Bearded Dragon Diet

Bearded Dragons are Omnivorous. They are not completely carnivorous, as some may think. Nor are they vegetarians by any stretch of the imagination. They eat a wide variety of insects AND plants both in the wild and in captivity.

If you let them, Bearded Dragons will eat mostly insects.  However, this is not good for them.  The best nutritional diet for your baby or juvenile Beardie is to make them eat their veggies every day BEFORE you feed them any live insects.  If they get the insects first, they will fill up on them and then not want their vegetables.  We feed our dragons their “salads” in the morning and live feeder insects in the late afternoon or early evening.  Occasionally they get “fruit treats” AFTER their insects.

All greens, vegetables, and fruits should be fresh, pesticide and herbicide free, and in their raw form.  We highly recommend that you buy “Organically grown” greens, veggies, and fruits whenever possible!  This is much healthier for your dragon, as well as yourself!  Also note that most fruits should be skinned and have the seeds removed to prevent possible choking or impaction issues.

You will also need to dust your dragon’s food with vitamin and mineral supplements.  We use and recommend RepCal Herptivite supplement and RepCal ultra fine calcium with D3. We dust Herptivite on the “salads” and Calcium on the feeder insects.

Dragon Salad

We feed all our dragons the same basic diet every day, with slight changes depending on what fresh veggies are available in the markets.  Their “salad” consists of two parts:  greens and veggies.  The greens may include: 

	Collard greens (good calcium source)
	Turnip greens
	Mustard greens
	Endive / Chicory / Escarole (good source of Calcium)
	Dandelion greens (good source of Calcium)

The veggie portion (shredded in the food processor) may include:

	Yellow squash (summer squash)
	Green beans
	Asparagus (my dragons love this)
	Carrots
	Parsnips
	Zucchini

Fruits, Veggies & Others

The following items can be used to “spice up” your dragon’s diet to give them some variety.  These are NOT to be fed on a daily basis.  Some foods are higher in Phosphorus (P), Oxalic acids (O) or Goitrogens (G), which can be harmful in excess. Food items that contain these will be noted. Some of these foods are also a good source of Calcium (CA), and will be noted also.

 All fruits should be used as a “treat”, not a daily part of their diet (one piece of fruit once a week is fine).  If your dragon eats too much fruit, he/she may develop a “sweet tooth” and refuse their regular salad.  We learned this by experience when Brisingr was reluctant to eat his “normal salad” for about two weeks!

You can occasionally feed some COOKED meats to your dragon as an added “protein” boost.  These should be thoroughly cooked and cut into small pieces.  Do NOT feed raw meat or eggs to your dragon.

P Phosphorus, in excess, suppresses the normal ability to absorb calcium from foods into the bones resulting in a higher risk of metabolic bone disease.

O Oxalic acid, like phosphorus, suppresses the normal ability to absorb calcium from foods into the bones resulting in a higher risk of metabolic bone disease.

G Goitrogens can induce hypothyroidism and depress thyroid function.  This interferes with the thyroidal uptake of iodine, causing the thyroid to increase in size.

CA An excellent source of Calcium

Fruits	Veggies	Others
Apples (cored & skinned) Prunes (pitted) Watermelon (no seeds) Cantaloupe Honey Dew Strawberries G Blueberries Raspberries CA Black berries Bananas P Raisins Grapes (seedless) Pears O Guava (seeded & skinned) Papaya CA (seeded & skinned) Figs CA (pitted & skinned)) Plums (pitted & skinned) Kiwi Peaches G (pitted & skinned) Mango	Cucumber (skinned) Sugar Snap Peas Snow Peas Turnips G Bell Peppers (green, red & yellow) Beets O Brussels Sprouts G Cauliflower G Broccoli G Pumpkin (skinned) Sweet Potato O Rutabaga G Spaghetti Squash CA (skinned) Red & Green Cabbage G (shredded) Kale G Swiss Chard O Romaine Lettuce O Butternut Squash (skinned) Watercress O Bok-Choy G	Eggs (scrambled or hard boiled) Boiled Chicken Cilantro Chives O Parsley O Hibiscus Flowers Clover leaves & flowers Dandelion leaves & flowers Mint leaves Prickly Pear Cactus CA (skinned and de-burred) Rosemary CA Seaweed / Kelp CA

Foods with no nutritional values: (I advise against feeding these)

Iceberg lettuce or any "head" type lettuce and Corn

DO NOT FEED THE FOLLOWING FRUITS/VEGETABLES!!! These can cause serious health issues and even death!

	Tomatoes
	Spinach (very high in Oxalic and Goitrogens)
	Citrus fruits
	Mushrooms TOXIC
	Rhubarb TOXIC
	Avocado TOXIC

LIVE Feeder Insects

There are a variety of insects you can feed your dragons.  We do not recommend any “freeze dried”, canned, processed, or “dragon bites” type foods.  Dragons prefer live prey, plus it gives them good exercise chasing down their dinner!

Do NOT feed wild bugs that you caught to your dragons!  You never know if they have been exposed to pesticides or herbicides.  NEVER feed fireflies to your dragons!  Fireflies are lethal to Bearded Dragons – even ONE can kill a dragon overnight!  Remember, if you didn’t buy it, don’t feed it.

 It is very important to feed your babies and juveniles the proper SIZED food items.  Large prey can actually KILL your dragon!  The general rule of thumb is to not feed anything larger than the space between their eyes.  SMALLER IS BETTER!

Feeder Insect list:

	Dubai Roaches
	Crickets
	Hornworms

	Silkworms
	Butterworms
	Superworms (use sparingly, these are high in Chitin, which is difficult to digest and can cause impaction issues)
	Waxworms
	Phoenix worms (excellent source of Calcium)
	Earthworms, Night Crawlers, Red Wigglers (make sure you get these from a  source that does NOT raise their worms in animal manure!)