Collard & Mustard Greens???

[YodasMomma]

Hello! Forgive my lack of veggie knowledge here, but can someone please explain what collard and mustard greens are? Is there a list of these types of veggies?? I know lettuce, spinach and kale are no-no's for salad so I am not totally sure what to feed. I have been using baby food because Yoda has never liked veggies, but I am going to try again to get him to eat fresh salad to also give him variety. What are some good daily veggies to offer? Also, how often is fruit okay to give? I don't want an unhealthy dragon. Thanks for any advice!

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Here is a site that has a color coded chart beautifuldragons.com.

 

[LizardOfOz]

Are you in the uk?
I am and I've never heard of them either but I think they are both similar to cabbage.
I have been trying to find a good list of bearded dragon veggies that applies in the uk but I haven't found one yet.

 

[destiny1998]

No they are not like cabbage. I believe rocket is what they call it in the uk.

 

[Taterbug]

Collards are spring greens in the UK and very closely related to cabbage
Rocket is Arugula which is also a good green to offer.

Winter squash is worth trying, sometimes the bright color is enticing.

Kale is ok as long as you mix it up, same is true for any of the greens though.
That list is a good start but the more variety you can offer the better.

 

[YodasMomma]

Thanks for all the feedback! I am not in the UK, I am in the United States. I guess at this point it would be better to ask what types of leafy greens are best to use as the base of the salad? I had read that spinach and kale were bad because it causes the calcium to bind to it and not be absorbed?? I visited the beautiful dragons cite and took note of certain veggies they are to have limited, but what does that mean? Once or twice a week??

 

[Taterbug]

Thanks for all the feedback! I am not in the UK, I am in the United States. I guess at this point it would be better to ask what types of leafy greens are best to use as the base of the salad? I had read that spinach and kale were bad because it causes the calcium to bind to it and not be absorbed?? I visited the beautiful dragons cite and took note of certain veggies they are to have limited, but what does that mean? Once or twice a week??

I appologize in advance for the novel - this is a keen interest of mine

Collards and turnip greens are sometimes sold as "southern greens" - I've seen packaged bags at Walmart labels that way. Most of us start with a base of a high calcium greens (the "staples" on the list given) and go from there. I get dandelion greens, bok choy, arugula, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens and/or spring mix salad depending on what is freshest.

It depends on how much planning you do and what your dragon likes to eat, for the rest. You want a diet that favors calcium over phosphorus for strong bones. I've been working on a calculator for food items to help me judge how much of what to add. I'm not sure if it will work on your computer but here is a link. https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/interactive-food-guide

I have no problem offering small amounts of "occasional" items to salads daily, depending on why they are "occasionally". It's pretty limiting otherwise. For example, carrots are poor for calcium (negative ratio and high oxalates) but a few shreddigs of carrots on top of collards would be a drop in the bucket. I use green beans, carrot and squash because they keep really well. I'll dust the salad with supplements if it's not super calcium rich on its own.

As to kale and spinach...Cruciferous veggies (chard, spinach, kale, collards, turnips, mustards, cabbage, endive, escarole, bok choy, broccoli, watercress, arugula and more) are all related and have various levels of mild toxins that can be a problem for sick animals or when fed in excess. One of these is oxalic acid - this binds to calcium and other metals and renders them unavailable. Spinach and chard are the only two that typically have little or no available calcium - the rest (including Kale) have a range depending on many growing factors. Other items (like carrots, cactus pads and star fruits) can also be quite high. That's not to say they are bad or unsafe - just that we need to be mindful of how much we feed them and what the rest of the diet is.