# beardies-food



## roadkill5000 (Feb 13, 2003)

i have been reading lately about diets for beardies and in most of them it says they can eat flowers but dosnt specify what types :? ,anyway does anybody no what sort of flowers beardies can eat :?: ,would marigolds be alright as i grow them :?:


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## Nicole (Feb 13, 2003)

I may have heard that Marigolds poisonous?
I think people often plant them with their herbs to keep insects away?

Can anyone confirm or deny? I don't know for sure, just something I might have heard...


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## snakehunter (Feb 14, 2003)

My beardeds love dandelions ( those yellow daisy type flowers that pop up in your lawn (make sure you collect them from a pesticide-free area)
And also be sure that you dont accidently give them foreweed which alsoo has yellow flowers but it grows more as a minature bush, whilst dandys have a flower at the end of a long stalk from a clump of leaves at ground level
Ive also heard that they will eat rose petals


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## snakehunter (Feb 14, 2003)

should have said fireweed not foreweed


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## africancichlidau (Feb 14, 2003)

Yup Dandelions are safe and beardies love 'em! A word of warning though, be very careful what you use because some flowers are highly toxic to them, Oxalis is an example of the poisonous varieties. Perhaps Stretch can help you with this one, she knows heaps about beardies. Come to think of it I think her husband has one too.


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## Pinkie (Feb 14, 2003)

At dragontank.com they have a caresheet specifying which flowers/plants are good for beardies and which are not. Probably a good idea to check it out!


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## roadkill5000 (Feb 14, 2003)

ok thanks for the help guys and stretch i await your input on this subject :wink: 
could i pick up some dandelions from a nursery or something :?: 
the thing with marigolds is i heard that humans and other animals could eat them and i have alot of them.


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## dan_lizard (Feb 14, 2003)

I think Nicole may be right about Marigold's. I will have a search on the internet and see what I find out for you.

I found that my beardy loved spinach! And my Central Netted goes absolutely crazy over lettuce. He launches himself at it before I've even put it into the Viv.... Crazy bugger!


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## dan_lizard (Feb 14, 2003)

Some quick ideas from Melissa Kaplin's site for you...

"Plant matter includes a variety of shredded or torn vegetables and fruits such as green beans, orange-fleshed squash, carrots, escarole, parsley, mustard, dandelion and collard greens, raspberries, mango, and cantaloupe."

I'll keep looking for you.


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## dan_lizard (Feb 14, 2003)

Harmful plants... (From Melissa Kaplin site as well)

"BOUGAINVILLEA glabra 1.

CAPSICUM spp. Peppers, Sweet Peppers, Bell Peppers. Leaves contain solamin and atropine.

CHRYSANTHEMUM. These are the plants from which the pesticide pyrethrin is extracted.

CRASSULA ARGENTEA Jade Plant. Mildly toxic; dermatitis from sap1.

JADE PLANT Crassula argentea. Mildly toxic; dermatitis from sap1.

RUBBER PLANT Ficus elastica. Dermatitis from sap1.

FICUS ELASTICA Rubber plant. Dermatitis from sap1."


I wonder what else is out there...... :?


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## dan_lizard (Feb 14, 2003)

ok, I found something on Marigold's.....

"MARSH MARIGOLD (Caltha palustris); entire plant, gastrointestinal tract affected by the toxin protoanemonin; plant also causes dermatitis."

Now this is an American site, so we may not have this particular version, but I don't think I would risk the chance.


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## roadkill5000 (Feb 14, 2003)

hi dan thanks for the info my guys love there lettuce aswell as grapes,mangoe and tomatoe but i read that flower pettles should be included in there diet.


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## dan_lizard (Feb 14, 2003)

No prob buddy...

Have a look at http://www.anapsid.org/resources/edible.html

There is a list there of edible plants for herps. As I said before, it is an American site, but there should be a lot on there that we also have here.

The main thing you need to think about is pesticides. Be very careful of them when buying plants for food....


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## roadkill5000 (Feb 14, 2003)

thanks again dan i have a some of those flowers and plants in my garden


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## africancichlidau (Feb 14, 2003)

As Dan said garden chemicals in any form are a big no no so if your flowers etc have been treated with any pesticides or garden chemicals, weedkiller etc DO NOT feed 'em to ya beardies!


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## roadkill5000 (Feb 14, 2003)

i never use pesticides as there are alot of beutiful native animals around and do not want to hurt them.


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## africancichlidau (Feb 14, 2003)

Good on you rk, same here buddy


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## hey_im_sam (Feb 14, 2003)

might be a bit late to be useful, so sorry! but i work at a nursery, and marigold's are definately poisonous! i'm not 100% sure of the toxin or symptoms, and though our marigolds aren't exactly the same as the 'marsh marigolds' listed there, what that says sounds right.

be careful about any plant you're not sure of, a lot of common species are poisonous... foxgolves for instance have a nasty habit of causing heart palpitations, and can get pretty severe..


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## roadkill5000 (Feb 14, 2003)

any info is usefull sam and if im not sure of a plant i guess your the one to ask :wink: 
thankyou everyone for you info 8)


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## stretch (Feb 16, 2003)

Sorry I am late on this subject!!! Most of what I write will already have been covered!

Dandelions are eaten all the time by a variety of lizards, they love em! Specifically the flowers and leaves 

Marigolds should be avoided at all costs. 

Keep the plants toxin free! 

You can use natural products if you are wanting to grow your own dandelions, but always check the labels. Even natural products can end up being harmful.

Do be careful with lettuce. Some beardies get rather runny poops and can get dehydrated.

Give hibiscus a go too!


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## roadkill5000 (Feb 16, 2003)

ok thanks stretch


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## Reptilegirl (Apr 22, 2005)

Somewhere in this post it said something about jade plants being mildly toxic... is that true???
Take care. Have fun.
Megan.


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## beknluke (Apr 22, 2005)

Check out the following website - it's INVALUABLE

: www.beautifuldragons.com


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## Jenny (Apr 27, 2005)

Mine all hate dandelions but love peas. Come spring and summer, I plan to try them on edible flowers such as nasturtiums, basil flowers, chrysanthemums, fuchsias and chives, all available from my garden.

Someone else, a couple of weeks ago, suggested sprouting sunflower seeds in tubs. I liked the idea and have them sprouted in empty fuzzy tubs and they should be ready to try by the weekend. I have sprouted them in sphagnum moss and plan to anchor the tubs into the substrate and see what happened. I thought it was a smart idea because they shouldn?t wilt the way chopped vegs do but should last until they?ve been cropped to ground level when they can just be replaced. If they like it, I?m going to try other sprouting seed like alfalfa, onion and mustard and maybe some birdseed.


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## Pyror (Apr 27, 2005)

Nobody here has yet mentioned Hibiscus flowers. All of my dragons love 'em!

As a side note, there is a tree hanging over the fence, from the next door neighbours' yard that is absolutely loaded with lilly pilly fruit. These, i have also been feeding to my dragons, as well as my blue tongues and shingle backs. Being very high in vitamin C, they keep their immune system pumped.


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## longtom (Apr 27, 2005)

mine like sweet corn the frozen stuff for people pig out on it seem to go for yellow


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## Bouncer (Apr 28, 2005)

Yes, they can have rose petals too.


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## Hickson (Apr 28, 2005)

Pyror said:


> Nobody here has yet mentioned Hibiscus flowers. All of my dragons love 'em!
> 
> As a side note, there is a tree hanging over the fence, from the next door neighbours' yard that is absolutely loaded with lilly pilly fruit. These, i have also been feeding to my dragons, as well as my blue tongues and shingle backs. Being very high in vitamin C, they keep their immune system pumped.



Stretch mentioned hibiscus in her post.

With the lillypillys, Riberry (_Syzygium leuhmanni_) and Blue Lillypilly (_S. oleosum_) both produce tasty edible berries. The commonest lillypilly that I've seen in Sydney tends to be _Acmena smithii _and while the fruit can be made into jams, it tastes rather bland as it is. But birds eat them so lizards might give them a go too. But I can certainly vouch for the tastiness of the first two!



Hix


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## instar (Apr 28, 2005)

They love pink hibiscus flower petals ! rose petals, dandelines . these are all safe.


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## longtom (Apr 28, 2005)

yeah hix you reminded be talking of berries theres a commonly groun hedge here in qlg called brazilian cherry with an edible fruit ive it growing in my lard all my shinks and beardeds love eating it has a red soft flesh they like to eat it as well


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## Hickson (Apr 28, 2005)

Longtom,

Can you find the botanical name please?

Ta



Hix


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## instar (Apr 28, 2005)

Might be Eugenia uniflora Hix, could be wrong.


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## longtom (Apr 28, 2005)

very good instar correct if you were in bris could give seeds another tree what is sub tropical i have growing they love is acerola [malpighia glabra this they say has between 20 to50 more times the vc than an orange ive recipes for humans for both these edible fruits if any one wants them


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## instar (Apr 28, 2005)

Huh! Don Burke , eat your bloody heart out! :lol:


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## longtom (Apr 28, 2005)

had you heard of the acerola?? cant grow it if you have frosts my whole yards full of exotic subtropical fruit trees used to do that before herps but the herps took over


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## Reptilegirl (Apr 28, 2005)

Does anybody knows anything about jade plants or money trees i think there scientific name is "portulacaria afra aurea.. But there are also jade plants with a scientific name of "crassula argentea" i have seen info that say they are great for beardie enclosures but reading this post it says somewhere that jade plants are toxic... so any info on the subject would be great. Cheers.
Take care. Have fun.
Megan.


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## longtom (Apr 28, 2005)

dont know if jades toxic but thres lots of native grasses nurseys sell that you can use and they can eat them as well


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## Reptilegirl (Apr 28, 2005)

yeah i plan to put grasses and other stuff in there for them to eat but i have some nice big jade plants and i've seen pics of dragons basking on them so i thought they might like them.... i guess i'll just have to keep searchin... thanx anyway longtom 
Take care, Have fun.
Megan.


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