consume slugs smaller than their head size. Due to their wet skin, slugs reside in moist areas, such as marshes.

Can Juvenile Bearded Dragons Eat Slugs?

Bearded dragons eat various kinds of foods in their diet. It is necessary to give them meals consisting of insects to fulfill their nutritional requirements. Foods with high nutritional content include fruit flies, wax worms, and tiny bugs.

Due to their high water content, slugs are not good food for juvenile bearded dragons. In addition, bearded dragons can’t get the proper nutrients from slugs, so feeding them won’t help them grow. The high water content might potentially cause a variety of gastric problems. As a result, slugs should not be fed to bearded dragons until they reach adulthood. 

Feeding slugs to a juvenile dragon may promote impaction. Stomachache, nausea, and throwing up are the symptoms. Avoid feeding them snails if you don’t want your baby beardie to become sick.

Do Water Dragons Eat Snails?

Water dragons eat shellfish and frogs. Shellfish, such as mussels, snails, and crustaceans, including fresh crabmeat and shrimp, can be fed to water dragons to simulate the food they would eat in the wild.

What Live Insects Can You Feed a Bearded Dragon?

Bearded dragons can consume a wide range of live insects, one of their primary sources of nutrition. Crickets, mealworms, superworms, and waxworms are among the most common types. However, bearded dragons shouldn’t be fed only live insects.

A healthy diet contains live, frozen, and fresh veggies. It is essential to pick live insects of a suitable size to provide nutrition for your bearded dragon when shopping for them. If the prey is too big, the animal could choke on it, and if it is too small, it could be swallowed whole and cause digestive problems.