Most think that a bearded dragon eats insects, this is not true, you feed bearded dragons mostly vegetables. They enjoy both insects such as crickets and mealworms, but vegetables are an important part of their diet.

These lizards will eat a combination of both insects and vegetables their entire life. When a beardie is young, usually under the age of 1, they will mainly eat live insects. As your beardie grows, the insect intake will decrease and their vegetable intake will increase.

Here are some basic guidelines you can follow on what to feed bearded dragons:

The insects you offer to your beardie will depend on his/her age. For a young beardie you should provide mainly crickets every day. Only feed enough crickets that your bearded dragon can eat within about 15 minutes. The insects you offer your beardie should be NO bigger than the space between his/her eyes. If they are too large, they can cause your dragon to choke.

As your dragon grows, the intact of insects will decrease and you can start to feed them about every other day. Instead start feeding him/her vegetables on a daily basis.

Your beardies' diet should include a wide variety of vegetables, as this will offer them more vitamins and nutrients. The majority of vegetables you feed your bearded dragon should consist of greens, such as, collard greens, mustard greens, and kale. There many others out there as well, but do stay away from such greens as ice berg lettuce this will kill your beardie.

You can mix in fruits with the vegetables as well, some common fruits are strawberries, mango, and grapes.

Some other types of vegetables you should add in are carrots and squash.

All vegetables should be chopped up so it is no bigger than the space between his/her eyes.

It is very important that your make sure your beardie is getting the proper nutrients and vitamins he/she needs. The most important supplement you need to provide is calcium, because dragons are susceptible to metabolic bone disease. This can cripple and even kill your beardie.

You can put the supplement on their food by using powders, you would just lightly sprinkle the powder on to the food. You can do this with their insects as well, by putting the insect and the powder in a plastic bag and shake well. Be sure to give the insects to your beardie right away, as the insects will lick the powder off.

Making sure your beardie has a proper diet and the right amount of nutrients and vitamins will help him/her to have a long and healthy life. Be sure that you know what they can and can not eat, do not ever give them household insects or bugs you find outside your home. Always purchase the insects from a local pet store or breeder to ensure they were raised properly.

The insects you give your beardie should also be well gut loaded. You do this by feeding the insects a proper diet as well. The bearded dragon enjoys crickets so you should be giving your crickets things such as fruits to help make sure your beardie gets them too.