Bearded Dragons

Bearded dragons are omnivores, but the ratio is not fixed — it inverts with age. Hatchlings run largely on insect protein; adults flip to a mostly plant-based diet with insects as a supplement, not the main course. Carrying a juvenile's insect-heavy ratio into adulthood is the most common bearded dragon feeding mistake.

What to Feed

Dubia roaches are the best staple feeder at every life stage — high protein, low fat, and an excellent calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Mealworms are an occasional feeder for sub-adults and adults; their chitin exoskeleton is hard to digest, and many experienced keepers withhold them from dragons under about a year old as a precaution, though that specific age cutoff is common practice rather than a formal veterinary threshold. Superworms run higher in fat with an even tougher exoskeleton — an adult-only treat, never a staple or a hatchling/juvenile food.

Feeding Schedule by Age

These ratios are approximate guidelines, not precise targets — formal sources give only coarse breakpoints (roughly 50/50 by the juvenile stage, 70–75% vegetables by adulthood), with the finer stage-by-stage numbers below reflecting common keeper practice built around those anchors.

• Hatchling (0–3 months): Roughly 80% Small dubia roach nymphs to 20% vegetables. Offer insects two to three times daily, as much as the dragon eats in 10–15 minutes.
• Juvenile (3–12 months): Shifting toward plants, moving through roughly 50/50 by the end of this stage. Medium dubia roach nymphs once or twice daily; greens available at all times.
• Sub-adult (12–18 months): Roughly 30% Large dubia roach nymphs to 70% vegetables. Insects offered once daily.
• Adult (18+ months): Roughly 20–25% Large dubia roach nymphs to 75–80% vegetables. Insects offered 2–3 times weekly, not daily — overfeeding insects here drives obesity and fatty liver disease.

Gut-Loading & Dusting

Bearded dragons are highly prone to metabolic bone disease when calcium falls short. Gut-load every feeder insect for 24–48 hours before offering it — see our gut-loading guide — then dust with plain calcium at nearly every feeding, calcium with D3 once or twice a week, and a multivitamin once or twice a week on separate feedings. Hatchlings and juveniles, building skeleton fastest, need the most consistent schedule.

Common Mistakes

No insect should be wider than the space between the dragon's eyes — oversized prey, especially superworms, is a leading cause of impaction. Don't let insects dominate the diet to the point a dragon refuses vegetables. Many keepers also avoid leaving live insects in the enclosure overnight, since uneaten roaches and mealworms can bite a sleeping dragon. And don't carry juvenile insect ratios into adulthood — the biggest driver of overweight, fatty-liver dragons.