How to Feed Bearded Dragons Romaine Lettuce

Despite its intriguing folklore-inspired name, bearded dragons enjoy a diet rich in leafy greens--not unsuspecting hunters searching for dragon-protected treasure. Romaine lettuce adds a substantial source of vitamins A, K and C to your pet reptile's omnivorous diet. Bearded dragons also enjoy dining on fresh fruit, flower petals, leaves, insects, desert rodents and small lizards. If you're keeping a bearded dragon as a pet, romaine lettuce is one of the easiest and readily available nutritious foods to prepare for the reptile.

Things You'll Need

  • Romaine lettuce
  • Cutting board
  • Knife
  • Bowl
  • Sink
  • Towels
  • Reptile feeding bowl
  • Plastic bag
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Instructions

    • 1

      Select fresh, crisp heads of romaine lettuce from the grocery store or farmer's market. Look for green leaves, free of slimy, dark, rotting patches or dry brown spots.

    • 2

      Peel off the outer leaves of the head. Cut the thick section of stem from the base of the lettuce, allowing the leaves to break apart from the head.

    • 3

      Fill a large bowl or the sink basin with room-temperature water. Swish the romaine lettuce leaves in the water using your hands. Rub away any bits of soil, sand or insects from the lettuce.

    • 4

      Lay the lettuce leaves on a towel. Pat the tops of the leaves with a dry towel to remove excess moisture. Turn the romaine lettuce leaves over and pat the backsides until dry.

    • 5

      Chop two or three romaine lettuce leaves into 1-inch size pieces. Place the lettuce in the reptile's feed bowl--ensure greens constitute 85 percent of the pet's diet. Bearded dragons cannot overeat romaine lettuce. Give them as much as they can finish in one eating session.

    • 6

      Supplement greens and fresh produce with 15 percent protein--such as mealworms, crickets, superworms or roaches--twice per week, according to the Long Island Herpetological Society.

    • 7

      Give the bearded dragon romaine lettuce in the morning. Allow the pet to bask under his heat lamp after mealtime for at least two hours to aid in digestion.