
What foods are safe for bearded dragons?
What Vegetables Do Bearded Dragons Eat
- Acorn squash
- Artichoke Heart
- Asparagus (Raw)
- Bell Peppers (Raw)
- Bok choy
- Butternut squash
- Cabbage (Raw)
- Carrots
- Celery
- Chicory
What vegetables are best for bearded dragons?
Good Vegetables and Greens For Bearded Dragons
- Artichoke. It has great fiber content and is full of necessary vitamins and minerals. ...
- Green Beans. It’s an excellent veggie for bearded lizards since it contains beta carotenes and Vitamin B.
- Red, green, and yellow bell peppers are veggies that bearded dragons can eat raw. ...
- Kale. ...
- Parsnips and watercress. ...
- Pumpkin without the seeds. ...
What is the best diet for a bearded dragon?
Our live food list tells you what meat your Beardie can eat:
- Crickets
- Kingworms
- Waxworms- these fatty worms should only be fed as a treat
- Earthworms
- Cockroaches
- Locusts
- Butterworms
- Silkworms
- Phoenix worms
- Crickets
What is the best food for a bearded dragon?
What Vegetables to Feed a Baby Bearded Dragon?
- Artichoke Heart
- Bell Pepper
- Orca
- Butternut Squash
- Celery
- Mustard Greens
- Yellow Squash
- Carrots
- Bok Choy
- Sweet Potato

How can I force my bearded dragon to eat?
Apply pressure to the sides of the bearded dragon's mouth to force it to open. Use your thumb and fore finger. Slide your fingers about three centimeters back from the top of the nose and apply pressure to the crease between the upper and lower jaw. The pressure should force the lizard to open his mouth.
What does it mean when your bearded dragon doesn't eat?
Bearded dragons need to feel comfortable in order to thrive. While we're not saying they're high-maintenance lizards, a change in their conditions can cause them to become stressed and lose their appetite. The most common causes for this are changes to their diet, lighting, temperature, and humidity.
What can I feed my sick bearded dragon?
For an ill bearded dragon, I recommend soaking bearded dragon pellets in a sports drink and then putting them in the blender to make a gruel or smoothie that can be easily syringe-fed to him. If you choose to locate another herp veterinarian, you have a couple of ways to find one.
When should I worry about my bearded dragon not eating?
It is important to seek expert advice from a veterinarian if your bearded dragon isn't eating after a few days, or if there are any other symptoms (lethargy, loose droppings, lack of droppings, or weight loss).
Will a bearded dragon starve itself?
So they could potentially live up to three months without eating while in brumation, assuming they stay asleep the whole time. However, even during brumation, bearded dragons sometimes wake up to eat, drink, or find a better spot to sleep.
How long can my bearded dragon go without eating?
So an average bearded dragon can go without food for 1-3 months in the wild. Juvenile bearded dragons would not survive that long since they don't have enough fat reserves. They can hardly last a week before their body demands food.
How do you revive a malnourished bearded dragon?
4 Ways to Correct Malnutrition in Your Bearded DragonFruits and vegetables – most importantly, leafy greens – but you can also give them fresh treats like apples, carrots, mango, peaches, squash, and strawberries in moderation.Feeder insects – like superworms and dubia roaches.More items...•
How can I help my weak bearded dragon?
Give the bearded dragon a bath in clean, dechlorinated water at least once a week. Baths not only help keep the bearded dragon hydrated, but also help facilitate shedding and can even help with light constipation or small impaction issues.
How do you treat a sick bearded dragon at home?
Make sure that your pet has enough water.Dehydration itself can be the cause of illness in bearded dragons.If you suspect that your pet is dehydrated, offer it clean drinking water from a syringe or bottle. If it still won't drink, you can offer it a beverage made to minimize dehydration, such as pedialyte.
How do I know if my bearded dragon is stressed?
If your bearded dragon is experiencing stress, you may notice any of the following symptoms:Diarrhea.Not going to the bathroom.Not basking.Loss of appetite.Not eating at all.Lethargy.Sluggishness.Frenzied activity.More items...•
What happens if a bearded dragon gets too cold?
Without heat for more than 24 hours, vital bodily processes of the reptiles will be disrupted, and the bearded dragon will die from too much cold and the inability to move and eat. This process can take between 24 hours and a few days depending on the situation and place, or general climatic conditions.
Can bearded dragon eat scrambled eggs?
Bearded dragons can safely eat scrambled eggs. They can also eat hard boiled eggs. Just remember these pointers: Adult bearded dragons should eat no more than half an egg at a time, max. If you're scrambling the egg, don't mix any additional ingredients with it.
Do bearded dragons stop eating when they shed?
It is not uncommon for Bearded Dragons to experience a loss of appetite when shedding. A refusal to eat before or after the process is normal too. Bearded Dragons usually do not eat during this time as they eat their own shed.
How to keep a bearded dragon healthy?
Try offering a variety of fruits, veggies, and insects to find out which foods your bearded dragon likes. Food variety is also a great way to make sure they get a healthy balance of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. 9. Vitamin Deficiency. There are several vitamins that bearded dragons need to stay healthy.
Why do bearded dragons not brumate?
Many pet bearded dragons do not brumate because the temperature and lighting in their enclosures remain the same year round.
What is the best way to save energy for bearded dragons?
1. Brumation . In the winter bearded dragons go through a period of dormancy to help save energy, this is called brumation. Brumation starts in the winter as temperatures start to cool and daylight shortens. Brumation helps wild species save energy and increases their chances of survival and successful breeding.
What vitamins do bearded dragons need?
Vitamin D is the vitamin that many bearded dragons lack. Calcium supplements are often mixed with vitamin D3, so dusting food with a calcium supplement will prevent any deficiency. Feeding a balanced diet that has lots of leafy vegetables will prevent most, if not all, vitamin deficiencies.
What to do if your bearded dragon stops eating?
If your bearded dragon stops eating and does not have a UVB light, take him to a vet for blood tests. Blood tests can show if your lizard’s blood calcium is too low. This may indicate he is in the early stages of metabolic bone disease. Metabolic bone disease can be treated, and even reversed, if caught early.
Why is my bearded dragon refusing to eat?
A Bearded Dragon refusing to eat can be a sign of a health problem, the result of a poor diet, a natural behavior or bad husbandry. The following list contains the ten most common reasons for why a beardie is refusing their food: Brumation. Shedding. UVB Lighting.
How do bearded dragons shed their skin?
As bearded dragons grow they shed their outer layer of skin in a process called ecdysis. During this process their skin becomes white and papery, and is rubbed off in patches.
Do Bearded Dragons Eat Everyday?
When the pet owners observe their bearded dragon not eating, they ask how often to feed their beardie. The best recommendations by the specialists and vets are as follows.
Why Is My Bearded Dragon Not Eating?
When owners see their beardie not eating they are curious to know the reasons for their bearded dragon loss of appetite.
How Long Can A Bearded Dragon Go Without Eating?
Quite often we hear the question my bearded dragon not eating or the bearded dragon loss of appetite is observed. A bearded dragon can go without food for months.
How Can I Stimulate My Bearded Dragons Appetite?
Pet owners have reported their bearded dragon not eating enough or their baby bearded dragon not eating much.
Is It Normal For A Bearded Dragon To Not Eat For A Day?
It is not normal to skip feed every now and then, Once in a while, an adult beardie may skip his feed. Whereas for juvenile or baby beardies, skipping is not normal, as they need a lot of energy and proteins for growth.
What Do I Do If My Baby Bearded Dragon Wont Eat?
Beardie owners ask why is my baby bearded dragon not eating. In fact, any new bearded dragon wont eat when brought to a new place.
Why Is My Pregnant Bearded Dragon Not Eating?
This is normal. Pregnant bearded dragons will stop eating a few days before laying the first clutch of eggs. It can be ten days also.
What Is A Bearded Dragon?
Anyone would be lucky to have a Bearded Dragon as a pet. They’re social, friendly, and are diurnal so that you can be with them during the day. In addition, they’re fairly low-maintenance to care for.
What Not To Feed Bearded Dragons
Bearded Dragons are omnivores. This means that they can eat both plants and invertebrates. However, just because they do eat a wide variety of food doesn’t mean they should. Some foods are problematic for your Beardie to digest, make them sick or can be poisonous.
What Do Bearded Dragons Eat?
Overall, the best food for Bearded Dragons is certain vegetables and invertebrates. Since Beardies need a high calcium diet, they’ll need foods that give them more calcium than phosphorous. Also, they need food that’s easy for them to digest.
Conclusion
So, what can a Bearded Dragon not eat? Believe it or not, there are more items on that list than you’d think. But it’s always best to be safe than sorry.
By Jason Williamson
Jason is a huge animal lover with many pets of his own. He loves sharing all his knowledge of all creatures here and learning more whenever he can.
Too much food
Bearded dragons eat both bugs and greens. If there are too many bugs in the tank, your bearded dragon may not want to eat their greens.
Too much of the same greens
Bearded dragons may be reptiles but they too have great taste. They too need to have variety in their diet to enjoy their food. As such, if you give them one type of greens all the time, they will start avoiding it.
Not enough UVB light
Your bearded dragon may stop eating greens because of a lack of UVB. UV rays are important for synthesizing vitamin D in your pet’s skin and allow them to digest their food properly. It also gives them an appetite for most foods in their diet.
Mix the greens up
One way to make your bearded dragon eat greens is to mix them up. There are a few ways you can do this:
Add salad dressing to the greens
When the bearded dragon won’t eat greens, add salad dressing to the greens. This is a simple solution that has been known to work for many bearded dragons. The salad dressing will make the eating experience more pleasant and flavorful.
Make a vegetable slurry
A vegetable slurry is made with water, mashed vegetables and fruit. The mix should be about 50 percent vegetables to 50 percent fruit or vegetable juice. The sweet taste of the slurry may entice the bearded dragon to eat it.
Feed them by hand
If your dragon won’t eat greens, you can try feeding them the greens by hand. You should not feed them the greens if they are able to eat on their own as this will just cause digestive problems. This encourages them to eat the greens while bonding with you.
Why is my bearded dragon not eating?
What to Do if Your Bearded Dragon Isn’t Eating. There are many reasons that dragons could refuse to eat. Stress is a big one. If you’ve recently changed your dragon’s environment, lighting, or diet, then they could be refusing to eat as a reaction to this, which will take a short time to sort out.
How many crickets should a dragon eat?
During insect feedings, allow them 10 minutes to eat as many as they can. This could be as many as 50 crickets each day. Once a dragon reaches three months, it’s considered to be a juvenile. Juvenile dragons need a diet that’s about 50/50 plants and live insects.
What is gut loading in dragons?
Gut loading is when you stuff the insects full of nutritious food before feeding them to your dragon.
How much food do bearded dragons need?
These baby dragons need 75% of their nutrition to come from live insects and just 25% to come from plants. You can split their feeding into five meals.
Why won't my dragon eat?
Dragons might also refuse to eat when they’re shedding. You can tell they’re shedding when scales become dull-looking and the tip of the tail turns gray. Sick dragons may also refuse to eat. This could require a trip to the vet. Temperature can also have a major effect on a dragon’s appetite.
What to do if your dragon is eating everything?
If your dragon is eating every bit of the food you provide within the feeding window, then you might need to offer more food. On the other hand, if there’s always a lot of food leftover when the feeding window closes, then you should start reducing the amount of food you’re offering.
What is the best food for bearded dragons?
Dubia roaches are widely considered to be the absolute best live food for bearded dragons due to their incredibly high protein content. Furthermore, they’re very clean insects and tend to be much safer than crickets, which have been known to carry parasites. Phoenix worms are also a great choice.

Anxiety & Stress
- When it comes to figuring out why a bearded dragon isn’t eating, this is one of the most overlooked causes. Everyone jumps to things like lighting or illness (both valid), but they skip this one! As you probably know, bearded dragons are a lot more emotionally complex than people thi…
They’Re Getting Older
- This could be one of the most common causes for people wondering why their bearded dragon won’t eat like they used to. No one thinks that it might be a normal and natural change! Here’s how it works: When a bearded dragon is young they’re growing fast and are full of youthful energy. As a result, they need to eat a lot more food. However, as they get older things begin to change (soun…
Impaction
- If your bearded dragon is not eating, they might be suffering from impaction. This isn’t something that many new owners are familiar with, so let’s explain it for a second. Impaction is a buildup in the gut or intestines that can’t be moved by normal digestive or colon contractions. In serious cases, this can be rather uncomfortable and will likely cause your bearded dragon to lose their a…
They’Re in Brumation
- When a bearded dragon isn’t eating, brumation is something you should definitely consider. Brumation is a hibernation-like state that lizards will go into during the cold months of the year. When a bearded dragon goes into brumation, a lot of their core body functions will slow down. They won’t move around nearly as much and will also eat a lot less food. This is because they si…
Shedding
- If your bearded dragon is shedding, that could be the cause for their loss of appetite as well. Inexperienced owners are usually surprised to hear this because it’s a natural process. But it can be uncomfortable! Depending on the situation, the shedding process can make your bearded dragon itchy and dry. This constant feeling can definitely impact their mood and willingness to e…
They’Re Sick
- As you’ve probably guessed, a variety of illnesses can cause a bearded dragon to stop eating too. This is usually the first cause that inexperienced owners jump to when they get in a panic, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a possibility. There is a long list of potential sicknesses that can plague these reptiles, but infections and parasites are usually the most common. One infection that you’…
Injuries
- While it might seem unlikely, bearded dragons get injured all the time. Most of the time this is the result of them fighting with other animals or getting hurt by a poorly-made enclosure. And an injured bearded dragon is far more likely to turn away food than a healthy one. This could simply be due to discomfort and unwillingness to leave their hiding spot, or something worse (like an in…