The following information was gathered with the help of the USDA Nutrient Database. Ca:P represents the ratio of calcium to phosphorus. To provide a balanced diet, the Ca:P ratio must be taken into account, as high levels of phosphorus can block calcium conversion. Most live feeders are high in phosphorus, so the best way to level the playing field is to offer veggies with high Ca:P ratios. If you continually offer foods that are have more phosphorus than calcium then you could have problems later on. This is where a good calcium supplement comes into play. The products I recommend are on the Recommended Products page. Don't forget to add a multi vitamin that isn't high in vitamin A. The ratio of vitamin A to vitamin D to vitamin E should be 100:10:1. I know of one popular "reptile multi-vitamin" that has an A to D ratio of over 600:1 instead of the recommended 100:10! So be careful when picking out your Beardie's vitamins.

Many calcium supplements and multi vitamins contain vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is essential to calcium metabolism, and is made in the Beardie's skin by contact with sufficient UVB wavelengths. Plants contain another type of vitamin D, called D2 (ergocalciferol). Vitamin D2 is not nearly as efficient (in fact it is really worthless) at metabolizing calcium, hence the need for D3. Research suggests that Beardies may not utilize much or any of the D3 they ingest (as given in a vitamin supplement), only that made by the UVB-skin interaction. Therefore, buying a calcium supplement that contains D3 is not necessary for the calcium metabolism. Products such as Solar Drops and Moon Drops are a waste for Beardies as it misleads people who think that they are making up for the lack of sun or other proper UVB access, and harms the Beardie who ultimately suffers from metabolic bone disease from inadequate calcium being metabolized. Visit our online store if you would like to purchase pure calcium carbonate powder without D3.

Oxalic acid is just as dangerous as phosphorus because it binds calcium. In other words, it removes calcium from other foods where it would otherwise be. Look in the notes column for high oxalate warnings. Goitrogens are foods which suppress thyroid function. Goitrogens can induce hypothyroidism and depress thyroidal function. Goitrogens work by interfering with the thyroidal uptake of iodine. Iodine restriction will cause the thyroid to increase in size in an effort to filter more blood to get more iodine. Please see the notes column to find out what foods contain goitrogens. When freezing green vegetables, especially the leafy greens, the thiamine (vitamin B1) will leach out. When frozen greens are fed over a long period of time and no provision is made for adding the thiamine back into the diet, a deficiency, hypothiaminosis, will occur. This causes tremors and twitches, which resemples MBD. Please see the Health Page for more info on MBD and hypothiaminosis. Just a note on vitamin C ...Vitamin C is water soluble, just like the B vitamins. This just means that the vitamins are absorbed by water and the extra is excreted in feces. In other words, you can't overdose on these vitamins like you can with vitamin A and D3. The rate at which Beardies use vitamin C is not yet known. Since vitamin C is relatively innocuous (it causes diarrhea at very high doses, such as 5000 g or more per day in humans), supplementation with vitamin C at moderate levels (about 1 mg/kcal) may help Beardies cope with stress and disease. Please note : Not all of these food items listed below are recommended to feed to your beardie. You're probably wondering why I would put items like spaghetti and tofu on this list. It's simple, if I get requests for nutrition info on food items, I'll include that info on this chart for everyone to see. But that doesn't mean that I'm recommending it as safe or a staple. Please refer to the color chart below to help you decide what is a good staple to feed on a daily basis, what should be fed on occasion or as a treat, or never fed at all. =)