The Process of Feeding Bearded Dragons

Lizards are becoming a very popular household pet, but feeding Bearded dragons is what gets complicated. They are very gentle and docile creatures that are perfect for people who love reptiles and are concerned about dangers associated with owning one since these species are very social creatures that are often very amusing to watch with one another as they interact.

Loving and gentle, these lizards are also often one of your best cuddling pets as they love the warmth and comfort associated with body heat. Caring for your beardie can be a difficult process as they require a warm and comforting environment to thrive and be happy in. In fact, purchasing a male and female beardies could also produce fantastic breeding results.

Feeding your beardie can be a process all in itself. A bearded dragon's diet can be extremely diverse and they often can become fussy eaters. Ensuring you are feeding your bearded dragon the necessary diet they require can involved some tricky situations for you if your stomach is a bit weak.

Feeding your lizard will most definitely require handling bugs. Bugs such as crickets, mealworms, wax worms, and also pinkies are merely a few of the bugs essential for a balanced and healthy diet. The size of the bugs you offer your exotic lizard is crucial.

Any bug you feed them must be smaller than their mouth. Giving your beardies bugs that are too large in size can cause severe health issues with their digestive tract. As your dragon grows, their mouth will increase in size which allows you the ability to feed them larger insects less often.

Baby and juvenile beardies must feed at least 2 to 3 times per day to offer the maximum amount of growth and nutrients required for a healthy pet lizard. A mixture of insects and greens for them to nibble on is an ideal feeding situation.

Feeding bearded dragons that are young will require baby crickets which could be difficult to locate. Unfortunately, if you have a cage full of baby bearded dragons that you are not feeding enough, they will eventually begin nibbling at each others' toes and tails. Thus, keep in mind that young bearded dragons are voracious eaters to avoid this issue.

As bugs are not very full of vitamins and nutrients, it is also important to feed your bearded dragon a balanced diet of bugs and veggies. Leafy greens are easily purchased a local pet store which could include: kale, arugula, collard greens, and parsley to name a few. There is a delicate blend when using green veggies as feeding them too many could cause them to not get the proper amount of nutrients or too many nutrients which could result in hydration issues.

Some of the advanced tips learned at http://www.bearded-dragon-setup.info/ explain that the final element in feeding your bearded dragon also revolves around a direct source of nutrients. Bearded dragons require calcium nutrients as they are susceptible to vitamin toxicity, be sure to only give them a calcium supplement once every other day.

How to Feed Bearded Dragons a Healthy Diet

What can I feed bearded dragons? This is one of the most frequently asked questions from first-time reptile owners. Most enthusiasts are aware that these lizards are omnivores, thus needing insects as well as veggies to fulfill their diet. But many keepers are unaware of which plants and insects have the most nutritional value for their pets health. Others may have a grasp on the proper items to offer, but are failing to provide supplements that are critical in promoting a long healthy life.

Vegetables

Beardies should have fresh veggies available at all times to them. Not only do the vegetables possess crucial vitamins, but they also provide hydration to our pet. I always mist my salads with water to boost the hydration value.

Every Day Staples

Collard, Mustard, Dandelion and Turnip Greens
Spaghetti, Summer, Acorn, Butternut, Hubbard and Scallop Squash
Kale
Escarole
Cactus Pads
Endive

Occasional Treats

Garbanzo, Green, Kidney, Lima and Pinto Beans
Red, Yellow, Green and Red Bell Peppers
Red and Green Cabbage
Okra
Asparagus
Snap Peas

Avocado and rhubarb are poisonous and can be fatal to your pet, therefore should never be offered.

Insects

There are several insects that are great for our dragons. Always buy or raise your own insects, never offer wild-caught insects. Wild bugs can carry parasites and even be poisonous to our pets. Always gut-load your insects by feeding them either fruits and veggies that are good for your lizard, or buy specific insect feeds found at pet suppliers.

Every Day Staples

Phoenix Worms (Calci-Worms)
Silk Worms
Dubia Roaches (Illegal in some states)
Crickets
Superworms
Butter Worms
Hornworms

Stay away from meal worms, especially for younger dragons. They have a hard chitin (shell) that are difficult for beardies to digest.

Fruits

All fruits should be fed only on occasion. Fruits that are very high in sugars should be avoided. You should also peel any fruit that has skin to make them easily digestible.

Occasional Treats

Apples
Apricot
Blue, Straw and Cran-berries (Fresh)
Cantaloupe
Mango
Mandarin Orange
Pineapple
Plums
Watermelon

When you feed bearded dragons, whether it is veggies or insects, you should be dusting with calcium supplements at least 5x a week. A multi-vitamin should be given at least 2x a week also. Always make sure all items are smaller than 3/4 of the dragon's head, or the space between their eyes, to ensure proper digestion, and always have a fresh water dish available. Feed them as much as they will eat within 5-10 minutes and remove any uneaten foods. Stick to these simple guidelines and your beardie will be in tip-top health condition, and eating like a king.

For more in-depth info on what to Feed Bearded Dragons check out Joselyn's website Caring for Bearded Dragon

All the Best,
Joselyn Rhodes

Feeding Bearded Dragons: Essential Guide to Providing Your Beardie a Healthy Diet

Feeding your bearded dragons seems to be an easy process right? Many lizard owners will supply a food dish full of 'whatever' veggies they have in the fridge, fill up a water dish, and toss in some insects on occasion. They may even decide to use dry food pellets that can be purchased from nearly every pet supply store. This diet, as you may have guessed, will ultimately lead to poor health.

Some of this problem is caused by uninformed first-time owners who make an impulse purchase of a "cool looking" lizard they saw while picking up dog food at their nearest 'super' pet store. Now obviously these first-timers have no idea on how to provide proper care for a bearded dragon, so they turn to the 'expert' pet store clerk for answers.

This clerk will most likely point them in the direction of the packaged products (pellets and dried insects) once the conversation becomes focused on food. They will then inform the customer that beardies will also eat crickets and vegetables and to have a nice day.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not that this information is incorrect...it's just lacking detail. This is what leads keepers to believe that their bearded dragon's diet is fine, when in reality it is severely lacking vital nutrients.

"So what am I supposed to feed my lizard?"

Good question. Before we get to specific foods let's first go over a few basic guidelines that should be followed when feeding any beardie.


All food items must be smaller than the space between the eyes. This prevents choking and digestion issues.
Offer as many feeder insects as the lizard will eat within 10-15 minutes for each feeding.
Remove any uneaten insects. You don't need them defecating in your enclosure, or gnawing on your pet.
Have a water dish available at all times. Not all dragons will drink from a dish and you may need to use an eye dropper if it appears your lizard is becoming dehydrated.
Mist all plant matter to enhance their hydration value. This is how beardies get their main source of liquids.
"Gut load" all feeder insects 24-48 hours in advance of feeding them to your lizard. Gut loading is the process of feeding high-nutrient items to your insects, making them a much healthier meal.
"Dust" all insects before feeding. This is the process of coating the insects with a multivitamin, or calcium supplement before giving them to your beardie.

Staple Insects include: crickets, superworms, silkworms, calciworms, even roaches. Make sure all insects are of proper size.

Staple Vegetables include: dark greens such as collard, mustard, dandelion, turnip and kale. All varieties of squash may also be offered as a daily staple along with cactus pads.

Fruits that may be offered on occasion include: apples, fresh blue and blackberries, pineapple, mango, fresh strawberries and cantaloupe.

The amount of feedings per day, the insect-to-veggies ratio, and the amount of supplements all depends on the age of your dragon. You will find that younger dragons may ignore their veggies, while adults rarely turn them down.

Follow these guidelines for feeder insects and vitamin supplements:


Babies - (0-6 months) Feeder insects 2-3 times daily. Dust insects with calcium everyday and multivitamin supplement 4-5 times a week.
Juveniles - (6-10 months) 1-2 times daily. Calcium daily, multivitamin 4-5x
Sub-adult - (10-14 months) 1 time a day. Calcium 5x weekly, multivitamin 3x
Adult - (over 14 months) Offer feeders every other day or so depending on your dragon's appetite for them. Calcium 5-6x, multivitamin 3x.

When feeding bearded dragons it is critical to provide the best diet that is available to them. As their owners, we have taken on that responsibility and our pets depend on us.

To Healthy Reptiles,

Joselyn Rhodes