In the first part of a bearded dragon diet, we talked about best and worst foods to feed your bearded dragon. We discussed best and worst vegetables and greens, fruits and flowers. Also, we talked about toxic foods that you must avoid giving your bearded dragon. If you have missed this post, read it here.
In this post, we will talk about feeding your hatchling, baby, juvenile and adult bearded dragon. We will discuss what portion sizes your bearded dragon needs, prey sizes, and talk about insect:vegetable ratio in bearded dragon’s diet. We will also talk about picky eating, choosing food and water dishes, and issues that your might face with live prey.
What is more, we will cover a feeding schedule for your bearded dragon and discuss its water needs. At the end, we will answer frequently asked questions and cover factors affecting bearded dragon’s nutrition!
How to feed bearded dragons
- Bearded dragons diet preferences change with time – hatchlings and babies (0-4 months old) should consume more insects than vegetables (60-80% of insects vs. 20-40% vegetables, greens and fruits). With age, bearded dragons should eat more vegetables – 70-85% of plants vs. 15-30% live food.
- The insects that you are offering must not be wider than the space between bearded dragon’s eyes. The maximum size of insects should be the width of bearded dragon’s head (and less). For example, a hatchling bearded dragon should eat pinhead (1/16) crickets or 1/8 inch crickets.
- You will need to gut-load and dust all the feeder insects apart from Phoenix worms. For a full supplementing guide, see this post.
- Don’t overfeed with commercial diet – few days a week is okay.
- With salads – offer half a cup to babies, 3/4 of a cup to juveniles and 1.5 cups to adults.
Here is a list of cricket and other insect sizes that you will commonly find on the Internet and pet stores.
How to feed a baby bearded dragon (0-4 months old)?
Right after birth, a hatchling bearded dragon won’t eat for few days. This is because it still has a storage of egg yolk sac nutrients, and will support itself that way. Few days (2-3 days) after the birth, a hatchling dragon should start developing an interest in food and start eating.
Hatchling bearded dragons have a good appetite, and are growing very fast, so feeding them nutritious foods few times a day is very important. At this age, they are building their muscles and body mass, so they need to eat a lot of protein foods – insects.
Feed hatchling bearded dragons 3-4 times a day, and offer around 10 small crickets, roaches, fruit flies or other small insects per feeding (one feeding should last 10-15 minutes at a time). Better approach is to offer 10 small insects, and then more. Do this in portions so that bearded dragon can eat as much as it can. Remove any uneaten insects after feeding.
Also, if you are keeping few hatchlings together, make sure each one of them is getting enough food. Hatchling that are hungry often bite other’s toes and tails, which can cause organ loss and even death. Same goes to hungry crickets – they can start feeding on a hatchling bearded dragon and bite its toes and tail. Remove any uneaten insects straight away after feeding.
As we mentioned above, hatchling and baby bearded dragons (from birth to 4 months of age) need to eat a lot of insects (around 15 crickets per feeding for example, 3-4 times a day).
If you are feeding your hatchling bearded dragon 3-4 times a day, offer insects with 2 feedings, and with other feedings split the meal with half plants and half insects.
Many hatchling and baby bearded dragons won’t eat vegetables or plants – you need to start as early as you can to train them. Otherwise, they will grow into adults that are picky eaters and refuse any vegetables or greens.
To avoid picky eating, finely chop vegetables and greens (see the table of best vegetables, fruits and plants for bearded dragons here), to make it harder for them to pick any specific veggies or greens that they might get used to. If you don’t do it when they are little, they will become picky eaters when they are adults.
What is more, hatchling and baby bearded dragons might find it hard to find the food and water in the vivarium. This is why you should have an appropriately sized vivarium for your baby dragon.
Offer foods in small dishes and make sure to get escape-proof dish for any insects. For water, get a shallow dish so that your dragon doesn’t have any issues with reaching the water and drinking it. You can also mist them and the glass for extra water droplets.
Food size guidelines for hatchling bearded dragons
Even though hatchlings can swallow big insects and big pieces of fruits and veg, you MUST NOT give them to your 
bearded dragon. Don’t offer large insects or vegetables to your hatchling bearded dragon – it can cause paralysis and shock – leading to death!
Feed your hatchling bearded dragons small insects, such as crickets, flies and roaches. The ideal size should be less than the width of bearded dragon’s head.
Usually, pinhead insects are good for up to 1 month of age, then up to 1/4 as they grow bigger. Same goes for any vegetables, greens and fruits – you must chop them to bite size pieces!
Small Dubia roaches like this, silkworms and crickets like this are perfect for a baby bearded dragon. Make sure to offer mainly live food, but always have a the salads in the tank. Otherwise, your dragon will grow to be a picky eater. You can supplement the diet with some pellet foods, but rarely.
Feeding a juvenile bearded dragon (5 – 18 months old)
From 5 months of age and on, you can start giving your bearded dragon larger insects – 1/4, 1/2 and even 3/4 inches long. Make sure to measure bearded dragon’s head and offer insects that are not wider that its head. 
Also, start reducing the feeding frequencies from 4 to 2 times a day, but offer as many insects as your bearded dragon can eat within 10-15 minutes per feeding. What is more, you can start offering waxworms, tomato hornworms, silkworms and other larger insects to your bearded dragon occasionally.
Occasionally, add some alfalfa grass (fresh) for an extra fiber and calcium intake. Make sure there is no mold before offering. If you are allergic to hay, you will have to skip it.
Slowly, introduce more vegetables, fruits, greens and flowers to your bearded dragon and be patient with him or her trying them. Chop them to bite sized pieces before offering. You can also feed your bearded dragon freeze dried insects, pellet foods, food mixes (grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms), and prepared gel or mix up food from reputable brands such as Repashy.
Start reducing insect feedings and offer more vegetables. As your bearded dragon grows older, it will need to eat more greens than insects. Be patient and offer a variety. Fruits should be considered a snack, so offer few bites no more than 3-4 times a week. Avoid fruits high in goitrogens or oxalates.
Don’t forget to supplement insects that you feed your bearded dragon – read this post on supplementation frequencies. But don’t over-supplement – this can cause serious health problems.
Feeding an adult bearded dragon (18 months and over)
As your bearded dragon grows older, increase the size of crickets and other insects, but do it carefully. The impact of wrong cricket size can be fatal. Adult bearded dragons will enjoy different varieties of foods, and you can include pinkies to their diet once in few weeks.
Adult bearded dragons usually have their diet and preferences formed by now. Offer them large insects and add variety – grasshoppers, wax worms, mealworms, pinkies and king mealworms can be all enjoyed by adults.
Make sure to avoid any contact between an adult bearded dragon and a baby – adults are active and can easily eat a smaller lizard.
Supplement the foods few times with calcium 3-4 times a week, but not more often than this.
As your bearded grows older, reduce amounts of insects that you offer. Instead, increase amounts of salads and let the senior bearded dragon choose the foods that it likes to eat.
Bearded dragon water needs
Always have the water available in bearded dragon’s vivarium. The only exception is when the humidity in bearded dragon’s vivarium is too high. In this case, offer the water in a dish for few hours every day. You can also mist your bearded dragon for extra water.
Young and active bearded dragons are very likely to soil the water and leave pieces of food in the water dish. Some moving insects, such as crickets, will also soil the water with feces and dirt.
If you can see the water is dirty, change it as soon as possible. Otherwise, change the water at end of each day.
Never offer an untreated tap water – it will cause health issues over time. If you are offering tap water to a bearded dragon – use a water conditioner to remove heavy metals and chlorine to make it safer for a beardie.
It will also add important electrolytes and ions for a good hydration. You will only need to add few drops to a drinking water.
Factors affecting bearded dragon’s nutrition
There is much more to nutrition than just offering the foods. Some factors will help digestion and vitamin absorption. You must take care of everything to ensure the best life for your dragon.
- Light – natural unfiltered or artificial light is crucial for your bearded dragon. If you are getting artificial light bulbs or fixtures, make sure they emit both UVA and UVB light. UVB light is important for calcium metabolism, and UVA – for inducing natural behavior.
- Heat – bearded dragons need to bask under a lamp to properly digest the food. We will talk more about light and heat in the article about vivarium setup.
- Pregnancy – pregnant bearded dragons have higher nutritional needs during and after the pregnancy.
- Illness – sick bearded dragons might refuse food that they need to get better. Offer your dragon its most favorite foods to speed up the healing.
What food and water bowls should you get for a bearded dragon?
The water dish for your bearded dragon should be shallow, not very deep. You can get a water dish for only drinking, or one for soaking. Medium size shallow water dish should be perfect for drinking and a large one – for soaking.
If you have a baby or juvenile bearded dragon – get a water dish with a ramp so it can climb it. It will also prevent drowning. If your bearded dragon has a hard time drinking from a dish, train it by adding small berries into water to lure the dragon in.
You should ideally have two feeding bowls – one for salads and one for insects. One for insects should be slightly curved so that they can’t escape. You can also use the tongs to feed your bearded dragon fuzzy mice or insects from time to time.
Don’t leave worms or other insects that like to burrow and hide the substrate. These bugs will hide in the substrate, and your bearded dragon will ingest substrate while trying to get them. Some substrates can cause impaction when digested.
With salads and flowers, you can sometimes hang them on top of a vivarium so they look like branches. This will excite your bearded dragon to get its own foods, just like in the wild.
Malnutrition in baby and hatchling bearded dragon
Some hatchling and baby bearded dragons might suffer from malnutrition even though you have been feeding it regularly. The symptoms of calcium and other vitamin deficiency is shaking and twitching, lethargy and slow growth.
The reasons for malnutrition can be feeding insects that haven’t been dusted with supplements and gut-loaded, not providing optimal temperatures and basking lights.
Another reason for a hatchling or baby malnutrition is underfeeding. This is especially usual in groups, where some babies don’t get enough food. Make sure every one is getting same amounts of food.
My baby or young bearded dragon looks sick, what is the problem?
The problem with many baby and juvenile bearded dragons is that they develop infectious diseases because of poor hygiene in a vivarium. To avoid any infections, make sure to clean the vivarium regularly, change the water daily (or when it has been soiled), remove any moldy and uneaten foods.
Can bearded dragons eat freeze dried crickets
Offering both live and freeze dried insects is acceptable. However, with young bearded dragons, try to offer as much live food as possible. This will make them active and engage their hunting interest. Sometimes you might need to use feeding tongs or tweezers and move the food to trigger the feeding interest.
My bearded dragon seems to have an upset stomach, why?
Your bearded dragon might get diarrhea or upset stomach from eating too much of the same foods, especially fruits. This should improve within few days, but if your bearded dragon seems very dehydrated and lethargic, seek medical advice.
My bearded dragon’s stool is weird color, why?
Bearded dragon’s stools might change the color depending on what they have eaten. Don’t be alarmed if the stools have turned orange after eating vegetables and fruits such as carrots, cantaloupes or sweet potatoes. This is simply a carotenoid pigment that has dyed the stools.
Can bearded dragons eat pellet food?
Feeding your bearded dragon only commercial foods is not a good idea. They can very convenient for when you don’t have any insects, salads or even time to make anything.
Most commercial foods are low in water and fat. Bearded dragons take in most of their water with fresh vegetables and fruits, and commercial foods are often very dry (around 10% of water). Offer more water with commercial foods.
What is more, feeding only commercial diets can cause digestive upsets due to lack of fat and fiber.
Overall, you can feed your bearded dragon commercial diets, but try to limit their consumption and add extra fresh vegetables and other greens. You can also offer some of the Repashy bug and fruit mixed diet for crested geckos as a treat.
Can you hold bearded dragons after they eat?
You should avoid holding your bearded dragons after they eat. Please allow 1-2 hours (2 hours for a heavier meal) for your dragon to digest before holding. But if you can keep your dragon very warm, you can start holding after 20-30 minutes.
In part 2, we discussed how to prepare food insects and other foods for your bearded dragon – how much and what to feed, how to gut-load insects and caring for them.
We also talked about bearded dragon supplements here – most important vitamins and minerals and how often to supplement your bearded dragon.