Post by hoomanslave on Dec 31, 2020 0:28:05 GMT -5
There's a lot of debate over whether or not pellet foods should be provided. Are the ingredients safe? Are the pellets healthy? Will beardies even eat them? This thread will have a breakdown of the ingredients and nutrition found in the bestselling pellet brands.
The first pellet brand on the list is the Fluker's Buffet Blend bearded dragon food for adults. Is it as healthy and natural as the label claims?
The ingredients are:
Freeze Dried Mealworms, Freeze Dried Crickets, Corn, Chicken Meal, Tomato Pomace, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Meal, Poultry Fat, Soybean Oil, Fish Oil, Coconut Oil, Fructose, Calcium Carbonate, L-Lysine, Salt, Dl-Methionine, Dicalcium Phosphate, Kelp Meal, Spirulina Algae, Marigold Extract, Canthaxanthin, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Streptococcus Faecium Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Choline Chloride, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Stabilized Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate, D-Biotin, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Niacinamide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin A Acetate, Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Natural and Arti, Ficial Colors, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (Source of Vitamin K3), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Sulfate.
The main ingredients are freeze-dried crickets and mealworms. Neither of them are very nutritious when alive, and many freeze-drying methods will make them lose their nutritional value. The pellets aren't too high in fat-they have 6% minimum, while dubia roaches have 7.2%. This can be good or bad, depending on the dietary needs of each individual beardie.
Corn: provides beta carotene and other vitamins, and it's definitely one of the better grains used in pet food. However, it should only be fed raw to beardies as a treat, not as a staple in the diet. In the pellets, the corn is most likely being used as a filler-an ingredient that does not add nutrition to the food and is there for bulk or fiber.
Chicken meal: there's quite a bit of chicken meal in the pellets. Chicken meal is "the dry rendered product from a combination of clean chicken flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from whole carcasses of chicken, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails." (source: Wikipedia). Chicken meal is safe for carnivorous animals who are able to digest it, but beardies cannot digest chicken easily. Meat is not part of the diet beardie owners should be providing-beardies are insectivores, so their main protein source should be bugs.
Tomato pomace: tomato pomace is the leftovers from tomatoes processed for ketchup, soup, etc. It's the crushed up skin, seeds, and pulp from raw tomatoes. Tomatoes should only be a treat for beardies, and tomato pomace was likely used by the company because it is inexpensive.
Corn gluten meal: a corn byproduct. It's usually fed to livestock or used to make pet foods more digestible.
Fish meal: fish meal is the ground up remains of dried fish. Feeding beardies fish is controversial, and an only-fish diet can lead to vitamin deficiencies in reptiles. The people who do choose to feed their beardies fish only offer it as a treat, so it's not something a beardie should be eating in a pellet diet every day.
Poultry fat: this one is pretty gross. Poultry fat is taken from the tissue of of poultry and is basically "mystery meat"-the type of poultry used is not specified, so it could come from any kind of poultry bird. Because the exact animal is not specified, the pellet manufacturer can switch from one type of poultry to another based on which is cheaper at the time. Again, beardies should not be consuming poultry regularly, if at all.
Soybean, fish, and coconut oil: soybean oil is often used in dog food and is very questionable, I'm not sure if it's safe for beardies though. Fish oil can be a good source of vitamin A. Coconut oil is used topically for a lot of animals, and has great health benefits for other animals. However, beardies aren't very good at digesting oil. If I find more information on how it might affect them in pellet form, I'll add to this.
Fructose: a type of sugar. In humans, it can cause several health issues, including fatty liver disease, and may have similar effects on bearded dragons.
The next ingredients on the list are various chemicals, acids, meals, natural and artificial colors, vitamins, and other additives. Many of them are used to feed livestock and can be found as a reasonably healthy ingredient in dog food, while others don't have a lot of information on them available and look a bit suspicious.
However, despite the long list of ingredients, there are no real, fresh, organic veggies-which are an essential part of a beardie's diet. Fluker's claims that the pellets provide a balanced and complete diet, which has been proven to be a flat-out lie.
In conclusion, the Fluker's pellets are not healthy long-term. They contain ingredients that are unnatural, hard to digest, and do not benefit beardies in any way.
Next up will be the Zilla, Zoo Med, and Mazuri bearded dragon pellets. Once all four pellets have been investigated, they'll be ranked from nutritionally best to worst.
The first pellet brand on the list is the Fluker's Buffet Blend bearded dragon food for adults. Is it as healthy and natural as the label claims?
The ingredients are:
Freeze Dried Mealworms, Freeze Dried Crickets, Corn, Chicken Meal, Tomato Pomace, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Meal, Poultry Fat, Soybean Oil, Fish Oil, Coconut Oil, Fructose, Calcium Carbonate, L-Lysine, Salt, Dl-Methionine, Dicalcium Phosphate, Kelp Meal, Spirulina Algae, Marigold Extract, Canthaxanthin, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Streptococcus Faecium Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Choline Chloride, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Stabilized Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate, D-Biotin, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Niacinamide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin A Acetate, Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Natural and Arti, Ficial Colors, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (Source of Vitamin K3), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Sulfate.
The main ingredients are freeze-dried crickets and mealworms. Neither of them are very nutritious when alive, and many freeze-drying methods will make them lose their nutritional value. The pellets aren't too high in fat-they have 6% minimum, while dubia roaches have 7.2%. This can be good or bad, depending on the dietary needs of each individual beardie.
Corn: provides beta carotene and other vitamins, and it's definitely one of the better grains used in pet food. However, it should only be fed raw to beardies as a treat, not as a staple in the diet. In the pellets, the corn is most likely being used as a filler-an ingredient that does not add nutrition to the food and is there for bulk or fiber.
Chicken meal: there's quite a bit of chicken meal in the pellets. Chicken meal is "the dry rendered product from a combination of clean chicken flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from whole carcasses of chicken, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails." (source: Wikipedia). Chicken meal is safe for carnivorous animals who are able to digest it, but beardies cannot digest chicken easily. Meat is not part of the diet beardie owners should be providing-beardies are insectivores, so their main protein source should be bugs.
Tomato pomace: tomato pomace is the leftovers from tomatoes processed for ketchup, soup, etc. It's the crushed up skin, seeds, and pulp from raw tomatoes. Tomatoes should only be a treat for beardies, and tomato pomace was likely used by the company because it is inexpensive.
Corn gluten meal: a corn byproduct. It's usually fed to livestock or used to make pet foods more digestible.
Fish meal: fish meal is the ground up remains of dried fish. Feeding beardies fish is controversial, and an only-fish diet can lead to vitamin deficiencies in reptiles. The people who do choose to feed their beardies fish only offer it as a treat, so it's not something a beardie should be eating in a pellet diet every day.
Poultry fat: this one is pretty gross. Poultry fat is taken from the tissue of of poultry and is basically "mystery meat"-the type of poultry used is not specified, so it could come from any kind of poultry bird. Because the exact animal is not specified, the pellet manufacturer can switch from one type of poultry to another based on which is cheaper at the time. Again, beardies should not be consuming poultry regularly, if at all.
Soybean, fish, and coconut oil: soybean oil is often used in dog food and is very questionable, I'm not sure if it's safe for beardies though. Fish oil can be a good source of vitamin A. Coconut oil is used topically for a lot of animals, and has great health benefits for other animals. However, beardies aren't very good at digesting oil. If I find more information on how it might affect them in pellet form, I'll add to this.
Fructose: a type of sugar. In humans, it can cause several health issues, including fatty liver disease, and may have similar effects on bearded dragons.
The next ingredients on the list are various chemicals, acids, meals, natural and artificial colors, vitamins, and other additives. Many of them are used to feed livestock and can be found as a reasonably healthy ingredient in dog food, while others don't have a lot of information on them available and look a bit suspicious.
However, despite the long list of ingredients, there are no real, fresh, organic veggies-which are an essential part of a beardie's diet. Fluker's claims that the pellets provide a balanced and complete diet, which has been proven to be a flat-out lie.
In conclusion, the Fluker's pellets are not healthy long-term. They contain ingredients that are unnatural, hard to digest, and do not benefit beardies in any way.
Next up will be the Zilla, Zoo Med, and Mazuri bearded dragon pellets. Once all four pellets have been investigated, they'll be ranked from nutritionally best to worst.