{"id":1415,"date":"2019-11-08T10:35:19","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T10:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reptilefollower.com\/?p=1415"},"modified":"2020-05-04T15:27:47","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T15:27:47","slug":"can-bearded-dragons-eat-turkey-bad-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reptilefollower.com\/can-bearded-dragons-eat-turkey-bad-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Bearded Dragons Eat Turkey? (Bad Idea?)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you are a fan of beardie’s like me, you will be keen to offer them the right food (Click here to see what foods they should eat, and what to avoid<\/a><\/strong>), but what about meats such as Turkey?…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Turkey? No, it’s not recommended. The reason is it has very little nutritional benefits for them and there are other more nutritional meats, such as insects that will better for them. Some keepers do feed it to their beardies, but mainly as an occasional treat.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know that turkey is not the best, let me explain to you exactly why turkey is not great, the exact nutritional benefits it offers, if the processed turkey is any better (hint: not much different) and other alternatives that are better suited, keep reading…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is turkey not a good idea?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Earlier I mentioned that turkey is not a good idea. But, what is it, exactly that is wrong with turkey, from a nutritional perspective?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, it has more salt and fat than a Bearded dragon should be consuming. As I said, you can probably get away with it occasionally, but it should never be considered their staple diet. Later on I will list the nutritional content of the turkey to help you understand my point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Turkey (the animal)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"what
what is a turkey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As they say, you are what you eat, but what exactly is a turkey, and how did it get that name? Let me explain…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Wikipedia<\/a> a Turkey is a big bird and it’s from the Meleagris genus. It has a distinctive wattle that hangs down, looks like a piece of excess skin, are you with me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The male is larger and has some stand-out colors. This trend of the male being more colorful has been seen in many other animals such as other species of lizards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where is it from?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These turkeys are native to the Americas. You may be wondering, if that is the case how did they spread out to Europe and other areas? Well, in the 1500s they were introduced to Europe & Asia by Spanish sellers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, what about their name? Why Turkey?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is believed that one of their routes to get into Europe was via Turkey, and for that reason, the name stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutritional Break-down of Turkeys<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You may be wondering, what does turkey actually have in it? Have a look at the table below, compiled with the help of wikipedia<\/a> (amount per 100g):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Item<\/td>Percentage<\/td><\/tr>
Fat<\/td>10%<\/td><\/tr>
Cholesterol<\/td>36%<\/td><\/tr>
Sodium<\/td>4%<\/td><\/tr>
Potassium<\/td>6%<\/td><\/tr>
Protein<\/td>58%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What meat can Bearded Dragons Eat?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know that bearded dragons should avoid turkey, what meat sources can they actually eat is the obvious next question, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They can eat quite a wide variety of meat. This is typically in the form of live insects. However, some insects are better than others, as you would assume. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n