What To Feed a Bearded Dragon
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Bearded dragons eat both fruits and vegetables as well as insects, which makes them omnivorous. When feeding a bearded dragon you need to make sure that you can provide both a feeder insect as well as fruits and vegetables. One without the other, means an unhealthy lizard.
Age should always be taken into consideration when feeding a bearded dragon. Baby and juvenile beardies need to have more proteins in the diet to supplement for growing bones and tissues, but they should still be provided with veggies. An adult bearded dragon diet should consist of mostly fruits and veggies.
Baby bearded dragons should be given as many feeder insects as he will eat within 15 minutes, all uneaten insects should be removed. This should be done every other day. But, you're not getting away with just feeder insects when raising a bearded dragon. You should still provide him with fruits and vegetables DAILY, even if he doesn't eat them. Having the vegetation in the tank with him, will get him used to seeing it, so when he is older he will be more likely to eat the veggies on his own.
As for adults, they can be given feeder insects once or twice a week, and again, never leave uneaten insects in the tank. So, after about fifteen minutes, remove the uneaten insects. As for fresh fruits and vegetables, provide them daily.
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Bearded Dragon- Feeder Insects
Now, at this point I'm sure you're still trying to figure out what to feed bearded dragons. Well, here we go...
FEEDER INSECTS: As for feeder insects, the rule of thumb for all reptiles is to not feed anything larger than the width between the eyes. So, you need to appropriately size insects for the age and size of your bearded dragon. Some insects that are good staples include:
- Crickets
- Mealworms
- Roaches
- Superworms (can only be fed to adult bearded dragons, due to their hard exoskeletons)
- Silkworms
Fruits
Fruits that are appropriate for bearded dragons include:
- Strawberries
- Apricots
- Mango
- Melon
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Peaches
- Cantelope
- Apples
- Pears
- Grapes
Vegetables
As for vegetables that you can give your bearded dragon, you can feed it just about anything that you eat yourself.
Vegetables that you can feed your bearded dragon include:
- Romaine Lettuce
- Kale
- Collard greens
- Chicory
- Cucumber
- Carrots
- Squash
- Zucchini
- Spinach (occasionally)
- Peas
- Green beans
- Broccoli
- Dandelion greens
- Cabbage
- Other thawed- frozen vegetables
Fruits and Veggies to Avoid
- Iceburg lettuce, as it is nothing more than a filler with absolutely no nutritional value
- Tomatoes
- Lemons
- Oranges
- Other acidic fruits and vegetables
Alot of times I got to the grocery store and purchase the pre-mixed bags of vegetables. Pre-mixed salad mixes are a great vegetable staple, and they're quick and easy to have on hand.
Water
Water can be given in the form of a water bowl kept in the aquarium, baths, or a spray. It is not really recommended to spray the bearded dragon as it can raise the humidity levels in the tank.
A breeder once told me that she doesn't provide water because all the water they need can be gained from eating fruits and vegetables that tend to hold water, such as squash and zucchini. Using this method, you should let you bearded dragon have a bath at least once or twice a week. Babies require baths more often that adults.
When I say "bath," I do not mean soap and water, lather, rinse, and repeat. What I mean by 'bath' is more of just a soak with warm water in a large tupperware, sink, or bathtub, depending on the size of the beardy, and letting it hang out for a little while in the water.
Reptile Vitamins
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Supplements
ALWAYS add supplements to your bearded dragon's diet. Dust the feeder insects with calcium at least three times a week, and a vitamin/mineral dust at least twice a week. Supplement at least once a week a calcium PLUS d3 powder.
You can, also, sprinkle the vitamin or calcium powder over the veggies. OR, Fluker's has a vitamin spray that you can purse to spray on top of the veggies in order in ensure that you bearded dragon is getting his proper nutrition.
Without calcium and vitamins, your bearded dragon can end up getting metabolic bone disease, or suffer other illnesses.
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Hi Whitney
I am curious about the supplements for my dragon, she is about three years old now. I feed her mostly greens and veggies with collard greens and squash being the staple and then mixing other fruits and veggies with them for her salads daily. I still get confused to this day on wether or not I am using the right supplement. I have by T-Rex the Bearded Dragon Calcium Plus. It says it is a vitamin/mineral supplement. So will this be fine to give her about three times a week on her salads or mealworms, or do I need to purchase another supplement? Thank you for all your help.
Hey I might get a bd is there anything I can feed it daily?
mine eats scrambled eggs thats ok right
me and my partner have 2 bd's called isis and nibbler which i was told they was both female but i was told i do need to get them both checked again when they get older ive had them from 4wks they are now 8mths old and recently nibbler was nipping isis on its head at first we thought it was down to showing who was the dominant one but then after a few days when the person we brought them from came round to check the sex of them both nibbler tried mating with isis so but we stopped them and assumed that, nibbler was not female but was actually a male but over the past couple of days isis has been nipping and has tried mating. so as you can tell its kinda confusing as we have no idea whats goin on does anyone have any ideas??
some of the information on here, im just started to keep bd's and ive got two 10 week old babies and 2 two year old ones, ive asked everyone about them, one being the north east breeder of the year, you need to be careful about what you feed them and you also shouldnt feed them rocket lettus. good site
To. lizzard man 98, I wounld not go smaller then a 2gal. tank just so it still has room to run and move as it fell's... But you will have to move up the size as they grow.
U cannot give a bearded dragon broccoli its bad for them and can make them sick
I just got a bd that's about 4 months old, how small should I cut his veggies n fruit?
I have a 1 month year old bearded dragon that is 4 in. long and is a female and her name is Athena.She eats 6 crickets a day and she HATES to be held she always jumps out of my hands and lands on the floor and runs.
if your beardie is not eating veg very much - just offer them alot of green leafy veg - kale, rocket, watercress, brocoli tops etc - and whoever asked about specalised calcium sand, yes that is the best substrate to use - it allows them to express natural behaviour as they would in their australia habitat, normal play sand should never be used as this causes gut impaction as they cannot digest this - so, always read the label! :)
i have a BD that is 6 months old, hes 1 foot long and he dosent eat he's vegies what should i do?
Just got my bdragon and he doesn't breath fire lmao jp I love these animals
I want to get a Bd and this site helped me. Thank you...Ima name my Bd Leo.
You should already be offering a variety of foods, so skip the lettuce (which hopefully is NOT iceburg), and offer more of the other things.
Im running low on lettus and mealworms. What should i feed her?
They're really magnificent animals.Love them.
i am a 13 year old girl and i got a 7 month old bearded dragon today! i am soo ecited his name is Taz..and i got alot of information off here...so thank you to whoever made this site!
I am 11 years old and got a bearded dragon!!! I am soo excited for it. I read this all and even took notes :DD
My queston is that my bearded dragon seems lonely. He had two other friends in his tank at the pet shop. But now that hes at home, he seems soo sad.
I feel bad for him and my mom won't buy the other two dragons that he was friends with.
Can yu tell me what to do to make him happier?
Occasionally, but not all the time.
i have a beardie, and i just got him.. i just wanna make sure, is it ok if the eat bananas? cuz i alreayd fead him one thinking he eats all types, and its not in that list up there so..
I saw on here in one of the comments not to use cal sand. Why would that be. When I got my bd pet smart told me thats the best thing to use cause it wont hurt him if he eats it or gets it in his mouth.
im really confused i see on youtube people saying dont feed them lettuce but i feed my beardie romaine is that allright because im really really confused
i have 2 bds, they/ are bout 8 months old,recently 1 of my dragons has went off her food she ate sum the day before but now seems like she always go for shaded aerea of tank,any ideas?
y bearded dragon does not eat a flipping thing
i have a bd he is bout a year a half now he ahve been great now but i use to have 2 wen dey wan lil but he kill her do i wanna know y he did dat 4 kan yall help m3?
Carrots once in a while, not daily. As for heating at night, it just depends on what your temps are without heating.
should i use any source of heat in the night and how much nutrobal calcium stuff should i put on my beardies food?
is it bad to feed carrots every day or should i do it occasionally ?
Hi i have a beardie and he is about 1year old.for the last 2 days he has not been eating anything his face looks droopy and and his ears are turning orange. Im really scared that something is seriously wrong?What can be the problem
iceburg lettuce is not recommended, as it is nothing but water and does not contain any nutritional value. Romaine is one step up, but there are other greens that contain more nutrients. It's not lettuce, as a whole, it all depends on what type.
Everywhere i have looked for info says that all lettuce is bad for bearded dragons it gives them diharea. This is the only site that says that you can feed them lettuce.
I have a beardy for about a year and he has a grayish spot on his back he eats plenty veggies and insects I have three boys and they catch all types insects lizards and put them in his aquarium and he eats them as well he has uv light and heat lamp plus sunlight wat could make the spot on his back
I have a bearded and i do not use a uvb bulb.he has been vet checked and past with flying colors.I was told just to supplement the sun with vitamin d3 and give him rays three times a week.
that alone seems to do the job Agiesha is healthy alert and active.
I was wondering if anyine can help?
my bearded is three months old he eats his insects with
no problems whats so ever when give him his veggies and fruits in his tank he does not eat them but,
when i hand feed him he,s a glut he seems to only eat moving targets,
is he just lazy and spoiled or is there something wrong with his eye sight.
can some one please help me?
I have a bearded dragon who had eggs the other day and now she is acting like she's about to die. Please help!
thank you for this info it is very helpfull for me. i once had two bearded dragons but they died could not under stand why know i under stand there food more better. i have bought two more latley and i will know give them a better diet now i know what to give them so thank you very much who ever made this
I just got my bd yesterday and I already fell in love with it but I gave it to big of a mealworm and I thought he was impacted I was so scsred so I gave him baby food and apple souce for diegestion. Thank youu who ever mad this site.
some one gave me a BD they couldnt keep it any more does it always smell so awfull when the poop i almost threw up when i walked into my house today i couldnt beleive it he hasnt have any meal worms or crickets for awhile and i am feeding them to him now could that be why thanks
i just got a 8 month bd yesterday and was wondering how many mealworms, crikets, and veggies he should eat a day...:) thanks
Hello. I have had my BD for about 8 months now and for some reason he doesnt want to move around much. I make sure he has enough to eat which he doesnt eat much and its pertty warm in his tank, but all he seems to want to do is just lay on his log. should i be worried?
i have a 2 year old beardy now and he has always been a good eater, i was hopin someone mite be able to tell me when is a gud time to move on to pinks???
My adult bearded dragon has not been eating for the last 4 days.PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!
I have a beardie called fred. I am looking after him as my brother(who owns him) has gone travelling. My brother set up all the cage before he left and the heat lamp etc. He has a rock cave to sleep in and a log cave thing to sleep in on the other side of the cage then a large log that stretches across the whole length of the cage. His lights are on a timer go off at 8 then come on 12 hours later. we use sand as a substrate and he has a heat mat under the cage not inside it as it is right under where he often lies. we feed him a couple of locusts every couple of days and he has veg in his dish every day, mainly strawberries and dark lettuce leaves and apple. we give him tomatos because it said we could in the book but it says here dont? it has never done him any harm though? sometimes he has cucumber and blueberries and after readin this page i will bring in more variety. we get him out to run around the lounge more or less every day. he likes being handled and is very docile, in fact he's really lazy. he goes under the couch and falls asleep when he is let out after a while :)
he poo's quite often maybe once a week or a bit less but i have never worried about his bowel movements.
i bath him around every other week but he hasnt had one for a couple of weeks as i have been veryyy busy. he does have a small water dish in his tank though which he sometimes likes to stand in.
we have had him since january and he seems fine but i just want to know whether i am looking after him okay?
he is about 3 i think? definately an adult though about 18 inches head to tailtip.
i dont know what temperature the cage is at each side he doesnt seem to be dehydrated or overhydrated. sometimes he sits with his mouth open?
thanks xx
Sounds like he might be constipated. Make sure he's warm enough to digest his food (110) You could also try giving him a warm bath. This worked for us. A full spectrum light is important
Thanks. We also changed his UV lighting. He seems a little more alert. But not doing well. If anyone can think of anything else we can try please feel free to let us know.
im no expert bstr but i think that might sound like what happens when u feed them to big food and their stomach ruptures there spine and paralyzes their back legs but thats just the first thing that comes to mind sorry :(
I have a BD. He isn't eating and wont move his right leg. He will fall over onto his back and wont even try to turn back over. We don't have a vet that will take care of BD's in our area. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Hi my bd is maube 6months oldish and i have had for nearly 3months i handle him almost every =day but he is still very skitish is this normal and will it last?
is it normal for a bd poop to have pieces of squash and meal worm in it or is he not digesting it properly?
ranae 8 days ago
i have a really small baby bearded dragon and i was wondering how old they have to be before they eat greens