The Master Food List For Bearded Dragons
- Bearded Dragons
Jade Messieh- 0
- 5 minutes read
What Do Bearded Dragons Eat?
Bearded dragons eat a variety of leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, insects, and supplements. Here is a master list of what you need to feed them and how often.
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens are a staple in the bearded dragon diet. Majority of their diet should be different greens that are nutritious, meaning high in calcium and fiber.
- Alfalfa
- Dandelions
- Kale
- Spinach
- Collard Greens
- Mustard Greens
Never give your bearded dragon cabbage or lettuce because those greens are low in nutritional value. Try to feed your bearded dragon greens almost every day.
Not all bearded dragons will eat their greens right away. It honestly depends on their mood. There is a chance they won’t want to eat their greens for several days. Just lay their greens in a nice feeding dish and have them available at all times.
Insects
Bearded dragons love to eat a wide variety of store-bought insects. They should never be fed wild caught insects because there is a risk of them getting parasites.
- Appropriately sized crickets
- Superworms
- Waxworms
- Locusts
- Dubia Roaches
- Mealworms
- Hornworms
The ideal feeding schedule of insects should be between 4-5 days a week. A full grown bearded dragon will eat as many insects as it wants until it is full. To avoid over feeding just give them around 15-30 large crickets or several worms at a time.
Like we mentioned earlier, how much they eat and what they eat will depend on their mood or their brumation cycle.
The insects also need to be gut-loaded. This just simply means that the insects need to be fed insect food to pack on extra nutrients for your bearded dragon. They heavily rely on the protein that comes from the insects so make sure you are feeding the insects good food too.
Vegetables
Vegetables are not a big part in a bearded dragon’s diet. They should only be fed vegetables a few times a week. A recommended amount is 2-3 times a week. Vegetables just help make the bearded dragon diet more diverse and nutrients they wouldn’t get from the greens or insects.
- Butternut squash
- Acorn squash
- Bell peppers
- Hibiscus
- Pumpkin
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Snap peas
Chop all of the vegetables up into little pieces to make it easier for your bearded dragon. Their teeth are very dull and large pieces of food will be difficult for them to munch on.
Fruits
Fruit is more like a sweet treat for bearded dragons. It is the smallest part of their diet and should only eat fruit once a week.
- Berries
- Mango
- Fig
- Dates
- Papaya
- Pineapple
All of the fruit needs to be chopped up into small bits to make digestion easier.
Supplements
Calcium supplements are an essential in a bearded dragon’s diet. Calcium supplements help prevent Metabolic Bone Disease and other illnesses. ZooMed repti-calcium is very popular and effective. Just dust it on their insects and greens three times a week.
Calcium supplements are most effective when paired with a good UVB light. The UVB light helps them digest their food and calcium.
Wrapping Up
Bearded dragons are very hardy and they are going to eat what they want when they want. They are not always going to follow a feeding schedule and they also go through brumation cycles. Keep fresh food available to them and they will be very happy and healthy.
