Dragon feeding crash course

Bearded Dragons are omnivorous, which means that their diet consists of both insects and plants. When it comes to insects, they have many of the same needs as chameleons. Their vegetable needs are simple but specific. Let's start with the bugs.

• Insects must be alive

• There are lots of bugs in the world but only some of them are appropriate for our dragon friends.

• Feeder insects need to be fed organic dragon-appropriate vegetables for at least 8 hours before being fed to your dragons. This is called gut loading.

• Coating the feeder insects with the right supplements is critical to the health and development of your dragon. We will chat about supplements.

• It's important to feed dragons the appropriate amount and size of insects for their age/stage of development.

Dragon-appropriate feeder insects

There are a few factors you have to take into account when selecting feeder insects. Let's start with nutritional value. It's important to feed a variety of insects. Options such as dubia roaches, silkworms, red runner roaches, and black soldier fly larvae are great and my favorite picks. Other insects like hornworms, wax worms, and even snails can be fun treats. Below I've provided a quick reference guide for selecting feeders and gut loads that were created for chameleons but apply perfectly for bearded dragons as well.

Gut loading

Above I provided the Chameleon Forums gut load quick reference guide, it was created with chameleons in mind BUT completely applies to bearded dragons as well. Think of your insects as two slices of bread. You can eat that bread, it would quench your hunger, but over time eating bread alone will take its toll on your health. What if you added lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, smear, roast beef, and alfalfa sprouts? You have just transformed two slices of bread into a well-rounded meal.

This is the thinking behind gut-loading your feeder insects. Feeders with empty stomachs are essentially empty shells, gut loading allows keepers to deliver vital nutrients in a package dragons love. It's important to always be aware of the things you are choosing for your gut load. The goals of gut loading are:

• Add additional calcium to your feeder insects via their stomachs. I prefer to use commercial gut-loading products to accomplish this goal, my favorite is Repashy Superload. Its first ingredient is calcium which is key to a great gut load. I also use powdered sage. Sage is a natural herb with huge amounts of calcium.

• To make sure the insects are delivering other valuable vitamins and minerals. You want to make sure to take advantage of the opportunity to also squeeze in much-needed vitamins when you can.

• To make the bugs more impactful/nutritious. Without gut-loading your feeder insects are essentially empty shells.

Only use organic fruits and veggies to avoid pesticides that can harm your feeder insects and your reptiles.

Supplements!

Supplements are not negotiable. They are necessary for the health and longevity of your dragons. It's important to have a good understanding of what supplements dragons need, when, and why. Let's break it down:

• There are 3 primary supplements: calcium without D3, calcium with D3, and a high-quality multi-vitamin

  What is D3? In nature, retiles absorb UVB from the sun which is converted into D3. Their bodies then use D3 to process calcium for an array of important bodily functions, including bone health. As keepers, we work to provide our chameleons with UVB through our lighting choices. The reality is, we will never be able to recreate lighting as effectively as the sun. Supplementing D3 helps to correct those shortcomings. You have to be careful with D3. When using the sun to naturally produce D3 reptiles have a shut-off switch to prevent overproduction. This is not possible with artificial D3, you can overdose reptiles.

  • Calcium without D3: Feeders need to be dusted with calcium without D3 for almost every feeding. More on this later.

  • Calcium with D3: Feeders should be dusted with calcium with D3 a maximum of two times a month. I follow a schedule of every other Sunday.

  • High-quality multi-vitamin: In nature, dragons are free to eat any bugs they chose/find, to seek out certain nutrients when they need them, essentially balancing their vitamin and mineral needs. As keepers, we have a responsibility to fill this gap, and that is where multivitamins come in. Feeders needed to be dusted with a high-quality multivitamin at least twice a month. I alternate between D3 and multivitamins on Sundays. Two Sundays of D3 and two of multi-vitamins.

• Wondering what "dusting" means? I definitely did the first time I read a reptile care sheet. When dusting your feeders, your goal is a cover them in a light coating of the supplements. You are aiming for a slightly dusty appearance as opposed to a powdered donut. A little goes a long way.

• Creating a supplement schedule will help keep you on track. The simpler the better. Monday - Saturday I dust all my feeders with calcium no D3, on Sundays I alternate between: Multivitamins along with calcium no D3 on the 1st and 3rd Sunday or Calcium with D3 on the 2nd and 4th. The image below is the schedule I follow.

Salad

Bearded dragons are omnivores, therefore a conversation about what to feed them would be horribly incomplete without salad talk. Baby dragons need lots of protein to accommodate their growing bodies. The ideal ratio is 80% protein:20% salad, but as they age into adulthood (12 months old) this dynamic flips to 80% salad:20% protein. It's important to start baby dragons on salad right along with their bugs. This will help ensure your adult dragon loves their veggies.

Feeding your dragon the right kinds of fruits and veggies is essential. Check out the handy reference guide below for an easy understanding of what to include in their salad and how often. Make sure to check out the yuck list.

Feeder sizes and quantity

Selecting the right-sized feeders for your reptiles is important for one simple reason. If the feeders are too large they won't eat them. I can't begin to express the issues this can cause. But how do you know what size is the right size? A great rule to follow is that feeders need to be less wide than the space between your dragon's eyes. When in doubt, go smaller, not larger. Simple.

Quantity and Frequency will vary over the life of your dragon. Babies (6 weeks - 12 months-ish) need to be fed all they can eat every day. This will slow down around 7 months. 12 months and older you can cut back to 3-8 feeders, depending on your individual reptile, 3 times a week. Make sure the feeders are the right size, gut-loaded, and dusted in the appropriate supplements.

Extra helpful chart

There are certain nutrients that you want to pay attention to when it comes to feeder insects Protein, Fat, Fiber, and Ash. Your goal is to select feeders with good ratios of these elements. The best staple feeders are high in protein, low in fat, and have a low Phosphorus to calcium ratio (more calcium than phosphorus) The chart below gives a general breakdown of this information for a number of different feeders.