Nutrition for Bearded Dragon Lizards
Bearded Dragon Nutrition
Bearded dragon lizards are omnivorous, which means that they eat both animal and plant matter. As a rule of thumb, do not feed anything to your lizard that is bigger than the space between their eyes. If you feed them any food items that are bigger than that you could cause impaction or paralysis of the hind legs.
When feeding baby and juveniles, feed them appropriate sized crickets two to three times daily. Offer them as many as they can eat within a five to ten minute period. Additionally, you should offer your bearded dragon fresh greens daily, spray them with water as this will help keep them fresh, as well as keeping your bearded dragon hydrated.
For adult bearded dragons, it is only necessary to offer their food once daily. Once they've reached adulthood you can begin to offer them locusts, Cockroaches, Mealworms, Waxworms, Zophobas worms, Silkworms, Butterworms, Red worms, Earthworms and just about any other worm available. These are used as treats in addition to the crickets and greens. It is recommended that you purchase all insects used in feeding your bearded dragon instead of catching them, as the ones in your back yard can have parasites on them. The parasites can be transferred to your lizard or can poison them. It's also recommended that you dust the insects with a calcium supplement daily and a multi-vitamin supplement weekly. Once your bearded dragon is finished eating remove any uneaten insects from the enclosure.
There is a wide variety of greens that are available that are good for your Beardie. Dandelion greens, Collard greens, Mustard greens, Bok choy, Kale, Turnip greens, Escarole and Chicory are among the easiest to find and the best to use. Most types of lettuce are composed mostly of water and hold little or no nutritional value. With the wide variety of other greens out there, it is better and easier to avoid any type of lettuce. Spinach should also be avoided as calcium binds to it and will not be
Bearded dragon lizards are omnivorous, which means that they eat both animal and plant matter. As a rule of thumb, do not feed anything to your lizard that is bigger than the space between their eyes. If you feed them any food items that are bigger than that you could cause impaction or paralysis of the hind legs.
When feeding baby and juveniles, feed them appropriate sized crickets two to three times daily. Offer them as many as they can eat within a five to ten minute period. Additionally, you should offer your bearded dragon fresh greens daily, spray them with water as this will help keep them fresh, as well as keeping your bearded dragon hydrated.
For adult bearded dragons, it is only necessary to offer their food once daily. Once they've reached adulthood you can begin to offer them locusts, Cockroaches, Mealworms, Waxworms, Zophobas worms, Silkworms, Butterworms, Red worms, Earthworms and just about any other worm available. These are used as treats in addition to the crickets and greens. It is recommended that you purchase all insects used in feeding your bearded dragon instead of catching them, as the ones in your back yard can have parasites on them. The parasites can be transferred to your lizard or can poison them. It's also recommended that you dust the insects with a calcium supplement daily and a multi-vitamin supplement weekly. Once your bearded dragon is finished eating remove any uneaten insects from the enclosure.
There is a wide variety of greens that are available that are good for your Beardie. Dandelion greens, Collard greens, Mustard greens, Bok choy, Kale, Turnip greens, Escarole and Chicory are among the easiest to find and the best to use. Most types of lettuce are composed mostly of water and hold little or no nutritional value. With the wide variety of other greens out there, it is better and easier to avoid any type of lettuce. Spinach should also be avoided as calcium binds to it and will not be