Nutrition
Bearded dragons are omnivores and feed on a range of live insects and plant matter. In captivity bearded dragons should be fed a variety of both live foods and fruits and vegetables. Hatchling and juvenile dragons will consume more live food than vegetables (80:20) with sub-adult and adult dragons consuming more fruits and vegetables (50:50).Live foods include; crickets, woodies, mealworms (in moderation) and silkworms. All live foods should be dusted with a calcium and multivitamin powder before being offered. Live insects should be no larger than the space between the lizard’s eyes. Fruits and vegetables that can be offered include; kale, endive, parsley, Asian greens, apple, carrot, beans, broccoli, zucchini and squash. Commercially available lizard pellets can also be mixed through the chopped fruits and vegetables to provide extra nutrition to the dragon. Juvenile dragons should be fed daily and adults can be offered food every second day or depending on their needs (Remember every lizard is different).
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When Do I Feed my Lizard ?
Feeding time can be a good opportunity to bond with your Bearded Dragons. Some like to use their fingers to feed some live food and veggies where as others just leave it in a bowl for the day so that they can just graze. When considering a feeding schedule for your lizard, you need to consider things such as how long lights are on for and if they will have time to metabolise everything provided. It should also be noted that fresh water should be available to the dragon at all times and changed daily. Young hatchlings also enjoy a very light misting of water on hot days in summer and often drink droplets of water off ornaments in the enclosure. Below is an example of a feeding schedule that I use for my bearded dragons, This might change depending on my schedule but it is usually very consistant.
What Can They Eat ?
I know that convience is important when preparing salads for your bearded friend. So I have made a diagram of some pre-packeted veggies that can be purchased from woolworths and coles to make salads your beardie will love. Below is a full nutritional list for bearded dragons.
Live food is also important or your bearded dragon, but ensuring high quaility life food is very important. I personally like feeding crickets and woodcockroaches from Petbarn as I know they are safe and usually are very hydrated. 1 box of crickets will set you back around $5 and usually 3 boxes of crickets are required per week, I like to call the pet shop on the day of life food delivery to get the best boxes.
Feeder crickets contain approximately 69% moisture, 1% ash, 21% protein, 6% fat, and 3% carbohydrate.
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If you do decide to feed your Bearded dragon crickets, and it’ll probably happen often, it’s a good idea to “gut load” the insects first. This means, quite simply, allowing them to eat your throw-away fruits and vegetables. The crickets will devour just about any food item you put in their container. It’s an easy way to improve the nutritional value of your dragon’s future meal, since the cricket’s stomach will be full of quality food, rather than the cardboard they usually chew on and ingest while waiting to be purchased at the pet store.
Another practice I encourage is dusting your crickets with a top quality calcium supplement or vitamin additive prior to feeding them to your Bearded dragon. Important: do not dust food items with both calcium and vitamin supplements at the same time, because they have a muting effect upon each other. Instead, dust with a calcium supplement one day, and a vitamin supplement the next day. Simple, easy, and effective. Here is the Bearded dragon calcium and vitamin supplements I recommend the most highly:
It’s really easy to dust your crickets. Once you have the insects in a bag or small container, just sprinkle some of the supplement onto them, and shake gently for a few seconds. This will coat them nicely.
My Bearded Dragon is Fussy ! HELP !
I have had a fussy dragon and I know how frustrating it can be! you make beautiful salads, just for them to be left untouched. If they are in good health and just being fussy, sometimes adding JurassiFruit Banana does the trick. This is an all natural banana scented odor and flavor enhancer that is helpful in getting juveniles to begin transitioning into salads and adults to new diets. I usually find this at Petbarn and retails for around $15. That is the easiest technique. If this doesnt trigger some interest in salad, sometimes holding off feeding works a treat. Each dragon is different so really it is just trial and error with your scaly friend. I also found the video below helpful to get beardies to get to eat greens.