Will Bearded Dragons Eat Fake Plants? Find Out Here…

Bearded dragons love their tank to be as close to their natural habitat as possible and adding plants is a great way to achieve this.

The question is, will bearded dragons eat fake plants? Or are they perfectly safe to add to your bearded dragon’s tank?

In this post, we will answer this very question and find out if you can safely add fake plants to your bearded dragon’s tank.

We will also look at whether fake or real plants are the best option and much more.

Let’s begin by finding out if bearded dragons will actually eat fake plants?

So will bearded dragons eat fake plants? Bearded dragons may eat fake plants on a rare occasion, although this is much more likely to be a nibble. If your bearded dragon is well-fed with fresh salad in their bowl then it’s not likely they will try to eat the fake plants in their tank. 

Read On to Learn…

Will Bearded Dragons Eat Fake Plants? (More Info)

Plants, no matter is they are real or fake make a great addition to your bearded dragon’s tank and provide both shade and additional hiding places.

Fake plants tend to be more appealing to beginners as they are low maintenance and easy to disinfect and clean.

Even though fake plants offer many benefits and make great additions to your beardies tank, many owners often feel uneasy about the prospect that their bearded dragons could possibly eat them and become sick.

Unfortunately, there is a small risk of this happening and it would be wrong to say this is impossible and can’t happen, however, the risk does remain small and most owners don’t have any problems with their bearded dragons eating fake plants.

As an owner, you will have to make a decision to either use fake plants, real plants or none at all.

If you want to use fake plants but are very about the risk of your dragon eating them then you can always add one small plants and see how your dragon reacts to it and how interested they are in the plants and take it from there.

If you are comfortable using fake plants in your bearded dragon’s tank then head over to our recommended tank decor page where we share our top fake plants for bearded dragons…

Let’s now take a look at when bearded dragons are most likely to eat fake plants…

When Are Bearded Dragons Most Likely to Eat Fake Plants?

Even though most of the time bearded dragons won’t be interested in eating fake plants, over time we have noticed that there are certain times when bearded dragons are most likely to have a nibble on fake plants inside their tank.

Ultimately, it all boils down to being hungry and beardies will sometimes resort to having a nibble on plants no matter if they are real or fake as a last resort if they are hungry.

For this reason, it’s important to make sure you always try and stick to a good feeding schedule and offer your beardie insects at roughly the same time daily.

This will stop them going for longer periods without food and then trying to improvise to get nutrients.

A good, well-balanced diet is also important as you don’t want your bearded dragon to feel like they are missing out on vital nutrients after they’ve eaten and then start looking elsewhere for food.

This leads us to the final point, which is to always have a salad bowl full of fresh greens that are rich in calcium.

We recommend greens such as turnip greens and you can check out our guide that shares exactly how often to offer your beardie turnip greens and how to prepare them here…

Having a bowl full of fresh greens provides your dragon with a food option at all times and highly reduces the chances of them being interested in nibbling on plants.

Do All Bearded Dragons Eat Fake Plants?

Not all bearded dragons will eat fake plants and for the most part, they don’t even pay any attention to them as a food source.

If this was the case, then they wouldn’t be sold by large companies all over the world if every beardie was eating them.

Most bearded dragons aren’t interested in fake plants as food and if you stick to a good feeding schedule and always offer fresh greens in the tank then the risk is even less.

With this being said, there is still a risk and you should always be vigilant if you want to add fake plants to your beardies tank.

What Happens If My Bearded Dragon Eats a Fake Plant?

What will happen if your bearded dragons eat a fake plant will largely depend on what the plant is made of and how much of it they eat.

One thing we always recommend is to jot down the materials of all fake plants and accessories in your beardies tank so that if they ever ingest any of them you can tell your vet exactly what material it is.

As with any medical matter, it’s always better to seek the advice of a vet and that’s exactly we would recommend here.

It can be tempting to see how your bearded dragon reacts and if they seem in pain but it’s important to remember a safety-first approach here.

The bottom line is, always get the advice of the vet sooner rather than later.

Are Real or Fake Plants Better For Bearded Dragons?

Whether real or fake plants are better for your bearded dragons will largely depend on your experience as an owner.

If you are a new owner then you could be better sticking with fake plants in the beginning as they are zero maintenance and don’t require any watering.

You will also need to have some level of knowledge to understand what real/live plants are safe for beardies.

With this being said, even if you are new to owning beardies, you can have real plants in the tank as long as you are willing to maintain them.

If you are willing to maintain the real plants then this is probably a better option but you can certainly add fake plants too if that suits you better.

What Real Plants Can Bearded Dragons Have In Their Tank?

If you are considering having real plants in your bearded dragon’s tank as opposed to fake ones then it’s important to know which plants are both safe and make a good choice for the tank.

Here is a list of great safe plants you can add to your bearded dragon’s tank…

• Oregano
• Parsley
• Basil
• Dwarf Jade
• Aloe Vera
• Echeveria
• Haworthia
• Tillandsia Lonantha

Out of this list, we recommend the following 3 plants the most as they are fairly easy to maintain, look great in the tank and beardies generally love them.

1. Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is a popular choice of plant in terrariums for beardie owners. It’s easy to grow and it usually does well in terrariums.

It’s actually safe to eat for bearded dragons, although you don’t want them to eat too much as it can cause stomach upsets.

Aloe vera looks great in tanks and gives a real authentic feel.

2. Echeveria

Echeveria both looks great and is safe to have in their beardie tank.

It’s best to position this succulent on the cool side on the tank as they don’t always to very well in extreme heat even though they originate from the Americas.

One of the reasons why we love echeveria as an option is because there are so many different variants and they offer some beautiful colours and leaf variations.

3. Haworthia

Haworthia makes great terrarium plants for bearded dragons for many reasons. One of which is their small size which means they don’t take up valuable real estate inside the tank.

There are many varieties of Haworthia and they all offer something interesting such as vibrant colours or different patterns and shapes.

Haworthia makes a wonderful choice to add to your beardies tank and is one that we both love and recommend.

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