Bearded Dragon Diet and Care Sheet

There is a total of eight recognized species of pogona or bearded dragons which are also known as beardies. Their name come from their spiny scales on their chin that looks like a beard. In this article, we’ll discuss the bearded dragon diet and care sheet. 

Bearded Dragon Diet 

Bearded dragons are omnivores and can eat a variety of food. Naturally, they eat a lot of insects daily and vegetation too. In wild, 75% of their food consists on protein sources like dubia roaches, silkworms, king worms, superworms, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, earthworms, butter worms, crickets, and even small mammals like mice. Rest of the 25% of their natural food includes fruits, nuts, vegetables etc. 

In captivity, young ones are supplied with a high energy diet as they do a lot of activity. They need more insects than vegetables and fruits. However, adults should be fed on more vegetables than insects. This is due to their restricted activities in comparison with their wild cousins. As they don’t have so much activities, so, feeding more insects can lead to obesity. 

Although several insects are available for bearded dragons but you should be careful about their diet. Captive bearded dragons should not be provided with wild insects as some parasites may be present in their body that can harm bearded dragons. Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, dubia roaches, and superworms are available at our website.

Sometimes, bearded dragons don’t drink water or hesitate to drink water. In such situations, you can mist their food. You can also add some supplements and calcium powder in the food of bearded dragons as they can get calcium deficiency in a captive environment. 

Although processed food is available for bearded dragons, however, this type of food is discouraged because beardies don’t do any type of exercise during the intake of this type of food. 

Housing for bearded dragon 

The first thing you need for bearded dragons is a 60-gallon aquarium for a single adult bearded dragon. You can also use a larger one for your bearded dragon. There should be proper ventilation in the aquarium for the bearded dragon. You can also use portable cages for bearded dragons. 

Arrangements in the aquarium/terrarium  

Sand is the most commonly used substrate for bearded dragons. However, it is not recommended in case of young bearded dragons. For young ones, you can use newspaper, towel, or dragon pad; a dragon pad can be a better choice. 

Along with substrate, you should also arrange for two different temperatures in the same aquarium. Basking temperature should be 100 °F. The cooled side should have at least 80 °F temperature that you can reduce up to 65 °F at night. You should add some hiding places, stones, strong branches of the tree, so that bearded dragon may feel comfortable. Maintaining humidity is also important for bearded dragons like temperature: a 35 to 40 % humidity is enough for bearded dragons. You should also add UVB bulb as there is usually no sunlight present in the captive environments. UVB converts cholecalciferol to vitamin D3 in the skin which helps in absorption of calcium which is very important for normal growth.