The Best Food to Feed a Bearded Dragon
Bearded dragons are fantastic pets for those who want an active and friendly companion. These creatures are diurnal, meaning they are most active during the day, and when fully grown, they can be allowed to roam around the house for short periods of time without fear of getting lost in small hiding spaces. However, it's important to supervise them at all times. Bearded dragons are also born tame and are happy to sit on their owner's lap for a cuddle.
They have wonderful personalities and are very attractive, making them great pets for people who are allergic to fur and can't have warm-blooded pets. With proper care, they can live up to 10 years or even more. To reach their potential lifespan, they need to be fed the right foods.
Some people ask if there's an alternative to feeding live food to their bearded dragons, but the answer is no. Even though pet shops sell dried food for bearded dragons, they rarely eat it. Live food is a crucial part of their diet, and the amount and type of live food they need changes as they grow from hatchlings to adults. When first hatched, they are almost entirely carnivorous, but as adults, they become 80% vegetarian. At all stages of their lives, they need the right balance of vegetables, fruits, and live food.
If you bring a juvenile bearded dragon home, it's important to offer finely chopped vegetables and fruits. The rule of thumb is that no food offered should be larger than the gap between their eyes. This goes for both the size of live food and the green stuff. If a juvenile has been fed properly since hatching, it will be used to having a bowl of vegetables in its enclosure, which it will nibble on if there's nothing else to eat. Juvenile bearded dragons can be picky eaters and may refuse to eat vegetables. But with time, they'll eventually come around and make it a part of their staple diet as adults.
If you have a juvenile bearded dragon who refuses to eat vegetables, don't worry. He'll get there eventually, and you need to persevere. It's best to try a variety of vegetables and fruits to see what he likes. Some bearded dragons like cabbage, mixed salad leaves, curly kale, peppers, sweet potato, grapes, apples, carrots, and other similar foods. Avoid feeding them avocado and items with a high moisture content such as iceberg lettuce, cucumber, or tomatoes as they can cause diarrhea.