Can Bearded Dragons Eat Bell Peppers?

Below is the nutrition profile for green bell peppers. Most bell peppers have the same nutritional information, except red peppers have significantly more vitamin A, but we'll discuss this in more detail.

Areas of Interest

Below are the main areas of interest with bell peppers.

Vitamin A

Green and yellow bell peppers both have a safe amount of vitamin A (200-370 IU). Red peppers, on the other hand, have a huge amount of vitamin A - 3,131 IU. This should not be a concern unless you're giving your beardie vitamin A supplements containing retinoids.

Most reptile supplements use beta-carotene, which is the natural form of vitamin A found in foods like bell peppers. So if you're using a reptile supplement, the chances are you're fine as any unneeded beta-carotene will be passed in urine unabsorbed.

Supplements for people, on the other hand, commonly use retinoids which is a synthetic vitamin A. Retinoids must be absorbed by the body and cannot be passed in urine. This can lead to vitamin A toxicity if foods high in vitamin A are consumed as it forced the body to absorb a toxic level of vitamin A. If you're using non-reptile supplements containing retinoids (powders, liquids, or sprays) you will want to avoid red bell peppers as they contain too much natural vitamin A.

High Oxalates

Oxalates are chemicals in plants that remove calcium and prevent it from being absorbed. Frequently serving bearded dragons food high in oxalates can remove a significant amount of calcium from their diet. 100g of bell peppers contain over 100mg of oxalates which is considered very high. To reduce the negative effect of oxalates in bell peppers you should limit the portion of pepper you feed to your beardie to 10g of pepper.

Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio

Green and yellow bell peppers contain twice as much phosphorus as calcium, whereas red bell peppers contain 3x more phosphorus than calcium. This is not ideal as phosphorus blocks calcium absorption. A simple trick is to assume each mg of phosphorus will block one mg of calcium from being absorbed. This means you will need to feed your beardie foods rich in calcium alongside bell peppers to make sure they receive enough calcium.

Bell peppers are easy to prepare and feed to bearded dragons. Due to their high phosphorus and oxalate content bell peppers should be fed to beardies no more than once or twice per month. You should also feed bell peppers with other foods which are high in calcium to prevent any mineral imbalances.

Bell Pepper Preparation

Remove the top and all seeds from the pepper. Cut the pepper into rings. On a medium-sized pepper each ring is roughly 10g of bell pepper. Due to the high level of oxalates in bell peppers you should only feed your beardie 10g, or one ring.

Cut the ring into smaller strips and make sure each strip is no longer than the distance between your bearded dragon's eyes. Mix the peppers with other foods (ideally high in calcium) and serve them to your beardie at room temperature.