Feeding your bearded dragon is probably the most important thing you do to keep it healthy and happy. Although feeding your pet isn’t very difficult there are a few issues to keep in mind when presenting the next meal.
These issues may not be exactly life threatening they can cause your bearded dragon undue suffering and stress.
Here are some common issues when feeding a bearded dragon and how to avoid them.
Issues When Feeding Live Prey
If you feed your bearded dragon many insect feeders at one time the crickets, or mealworms can easily find a hiding spot before the bearded dragon has a chance to gobble them up.
Crickets will quickly run off underneath or behind decor items as fast as they can. If you place a lot of crickets in the habitat, the bearded dragon may miss them before it has finished it’s meal.
To avoid this you can feed your bearded dragon one cricket at a time using tongs, or by hand if you aren’t worried about being accidentally bitten.
You can also use the Cricket Feeding Rock made by Exo Terra. The Cricket Feeding Rock is a splendid way to easily feed your bearded dragon crickets in a convenient, non-messy fashion.
Crickets that are allowed to roam about the terrarium can crawl on top of your bearded dragon and cause it stress. Hungry crickets can also begin nibbling on your bearded dragon, and you don’t want your pet to become the prey.
If you place mealworms on the terrarium substrate they will quickly burrow underneath away from your hungary bearded dragon. The bearded dragon could also inadvertently swallow some substrate while going after the mealworms. This is very undesirable since it could lead to an impaction.
A safe way to offer mealworms is by using the Exo Terra Worm Dish Mealworm Feeder. This bowl is specifically designed for holding mealworms and other insects due to it’s unique ring top. This top prevents the mealworms from crawling out and provides easy access for the bearded dragon.
Issues When Feeding Vegetables and Fruits
There are a few issues when feeding your bearded dragon chopped vegetables and fruit, too.
Many times the bearded dragon may run across its food bowl scattering food pieces everywhere. It is important to clean up any left over food items as soon as possible.
Rotting food pieces can harbor bacteria or germs that may make your bearded dragon ill. It will also cause the habitat to begin to stink, and that is never fun to have in your home.
It’s also not a good idea to allow your bearded dragon to eat those left over food pieces after they have been in the terrarium for a few days.
Always offer fresh fruits and vegetables daily in a small shallow bowl like the Exo Terra Feeding Dish.
Jay says
If you place mealworms on the terrarium substrate they will quickly burrow underneath away from your <> bearded dragon. The bearded dragon could also <> swallow some substrate while going after the mealworms. This is very undesirable since it could lead to an impaction.
you have a few mistakes in this paragraph, just doing my good Samaritan and letting you know, hungary is<>, and inadvertently isnt the proper word i think you looking for <> … thanks
Kalani says
I am having a hard time getting my bearded dragon to eat any kind of vegetable or fruit. He won’t eat anything unless it moves so I have to wiggle it around for him to make him think it’s moving. I just adopted him from a friend a few days ago. I love him lots already and want to make sure he’s happy and healthy, but I’m worried cuz he’s not eating the fruit and vegetables I know he needs. Please give me some tips!!
Robyn L Jones says
i have the same problem with my baby beardie too ! but not exactally the same problem you have . my beardie mango wont eat any fruits or vegies ( exept dandilien flowers and somtimes kale ) but even if i put bugs in her salads she just eats the bugs out of the salad !i have wached SO much things about making her eat salads but they never work ! but all exept somtimes she will eat stuff when its wet
Dee Raudins says
Try putting a bit of calcium on the veggies. That’s what got my bear die going.
Sinee says
Hi! I was stupid and fed my bearded dragon woth a tiny bit of dragon fruit, then i looked up on google if it was good for her to eat and apparently its not!! Will dragon fruit kill my bearded dragon? Im so worried!
Courtney says
No it won’t just don’t feed it to her again!!! Be careful before u feed them food also make sure it’s ok for them to eat
Jeremy says
So a premature fireflie fell into the it’s home and he went after it but he didn’t eat it he bit it and backed away frantic, will he die from that.
Pls help.
Lois Tschaepe says
I “inherited” a 4 year old dragon from my daughter. She had raised him on crickets, mealworms, and superworms, NO veggies or fruit. When I received him, he had not defecated for 3 weeks so I took him to the vet for a checkup. She said that he was grossly overweight and to replace the crickets, etc. with veggies and fruit. I have now had him a little over a month. He is now defecating normally, but has only eaten 2 strawberries in that entire time, refusing anything else including crickets, superworms, roaches, vegetables, and any other kind of fruit. Other than not eating, he looks and acts fine. What to do? Thank you.
Susan says
We’ve had 4 bearded dragons. They all preferred different foods. Our current dragon is, by far, the best vegetable eater we’ve had, but only really eats what he likes. It’s important to just try different greens until they eat them. He wakes up and eats greens, then before dinner goes to his bowl looking for greens. He will also eat shaved carrots, very thin sliced apples and strawberries. He likes things sliced thin. 3 wks without pooping is not normal. Ours poop within a few days of a big meal of protein. Vegetables take a little longer sometimes. We’ve also had lizards that would protest certain calcium powders. Exercise is helpful too. We let ours out to explore a safe area (promptly after pooping so it doesn’t poop on the floor!)
Jonathan r says
I was having the same problem with my beardie so what I did to make them go to the bathroom was I filled up my bathtub a few inches with very warm water put my hand underneath her and kind of waved her back and forth in the water holding on to her and just slow motion moving her body back and forth whenever I put her down in the bottom of the bathtub I just lightly rubbed her belly with my finger and she went to the bathroom. A bit of cleanup of course afterwards but I know she felt a lot better. Also try giving them hornworms. They are pretty much nothing but a little bit of fat and water for your beardie and they absolutely love them they have green ones and blue ones and they say they have different tastes. I hope this helps
I'mnewtoreptiles says
I fed my juvenile bearded dragon spinach, what will happen and he eats crickets right now but i noticed if i feed him four in the morning and then four at night he eats then all. If i give him 8 at once i usually end up pulling the bodies of dead ones out.