Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can Berdies eat timothy hay, or alfalfa hay. Just a thought.

Hi
i know they eat alfalfa sprouts .
i think hay is not a good idea ,its harder to digest i think .
more for cows
byeeee
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www.dragoncave.nl

Well, in Liz Palika's book "Your Bearded Dragon's Life" copyright 2000 both are listed on her chart on page 59 as "Safe, Nutritious Plant Foods for Beardies".

Personally, I've never tried feeding them. Seems like they'd be a little lean in the moisture department.

There is a big difference between alfalfa sprouts and alfalfa hay. The sprouts are ok as a sprinkling on top of a wholesome salad, but not as a stable. Mature alfalfa hay is better as a staple as it is high in calcium but low in phospherous which bearded dragons shouldn't get alot of. Nutritional content of Alfalfa Hay and other 'hay' can be found at the link below:

guinealynx.info/hay_chart.html

Timothy hay doesn't have as much value, it is much lower in calcium and the calcium to phosphorus ratio isn't as good (close to 1:1, should be twice as much calcium to phosphorus, such as 2:1 or greater)

These charts were taken from a cavy website (aka guinea pigs) who do have different nutritional needs than bearded dragons. For them, timothy hay is much better, as they don't need the high levels of calcium as reptiles do.

For bearded dragons, I certainly do not recommend feeding them excessive amounts of timothy or alfalfa hay pellets. These are very dry, tend to swell up when wet etc. If you want to add alfalfa hay to your dragon's diet, use fresh hay (cut from a place free if any form of insecticides, or buy it at a store where it is sold for small mammals such as guinea pigs) and add some in with your dragon's salad. Alfalfa sprouts are not as good as the mature alfalfa hay and tend to have a higher concentration of phosphorus (almost 1:2)

For more info on nutrition of sprouts, this website has it. Though more geared towards human consumption, you can see it contains a much higher level of phosphorus compared to calcium.

www.sproutnet.com/Nutrition/Analysis/alfalfa_sprouts.htm

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PHLdyPayne