Bearded dragons have been one of the three most commonly kept pet reptiles in the world for the last decade but with their recent spike in popularity, they have managed to push their way up to becoming the most commonly kept pet reptile in the world.
Due to this, we have noticed a huge spike in the number of people reaching out and asking a wide range of questions about how people should care for their bearded dragons with a surprisingly large number of people asking if bearded dragons can eat grapes or not.
Bearded dragons can eat grapes in a limited number with the vast majority of bearded dragons really enjoying grapes as a treat food option.
Although bearded dragons can eat grapes, they should only be used as a treat food as too many grapes can quickly result in negative side effects in your bearded dragon so moderation and a well balanced diet is always recommended.
There are a huge number of excellent treat food options out there though so you should easily be able to switch from grapes as your bearded dragon’s treat food to other types of fruits, vegetables, and insects when needed.
You can also just keep some bearded dragon treats on hand to use as the main treat for your pet bearded dragon and then use grapes as a rare treat food on a small number of occasions.
Are Grapes Nutritious For Bearded Dragons?
Grapes are a highly nutritious food source for bearded dragons that are an excellent source of Copper and Vitamin K while also being a good source of Vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, and E as well as Potassium and Manganese too.
There are also a number of trace vitamins and minerals in grapes too that can help your pet bearded dragon that are often overlooked with some of them being difficult to find in other food sources.
The main thing that grapes offer as far as nutritional value for your pet bearded dragon is Copper and Vitamin K though with grapes being an excellent source of both essential nutrients.
If you do plan out your bearded dragon’s full diet to try and balance the required macronutrient values yourself then grapes can be an excellent option for Copper and Vitamin K while still being solid options to supplement Vitamin B1, B2, and B6 too.
Although they are not provided in large amounts the Potassium, Manganese, and Vitamins C and E are still in sizable amount in grapes but are not a good primary source of these essential nutrients.
If your veterinarian recommends that you increase the Vitamin C in your pet bearded dragons due to a deficiency of Vitamin C then grapes are not a good option for this and a bearded dragon multivitamin can be a much better option.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Grapes?
Bearded dragons can and will eat grapes with most bearded dragons really enjoying eating grapes as a food source for treats.
The majority of adult bearded dragons will easily be able to eat a whole grape without issue but you should probably try to cut grapes up into at least two pieces for a younger bearded dragon as a small bearded dragon may struggle with whole grapes.
We have seen some people who keep bearded dragons flat out refuse to feed younger bearded dragons grapes altogether unless they are cut into quarters.
This is due to very small bearded dragons potentially having issues when swallowing grapes due to their width rather than their length too.
Thankfully, it is quick and easy to quarter a grape and you literally just have to cut it length ways and then through the middle.
This reduces but the length and the width of the grapes and can make grapes an excellent food for younger, smaller bearded dragons as well as any older bearded dragons that may have issues with their jaw or throat too.
Some people who just prefer to be extra careful with their pet bearded dragons may choose to quarter their grapes before feeding them to their beardie anyway though and there’s no problem with taking this approach if you wish.
What Are The Potential Drawbacks Of Feeding Bearded Dragons Grapes?
There are a number of potential hazards of feeding your pet bearded dragon grapes that are commonly overlooked that any bearded dragon owner should be aware of.
These drawbacks include a choking hazard, overhydration, increasing the chance of metabolic bone disease, diabetes, tooth decay, and weight gain for your pet bearded dragon but most of these are only a risk if you feed your bearded dragon too many grapes.
We have covered the choking hazard risk in the section above so we won’t touch on it again here.
Overhydration and to some extent, dehydration depending on the rest of your bearded dragon’s diet is a real threat though, especially for people new to keeping bearded dragons who may not have the experience of correctly balancing a the nutritional needs of a bearded dragon if they choose to offer whole foods rather than commercial food mixes.
Diabetes, tooth decay, and weight can potentially resulting in obesity is also a very real thread for bearded dragons too that you have to keep in mind with it being surprisingly easy to offer your bearded dragon too many grapes and other fruit based food sources resulting in these issues.
The risk of metabolic bone disease is far less of a threat to a bearded dragon with grapes in its diet then the other hazards though but it can still potentially cause problems that you need to be aware of.
Are Grapes With Seeds A Risk To Bearded Dragons?
Grape seeds do present a potential risk to your pet bearded dragon but it is not due to any potential toxins in the grape seeds though but the risk comes from impaction.
As most experienced reptile keepers will know, impaction is a real risk for bearded dragons and grape seeds can increase the chances of your bearded dragon developing problems with impaction if grape seeds are consumed.
If you do suspect that your bearded dragon is having problems with impaction due to a lack of your bearded dragon pooping, vomiting, leg trembles, and bloating or bumps around the spinal area then you should seek advice from a veterinarian as soon as possible.
You are able to book a video call with a veterinarian to have them check your bearded dragon’s health via the camera on your smartphone to help confirm if your pet bearded dragon has problems with impaction as well as offer their professional opinion on how to treat the problem.
The majority of the grapes that people have easy access to via their local store will be seedless anyway these days so this is usually not much of a problem for the majority of people.
Still, if you shop at an organic only store then the grapes from there tend to have a higher percentage of being seeded so keep this in mind and try to remove the seeds from any grapes prior to letting your bearded dragon eat them.
How Many Grapes Should You Feed Your Bearded Dragons?
Most healthy bearded dragons can eat around four grapes per week as a part of a healthy, well balanced diet with a variety of other foods throughout the week.
It is usually not recommended to give a bearded dragon more than two grapes per day though due to their sugar content and the amount of calories they take up for your bearded dragons daily intake.
We have seen a disturbing trend on social media of people recording their bearded dragon while they offer it a full tub of grapes to see how many grapes the beardie is able to eat in a set amount of time.
This can be very bad for your bearded dragon and cause it to throw up as well as potentially cause various other potential problems with your pet too so please, don’t take part in this social media trend!
Due to most bearded dragons enjoying grapes so much, some people will use this to their advantage cut up a grape to add it over the top of various other foods that they are trying to encourage their pet bearded dragon to eat.
This can be a really good strategy to encourage your bearded dragon to try new foods in addition to just feeding your bearded dragon grapes as a general treat food.
How Often Should You Feed Your Bearded Dragons Grapes?
The frequency that you should feed your pet bearded dragon grapes will depend on how many grapes you are feeding it at any given time as well as the other food in your bearded dragon’s diet.
Provided you never go over a maximum of four grapes per bearded dragon per week and no more than two grapes in a single day, your bearded dragon should be fine.
This means that you can come up with a number of different frequency options to give your bearded dragons grapes without having any problems with your pet.
You can offer one grape as a treat every other day with this often being the more common strategy as it allows you to work in other treat food options on the off days but there are also a number of other options.
You can offer your bearded dragons two grapes one day then one grape per day for the next two days until a week has gone by before giving your bearded dragon grapes again.
Some people may just randomly give their bearded dragon a grape or two on a day when they have grapes and then never feed their bearded dragon’s grapes again for months until they have them again.
There really are a number of different ways that you are able to plan out how to give your bearded dragon grapes to meet the needs of your bearded dragons feeding schedule.
Do Bearded Dragons Like To Eat Grapes?
The vast majority of bearded dragons seem to really enjoy eating grapes and they are one of the most popular fruit based treat options on the market.
Even the bearded dragons who don’t seem too keen on eating grapes will still usually eat them if they are hungry and the nutritional profile of grapes offers some solid amounts of various vitamins and minerals.
Due to so many bearded dragons enjoying eating grapes so much, you are able to use grapes as a treat food with your pet bearded dragon as a way to bond with your bearded dragon too.
Just remember to slice the grapes up into much smaller sizes so you can stick to the less than two grapes per day rule while still making the grapes last for as long as possible for your bonding activity with your bearded dragon.
If you are wanting to bond with your bearded dragon then our article on how to bond with your bearded dragon may be worth reading though.
You are also to switch up the treat food you use each day rather than just relying on feeding your bearded dragon grapes each day to make sure that you are able to stay consistent with your bonding activities while still having a treat food for your bearded dragon with other fruit based foods working very well.
Do You Have To Peel Grapes For Bearded Dragons?
In most cases, there is no need to peel grapes for your bearded dragons as there shouldn’t be any problems in your bearded dragon eating the grapes with their skins on provided you stick to only using grapes as a treat food.
If you do overfeed your pet bearded dragon grapes then there are more serious issues that can occur in your bearded dragon rather than just problems with the skin of the grapes anyway.
If you suspect that the grapes you are about to feed to your bearded dragon may have pesticides or herbicides on them then it may be worth trying to peel them or at least washing them prior to letting your bearded dragon eat them.
Keep in mind, depending on your location, the food laws in your country may not require the packaging of your grapes to state that they may have pesticides or herbicides on them.
Due to this, it is probably a good idea to at least wash the grapes in cold water prior to feeding them to your bearded dragon anyway.
If you do want to take that extra step to try and protect your bearded dragon then you can go with trying to peel the grapes but if you are going to go to those lengths we would just recommend you get some actual bearded dragon treats instead as they tend to fit better with a bearded dragons diet in captivity while also not running the risk of having pesticides on them.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Grape Leaves?
Feeding a bearded dragon grape leaves is controversial within the reptile keeping community with there being valid arguments both for and against feeding your bearded dragon grape leaves.
The problem is that many bearded dragons tend not to want to eat grape leaves anyway and they will prefer to eat the actual grapes rather than the leaves.
Still, there are a large number of people out there who keep a pet bearded dragon and feed their pet grape leaves without issues.
They do present the same risks pointed out for grapes with pesticides and herbicides though with the actual leaves of the grape give actually having a higher chance of having these potentially harmful chemicals on them.
For the most part though, the majority of people within the reptile keeping community tend to avoid feeding their pets grape leaves.
Not only are they particularly difficult to find but they pose risks due to pesticides and herbicides with many bearded dragons not liking to eat the leaves of the vine.
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Purple And Red Grapes?
In addition to the more common green grape, bearded dragons are also able to eat purple and red grapes in small amounts too.
Just remember that you have to stick to the grape limit per week of around four grapes per healthy adult bearded dragon and make sure that they are a part of a well balanced diet.
We have seen some pretty heated discussions on social media about the color of the grape that you feed to a bearded dragon but people are missing the point.
Green, purple, and red grapes are all fine for a bearded dragon to eat but moderation is key and as we have pointed out throughout the article, all colors of grapes can cause problems with a bearded dragon if they are overfed or make up a large part of your pet bearded dragons diet.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over if bearded dragons eat grapes or not to an end and we hope that we have been able to help our readers better understand that bearded dragons can eat grapes and many people who keep a pet bearded dragon feed their pet grapes without issue. As we covered earlier in the article, most bearded dragons really do enjoy the taste of eating grapes too making them an excellent treat food option for your pet bearded dragon when the grapes are only used in moderation.
