The best food to feed a bearded dragon
Bearded dragons make wonderful pets. They are active during the day, and when adults are old enough to be able to roam around the house for limited periods (i.e. until they start to get cold) without any fear that they will disappear into small hiding places, they obviously need to be supervised in every moment. They also have the advantage that they are almost born meek and are happy to sit on their owner and tolerate a hug.
They are attractive and have a great personality, and they make excellent pets for people who are allergic to fur and cannot have any of the more common warm-blooded pets. In captivity with the correct brood they should live up to 10 years or even longer. The oldest I currently know is 12. To reach their life potential, they need to be fed the right foods.
I am often contacted by people who would like to have a bearded dragon and want to know if there is any alternative to feeding them live food. The answer is a very clear NO. Although many pet stores carry dry food that is supposed to be for bearded dragons, I have never heard of one actually eating this. I have tried to give it to mine, but I think they would rather starve!
The amount and type of live food they need changes as they grow from young to adulthood. When they are first born, they are almost entirely carnivorous. When they are adults they are 80% vegetarian. In all stages of their lives they must have the correct balance of vegetables / fruits and live foods.
When buying a juvenile and bringing it home from the breeder or pet store, it is important to always offer finely chopped vegetables / fruits. The general rule of thumb when feeding bearded dragons is to make sure that no food offered is larger than the space between their eyes. This applies to the size of the live food on offer, as well as the green matter. If a juvenile has been properly fed since hatching, it will be used to always have a plate of vegetables in its enclosure, which it will peck if there is nothing better to offer. Juvenile bearded dragons are often similar to human toddlers, apparently allergic to anything green! But if they are used to it, they will often keep chewing on salads and greens during their growing period. Some bearded men refuse to touch the vegetables; some (including mine!) have been known to never eat them when their owners look at them like they’re pretending to starve and offer them something more tasty. But eventually they all succumb and eat it and, when they are adults, it will be their staple diet.
If you have a minor who doesn’t touch things, don’t worry. It will be on time, and while it is disappointing to spend time cutting out foods you don’t eat, you have to persevere. It is best to try a variety of different vegetables and fruits; some bearded men like some things, others don’t. Cabbage, mixed salad greens, kale, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, grapes, apples, and carrots are all foods that can attract a beardie. Experiment with the items you eat and see what yours likes.
Bearded dragons should never be fed avocado and avoid items with high moisture content, such as iceburg lettuce, cucumber, or tomatoes, which can cause diarrhea.
These reptiles have an astonishing growth rate: they grow 4000 times their size from hatch to adulthood, and should reach full size between 12 and 18 months. To support this tremendous rate of growth, they must have large amounts of protein that can only be supplied by a main diet of live foods. When deciding if this is the pet for you, you need to consider the cost of its food. During their first year of life, their food costs as much as a cat and some dogs. There’s also the problem of getting live food, but if you don’t live near a properly stocked pet store, mail order is very efficient and you can place a regular order with most online vendors.
The staple diet of live foods is crickets. These come in two types: brown and black. Blacks are supposedly quiet, but you will still get the strange that will beep all night. Both are nutritious. Crickets, like other insects, come in various sizes called stadiums. As a cricket grows, it sheds its skin. First instar crickets are the smallest and then increase in size through several sheds until they reach adult size. Don’t feed crickets that are too big for your bearded dragon (remember the eye-space rule), but conversely, if you’re trying to offer crickets that are too small, you may not be interested in them.
All live foods must be fed with intestines; this simply means feeding them the same vegetables that you are offering your beardie. So even if you don’t like vegetables, you will get the goodness from eating the crickets.
When they grow rapidly, they should be fed live food 3 times a day until the age of about 4 months, as much as they can eat in a 10-minute session at a time. This can be reduced to 2 feedings and then 1 feedings when the beardie is a good size, around 6 to 8 months. It is difficult to give a definite age, since all bearded dragons grow at different rates. As they are such voracious eaters, crickets are recommended as they are the cheapest to buy.
Bearded dragons need a calcium supplement, every day until they are adults and then about once a week. Calcium powder is sprinkled on the food. Without additional calcium, they are likely to develop Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) which causes bone growth deformities and is often fatal. Prevention is much better than trying to cure it.
It is perfectly possible to feed crickets and sprinkle them with calcium powder without having to touch them using a Cricket Keeper. You empty the crickets from the tub in which they reach the caretaker and you put vegetables and water. Water pots are not recommended as crickets are likely to drown in it, instead you can buy Bug Gel, or just put cotton balls soaked in water. Cricket Keepers have four black tubes. Crickets climb the tubes like they like to be in the dark. When it’s time to eat, just pick up one of the tubes, sprinkle some calcium supplement down the tube, place something on top, and shake vigorously. This coats the crickets evenly with calcium powder and also slightly stuns them, making them slower and easier for the beardie to catch. You can also slow down crickets by placing them in the refrigerator for a few minutes before feeding. Most bearded ones can catch them anyway, but some have a hard time at first, so crickets that move more slowly can be beneficial.
As whiskers grow, they can turn into locusts or roaches. A roach colony can be kept at home, so you can raise your own live food and make feeding much cheaper, although not everyone wants to do this. Lobsters are much tastier for a bearded dragon and also more expensive to buy. If you start feeding them too early, you may find that you will not eat crickets again, and therefore it will be much more expensive. That is why I recommend staying with the crickets as long as possible. As adults, they will only need live food two to three times a week. Once they are fully grown, too much protein will overload your internal organs, so if you overfeed them, you will kill them with kindness.
Mealworms should not be administered to bearded dragons. They like them, but their skin is high in chitin, which is difficult to digest, and they are not as nutritious as crickets or lobsters. Morio worms are a good substitute, but I would still stick with crickets as a staple diet. Silkworms can also be fed daily, but again they are more expensive. Wax worms should only be given as a gift, as they are very rich. They love them the way we love chocolate!
Remember, feeding your bearded dragon the correct food for each stage of its life is important, but so is having your nursery set up correctly. The temperature for sunbathing should be right, as it helps them digest their food properly, and strong UVB light is necessary for them to get enough vitamins.
Properly fed and kept in the right conditions, your bearded dragon should live to a ripe old age and be your companion for many years.