Bearded dragons are omnivores that eat a mix of insects, leafy greens, vegetables, and small amounts of fruit. The exact ratio shifts dramatically as they grow: juveniles eat mostly insects, while adults flip to a plant-heavy diet of roughly 50% dark leafy greens, 20% chopped vegetables, 25% insects, and no more than 5% fruit.
How the Diet Changes With Age
Baby bearded dragons under one month old need to eat two to three times a day, primarily tiny insects like flightless fruit flies and pinhead crickets. You can offer mashed vegetables at this stage too. Most babies won’t touch them, but presenting greens alongside insects helps them learn to associate vegetables with mealtime early on.
From one to four months, feeding drops to twice daily. Crickets remain the staple protein, with occasional superworms or mealworms added in. By four months through to adulthood, one feeding per day is enough, and salads should appear every other day. Adults can eat daily or every other day. At this stage the diet is mostly plants, with insects making up only about a quarter of total food intake.
Best Insects for Protein
Not all feeder insects are nutritionally equal. Dubia roaches are one of the most popular staples, packing about 23% protein with moderate fat (7%). Crickets are the most widely available option at 15% protein and very low fat (3%), though their calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is poor at 1:9, meaning you’ll need to dust them with calcium powder.
Black soldier fly larvae stand out because they’re one of the few feeders with a favorable calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of 3:1, so they naturally help meet your dragon’s calcium needs. They’re lower in protein (18%) and higher in fat (14%), making them a good complement to leaner insects rather than a sole feeder. Discoid roaches and red runner roaches are other solid staples, both around 17% protein.
One important safety rule: never offer an insect larger than the space between your dragon’s eyes. Oversized prey is a common cause of impaction, a dangerous digestive blockage. For babies especially, stick to appropriately tiny feeders.
Gut Loading Matters
The nutritional value of an insect depends heavily on what that insect ate before your dragon eats it. Feeding your crickets or roaches nutrient-rich foods for 24 to 48 hours before offering them is called gut loading, and it essentially turns the insect into a vitamin delivery system. Good gut-loading foods include kale, collard greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and apples.
Greens and Vegetables
Dark leafy greens should be the single largest component of an adult dragon’s diet, making up about half of everything they eat. Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, and dandelion greens are excellent daily options because they’re high in calcium relative to phosphorus. Squash, bell peppers, and shredded carrots round out the vegetable portion.
Chop or grate vegetables into small pieces to make them easier to eat and digest. Mixing colors and textures can help with picky eaters. Some dragons prefer their greens lightly misted with water, which also adds a small hydration boost.
Fruits as Occasional Treats
Fruit should make up no more than 5% of an adult bearded dragon’s total diet. Berries, mango, papaya, and melon are popular choices. The sugar content in fruit can cause digestive issues and contribute to obesity if overfed, so think of fruit as a treat offered once or twice a week at most, not a daily staple.
Foods to Avoid
Several common foods are genuinely dangerous for bearded dragons:
- Fireflies: contain toxins that are fatal, even in small amounts
- Rhubarb: toxic
- Avocado: toxic to most reptiles
- Spinach and radish greens: contain compounds called oxalates that bind to calcium and block absorption, which can lead to serious deficiency over time
- Iceberg lettuce: not toxic, but almost entirely water with no real nutritional value
- Wild-caught insects or plants: may carry pesticides or parasites
Cabbage can cause digestive upset and is best avoided as a regular offering. Mint, azaleas, and jasmine flowers are also toxic.
Calcium and Supplementation
Bearded dragons need a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of at least 2:1 in their overall diet. Most feeder insects are naturally higher in phosphorus than calcium (crickets are 1:9, for instance), so without supplementation, your dragon will almost certainly develop a calcium deficit. Over time this leads to metabolic bone disease, one of the most common and preventable health problems in captive bearded dragons.
The standard practice is to dust feeder insects with a calcium powder before offering them. Calcium with vitamin D3 is typically used several times a week, since D3 helps the body actually absorb and use the calcium. A UVB light in the enclosure also helps your dragon produce its own vitamin D3, working alongside dietary supplementation.
Hydration
Bearded dragons come from arid environments and get most of their moisture from food, especially juicy greens and vegetables. Some will drink water droplets from leaves or bowl edges, but many dragons rarely drink from a standing dish.
Soaking your dragon in shallow, lukewarm water a few times a week provides an additional hydration opportunity. Bearded dragons can absorb water through their cloaca (the vent under their tail) in a process sometimes called cloacal drinking. This isn’t their primary hydration method, but regular baths help with hydration, shedding, and overall cleanliness.
Putting a Meal Together
For an adult bearded dragon, a typical daily meal looks like a salad bowl filled mostly with dark leafy greens, topped with chopped vegetables, and a small portion of calcium-dusted insects offered alongside or on top. A few small pieces of fruit once or twice a week add variety. For juveniles, flip the emphasis: a pile of appropriately sized, gut-loaded insects two to three times a day with greens available on the side.
Remove uneaten fresh food within a few hours to prevent bacterial growth, and never leave live insects roaming the enclosure overnight. Crickets in particular can bite a sleeping dragon and cause skin irritation or stress.