Dear Shorty,
Bearded Dragons eat and need both animal proteins and vegetable matter!!! As young dragons they eat a bit more of the insects. As they get older, as adults their diet is more of the vegetable matter. As young BDs, the diet is about 80% animal proteins and 20% vegetable matter. As they get older, the ratio changes. An adult will eat about 80%-90% vegetable matter and 10-20% animal proteins.
Animal protein sources are: Crickets, superworms, silkworms, roaches, hornworms, waxworms. Waxworms are considered candy to a BD so only feed on occasion in a small amount(2-3 worms). ALL insects must be properly gutloaded for at least 48 hours prior to feeding to the dragon. For crickets and superworms, this can be done with vegetables, plain cereals and commercial foods for the species. Silkworms and the other insects have their own diet needs. Its best to feed the crickets in a seperate feeding tank such as a 10 or 20 gallon size tank or container with a well vented lid. This can make it easier for the dragon to catch the crickets and prevents any stray crickets in their "home" tank from deciding to nibble on the BD if he happens to not find them all. If you do feed in his home tank, be sure to place a 1/2 potato in the tank to help prevent the crickets from biting at the BD.
ALL insects fed must be no larger than the space between their eyes to prevent choking. Be sure to dust the insects daily(for dragons up to 14-15 inches) (2x wkly there after)with a good calcium source such as Rep Cal calcium powder with no added Phosphorus. For dragons up to Young BD's up to 4 months of age will eat more crickets than anything. At this age they will usually consume anywhere from 10 to 30+ correctly sized crickets three times a day. Be sure to remove any uneaten crickets that are not consumed in a 15-25 minute time frame. For this reason, its easier to use a separate feeding tank for the bearded dragon. A 10 gallon tank(with a screen top) works well. Its best to offer their "salad" of greens/veggies before offering their morning insect feeding when they are hungry to prevent any problems with them preferring NOT to eat their salad. Their salad consists of Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens...... this is the BASE of the green part of their vegetable diet. To this, for variety you can add arugula, escarole, endive,small amounts of bok choy or other Asian greens. For the vegetable part of the diet, green beans, butternut squash, acorn squash(other winter squashes are also acceptable) yams, sweet potato. For color, sweet peppers can also be added in a small amount. For baby BD's, using a food processor for the greens and veggies works well. As they get older, greens should never be larger than about an inch x an inch in size. Never feed lettuces as they have no nutritional value. The hard veggies should be either food processed or grated. Fruits can also be offered in small amounts. Good fruits are figs, papaya, melon, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries....and many other fruits... these need to be mashed or chopped. Watermelon is a good source of water for the dragon. Their salad can be dusted once or at the most, twice a month with a good vitamin supplement such as RepCal HerptiVit. This is by no means a complete list of foods the dragons!
can eat
You can also offer baby food chicken or small bits of boiled chicken.
