Bearded Dragon Feeding Schedule & Chart

Key Takeaways

• Cut insects no bigger than the space between your dragon’s eyes.
• Dust insects with calcium at most feedings and a multivitamin once or twice a week.
• Pull uneaten insects out after 15 minutes.
• Slow appetite in winter often means brumation, but check temps and health first.

Your bearded dragon watches you like you owe him money. He does that whether you fed him ten minutes ago or ten hours ago. So how do you know if you feed him too much, too little, or just fine?

I’ve kept bearded dragons for years, and feeding questions land in my inbox more than any other. The answer changes with age, and most people feed their adult dragon like he’s still a baby. That mistake leads to fat, sluggish lizards. This guide gives you the schedule, the chart, and the food lists so you can stop guessing.

How Often Should You Feed a Bearded Dragon?

Short answer: it depends on how old he is. Babies eat a lot of insects, several times a day. Adults eat insects a few times a week and fill up mostly on greens.

Why the big difference? A baby dragon grows crazy fast. He needs protein to build bone and muscle, so he hunts all day. An adult already finished growing, and extra protein just turns into fat. Fatty liver is a real problem in adult dragons, and I see it a lot in pets fed insects every single day.

Here’s the basic pattern I follow:

• Babies: insects three to five times a day, plus fresh greens every day.
• Juveniles: insects twice a day, plus a bigger salad.
• Sub-adults: insects once a day, salad the main meal.
• Adults: insects two or three times a week, salad every day.

My first dragon, Rex, taught me this the hard way. I fed him crickets every day for his first two years because he begged so well. He got chunky, lazy and stopped basking much. Once I cut him back to a proper adult schedule, he lost weight and got active again within two months.

Does this mean you should count every cricket? Nope. Watch his body instead. A healthy dragon has a tail that looks thick at the base but not puffy, and no fat pads bulging behind his eyes or on his belly. If he looks round, cut insects. If his ribs show, add more.

For a bigger picture of habitat, lighting and handling, read our full bearded dragon care guide. If you keep other reptiles too, our reptile feeding schedule page shows how different species compare.

Bearded Dragon Feeding Chart by Age

Bookmark this one. The chart below covers every life stage, with insect size and salad rules next to each.

How to use the chart

Treat these numbers as a starting point, not a law. Some dragons eat more, some less, and activity and temperature change appetite. Start with the numbers above and adjust after two weeks based on his body condition.

For babies and juveniles, give insects a few at a time for 10 to 15 minutes. Stop when he stops chasing them. Count how many he ate and aim for about that number next time. That way you adjust to your own dragon rather than a generic average.

Weigh him once a month

Get a small kitchen scale and weigh him at the same time each month. Write the number down. Steady gain in a young dragon is great. In an adult, a jump of more than a few grams per month tells you he eats too much.

IMO the weigh-in is the most underrated habit in dragon keeping. It takes thirty seconds and catches problems weeks before they show on his body. Keep a note on your phone and compare every month.

You also want to check the tail base and belly shape by eye every week or two. A healthy adult has a firm, rounded tail and a flat belly. Soft, droopy or bumpy spots mean you need a vet.

Best Insects for a Bearded Dragon Diet

Insects make up the protein side of the plan, and not all feeders are equal. Some give great nutrition. Others work better as occasional treats.

Staple feeders (use these most)

• Dubia roaches: my top choice. They have high protein, low fat, don’t smell, can’t climb smooth walls, and won’t chirp at 3 a.m.
• Crickets: cheap and easy to find. Dragons love chasing them. They smell, they die fast in the tub, and they bite sleeping lizards if you leave them in the tank.
• Black soldier fly larvae (calci-worms): naturally high in calcium. Great for babies and for dragons that need extra calcium.
• Silkworms: soft, hydrating and nutritious. They cost more, so I use them as a rotation food.

Treat feeders (once in a while)

• Superworms and mealworms: hard shells and high fat. Offer them in small numbers, not as a daily food.
• Hornworms: very high in moisture. They help a dragon that drinks poorly, but they don’t have much nutrition otherwise.
• Waxworms: like candy. Fat is high, so I save them for sick or underweight dragons, or for training.

Insects to avoid

Never feed fireflies. They kill bearded dragons even in tiny amounts. Skip wild-caught bugs too, since they carry pesticides and parasites. Buy your insects from a reputable breeder or pet store.

Rotating two or three staples gives your dragon a better nutrient mix than one bug type. I keep dubia as the base, then add soldier fly larvae and silkworms each week. It keeps him interested too. Dragons get bored with the same food, and a picky eater often just needs a new insect.

Not sure if a bug or plant is safe? Check it with our reptile food safety checker before you offer it.

Vegetables and Greens for the Daily Salad

Greens make up the biggest part of an adult’s diet, but many keepers skip them because the dragon ignores the bowl. Don’t give up. Keep offering a fresh salad every day and he’ll learn.

Best staple greens

Pick calcium-rich leafy greens as the base:

1. Collard greens
2. Mustard greens
3. Turnip greens
4. Dandelion greens (pesticide-free only)
5. Endive and escarole

Good vegetables to mix in

• Butternut squash (grated or finely diced)
• Acorn squash
• Bell pepper
• Green beans
• Snap peas
• Parsnip (grated)

Greens to limit

Spinach, kale and beet greens bind calcium, so your dragon absorbs less of it. I don’t ban them, but I use them in small amounts and not as the base. Same goes for broccoli and cabbage in big portions.

How to get a picky dragon to eat salad

Some dragons walk right past the bowl. If yours does, try these tricks:

• Offer the salad first thing in the morning, when he’s hungry.
• Put a few live insects on the salad so he chases them through the leaves.
• Chop everything very small for babies and juveniles.
• Keep colors bright. Bell pepper and squash catch his attention.
• Wiggle a leaf with tweezers. Dragons love to snap at moving food.

Rex used to ignore every green I gave him. Then I started tossing two or three small dubia on top of the salad. He’d eat the roaches, bite a bit of collard green along the way, and slowly the salad vanished too. A month later he ate it without the bait. Patience pays off here.

Wash all produce. Pull the old salad out after a few hours so it doesn’t wilt, grow mold or draw flies.

Fruits, Treats and Foods to Avoid

Fruit tastes great to your dragon, and he’ll beg for more than he needs. Keep it a small bonus. Fruit has lots of sugar and can cause weight gain and tooth problems if you overdo it.

Safe fruits (once or twice a week)

• Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
• Mango and papaya (small cubes)
• Apple (no seeds)
• Melon (small pieces)
• Figs (rare treat)

Dangerous foods: never offer these

Treats and feeding by hand

Treats make good rewards and help you bond with a nervous dragon. A single waxworm or a blueberry will do. FYI, don’t overdo it, because a dragon who learns that begging gets treats will skip salad forever.

I also recommend feeding adults in a separate bowl and not off the substrate. Loose sand or bark can cause impaction when the dragon swallows it along with his bug. A smooth tile or a shallow dish keeps him safe.

One more thing: don’t feed a lizard that’s too cold. Digestion needs heat, and food sitting undigested in a cold gut can cause problems. Wait for him to bask for an hour or two before you offer food, and make sure his enclosure temperatures stay in range.

How to Dust, Gut-Load and Portion Food Correctly

Even the best feeder insect gives poor nutrition if you skip these steps. Calcium and gut-loading separate healthy dragons from the ones that end up with metabolic bone disease.

Gut-loading

Gut-loading means you feed the insects a healthy diet before you feed them to your dragon. Do this at least 24 hours before feeding time. Offer them:

• Leafy greens like collards and mustard greens
• Carrot, squash or sweet potato
• A commercial gut-load product

Dry oats or fish flakes alone don’t cut it. Fresh food and water gel make the difference.

Calcium and vitamin dusting

Put insects in a small cup or bag with a pinch of supplement powder and shake until they look lightly coated. Use this routine as a starting point:

1. Calcium without D3: most feedings.
2. Calcium with D3: only if your UVB lighting is weak or you follow your vet’s advice.
3. Multivitamin: once or twice a week.

Product labels vary, so read yours and ask your vet if you feel unsure. Over-supplementing causes problems too, so don’t just add more powder on top.

UVB lighting matters just as much

A good UVB bulb helps your dragon make his own vitamin D3 and absorb calcium. Without it, calcium powder can’t do its job. Replace tube bulbs about every 6–12 months, even if they still light up, because UVB output fades long before the light dies.

Portion size and timing

• Feed insects in the morning or early afternoon, so he digests them while he basks.
• Offer babies and juveniles insects a few at a time for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Pull any uneaten insects out so they don’t bite him or hide in the tank.
• Give water through misting, a shallow dish, or a weekly bath.

Calcium problems show up slowly. Watch for tremors, soft jaw, bent limbs or a dragon that struggles to walk. These signs mean you need a vet quickly. Read our common reptile diseases guide for symptoms and treatment options.

Why Your Bearded Dragon Stopped Eating

Your dragon refuses food, and you start to panic. Take a breath. A missed meal doesn’t always mean trouble, but you should check a few things quickly.

Check the basics first

Most appetite problems come from setup issues. Run through this list:

• Basking temperature too low. Adults need roughly 100–110°F (38–43°C) at the basking spot, with a cooler side around 80–85°F. Measure with a digital thermometer, not the cheap stick-on kind.
• Weak or old UVB bulb.
• Stress from a new home, a new pet nearby, or a reflection in the glass.
• Wrong food. He may simply prefer a different insect today.

Brumation

Adult dragons often slow down in winter. They sleep more, hide, and eat very little for weeks. This natural rest period is called brumation. It usually hits dragons older than a year, and each dragon behaves a bit differently.

Keep water available, check his weight, and don’t force-feed. Offer food now and then, and he’ll eat when he’s ready. If he loses a lot of weight or looks sick, call your vet. Don’t assume brumation without ruling out illness first.

Signs of illness

Call a reptile vet if you see:

• Refusal to eat for more than a couple of weeks (shorter for babies)
• Sunken eyes or wrinkled skin, which can mean dehydration
• Runny stool, blood in stool, or no stool for a long time
• Bubbles around the nose or mouth
• Swollen belly or limbs
• Lethargy even while basking

Parasites, impaction and infections all kill appetite. Early treatment makes a big difference, so don’t wait around.

Thinking about a different pet because feeding feels like a lot of work? Compare your options in our bearded dragon vs leopard gecko article. Geckos eat insects only, and that changes the routine quite a bit.

Sample Weekly Feeding Schedule

Charts help, but a real weekly plan helps more. Here’s how I run an adult dragon’s week, and you can copy it and adjust.

Adult weekly plan

Juvenile daily plan

• Morning: insects for 10 minutes, calcium dusted.
• Midday: fresh salad, chopped small.
• Late afternoon: a second insect feeding, calcium dusted.
• Twice a week: swap one dusting for a multivitamin.

Habits that keep the schedule working

1. Feed at the same times each day. Dragons settle into routine.
2. Warm him up before meals with at least an hour under the basking lamp.
3. Log it. Write down what he ate, his weight and any odd behavior.
4. Check the setup weekly: temperatures, UVB age and fresh water.

Do you keep other reptiles? The rules change a lot between species. A ball python eats a whole mouse every week or two, and mistakes there can cause real problems. Our ball python feeding schedule shows the difference clearly. For equipment and calculators, browse the reptile tools page and the full reptile section for more care guides.

Final thoughts: A good bearded dragon feeding schedule comes down to age, balance and watching your own lizard. Babies eat insects several times a day. Adults shift to mostly greens with insects a few times a week. Dust food right, keep UVB fresh, and check his weight each month. Do that, and he’ll stay active, trim and hungry for a long time. Now go chop some collard greens, he’s staring at you again. 🙂

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I feed my bearded dragon?

Babies need insects three to five times a day. Juveniles eat insects twice a day, sub-adults once a day, and adults two to three times a week. Every age gets fresh greens daily.

How many crickets should a bearded dragon eat per day?

There’s no fixed number. For babies and juveniles, let them eat as many as they’ll take in 10 to 15 minutes, then remove the rest. Adults don’t need daily crickets at all.

Can bearded dragons eat fruit every day?

No. Fruit has lots of sugar, so keep it to a small portion once or twice a week.

What is the best staple insect for bearded dragons?

Dubia roaches work best for most keepers. They have good protein, low fat and no smell, and they don’t climb out of the tub. Crickets and soldier fly larvae make good rotation feeders.

Do bearded dragons need calcium powder?

Yes. Dust insects with calcium at most feedings and add a multivitamin once or twice a week. Pair that with a good UVB bulb so he absorbs the calcium properly.

How long can a bearded dragon go without eating?

Healthy adults can skip food for a week or two, especially during brumation. Babies and juveniles can’t go that long. If your dragon stops eating and acts sick, see a reptile vet.

Should I feed my bearded dragon in the morning or evening?

Feed in the morning or early afternoon. He needs basking time after eating so he can digest properly.