How often should I feed a bearded dragon?

Young, growing dragons are typically offered insects multiple times a day alongside greens, while adults eat less often and rely more on vegetables. The exact frequency depends on age and size, so it is worth checking guidance specific to your dragon's life stage rather than using one schedule for every age.

Can bearded dragons eat fruit?

Yes, but only as an occasional extra rather than a regular part of the diet, since fruit is higher in sugar than the vegetables that should make up most of what they eat. A small piece now and then is fine; a diet built around fruit is not.

Do bearded dragons need live insects, or can they eat dried ones?

Live, appropriately sized insects are the standard way to feed the insect part of the diet, since movement encourages natural hunting behaviour and live insects are generally better nutritionally than dried alternatives. Dried insects are more commonly used as an occasional treat than a staple.

Why does calcium matter so much for bearded dragons?

Bearded dragons have high calcium needs relative to their size, and a shortfall combined with inadequate UVB lighting can lead to serious bone problems over time. Dusting insects with a calcium supplement and getting the lighting right are both part of getting this side of their care correct.

Bearded dragon food

Bearded dragons are omnivores that need a genuine mix of live insects and plant matter, not one or the other. Young bearded dragons eat mostly insects to fuel rapid growth, while adults shift toward eating mostly vegetables and greens, with insects becoming more of a supplement than the main event.

The insect side of the diet

Crickets and locusts are the usual staple live food, with roaches and mealworms also commonly used, and all should be an appropriate size for the dragon eating them — a rough guide is nothing wider than the space between the dragon's eyes, since anything larger becomes a choking or impaction risk rather than a meal.

Insects should be gut-loaded, meaning fed a nutritious diet themselves in the day or so before being offered, and dusted with a calcium supplement at most feeds, since a bearded dragon's calcium needs are high and rarely met by the insects alone. Fatty feeder insects like waxworms are better treated as an occasional extra than a regular staple, given how rich they are.

The plant side, and why it matters more as they grow

As a bearded dragon matures, the balance of their diet should shift toward vegetables and leafy greens making up the larger share, with insects becoming a smaller, supplementary part rather than the main course. Dark leafy greens, along with a rotating variety of dragon-safe vegetables, should make up most of an adult's plate.

Iceberg lettuce is best avoided as a main green because it offers very little nutritionally, and fruit should stay an occasional extra rather than a regular feature, since it is higher in sugar than the vegetables that should form the bulk of the diet. A small number of plants are genuinely unsafe and should never be offered, so it is worth checking anything unfamiliar before adding it to the bowl.

Getting the calcium side right

Calcium and appropriate UVB lighting work together, and a diet can be doing everything right and still leave a dragon short if the lighting side is not sorted, since dragons need UVB to process calcium properly rather than getting everything from food alone. This is worth understanding before focusing on diet in isolation.

Fresh water should always be available in a shallow dish, even though many bearded dragons take in a lot of their moisture from food and occasional misting rather than drinking heavily from a bowl in the way a mammal would.

What we stock

Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.

Komodo Tortoise Food Salad Mix

A complete holistic tortoise diet flavoured to taste like fresh salad

£7.29

Tetra Reptomin Sticks

Complete Tetra ReptoMin dry sticks for water turtles, with calcium and phosphorus

£4.98

Monkfield Mouse Small 10-15g

A 5-pack of frozen small mice, sized 10-15g, for feeding reptiles

£5.79

King British Turtle Terrapin Complete Food

A complete extruded stick food for turtles and terrapins, built on shrimp and krill

From£4.13

Choose options

Evrox Snake Food

Frozen whole-prey rodents for pet snakes, weighed to a standardised size for each feeding stage

From£2.75

Choose options

Komodo Tortoise Bar Flower

A flower and grass bar treat for tortoises, bound with a vegan binder

£4.19

Tetra ReptoMin

Floating stick food for water turtles, with 39% protein and added calcium for shell growth

£9.06

Monkfield Chicks - Day Old

250 humanely sourced day-old chicks, blast frozen for reptile whole-prey feeding

£42.69

Monkfield Mouse Jumbo > 31g

Frozen jumbo mice for reptile feeding, sold in packs of five

£8.99

Monkfield Mouse Large 20-30g

Frozen large mice for reptile feeding, sold in packs of five

£7.49

Komodo Tortoise Food Banana

A complete holistic tortoise diet in banana flavour, high in fibre

£7.29

Komodo Tortoise Hay Cakes

A dried grass and dandelion hay cake for tortoises

£4.19

Browse all of Reptiles →

Common questions

How often should I feed a bearded dragon?: Young, growing dragons are typically offered insects multiple times a day alongside greens, while adults eat less often and rely more on vegetables. The exact frequency depends on age and size, so it is worth checking guidance specific to your dragon's life stage rather than using one schedule for every age.
Can bearded dragons eat fruit?: Yes, but only as an occasional extra rather than a regular part of the diet, since fruit is higher in sugar than the vegetables that should make up most of what they eat. A small piece now and then is fine; a diet built around fruit is not.
Do bearded dragons need live insects, or can they eat dried ones?: Live, appropriately sized insects are the standard way to feed the insect part of the diet, since movement encourages natural hunting behaviour and live insects are generally better nutritionally than dried alternatives. Dried insects are more commonly used as an occasional treat than a staple.
Why does calcium matter so much for bearded dragons?: Bearded dragons have high calcium needs relative to their size, and a shortfall combined with inadequate UVB lighting can lead to serious bone problems over time. Dusting insects with a calcium supplement and getting the lighting right are both part of getting this side of their care correct.

Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.