West Coast Dragons Live Prey

Live Prey

Bearded dragons are omnivores and thus require a suitable live prey in addition to daily greens and vegetables. There are several types of insects that are considered acceptable as a daily staple and others that are best used for supplementation and variety. The most commonly used and readily available "staple" feeders are crickets. Phoenix worms (soldier fly larva), silkworms, Lateralis and Dubia roaches also a fit into this category. Insects such as waxworms, butterworms, mealworms, and superworms are not suitable as a" staple feeder". To be considered a "staple" food, insects will naturally contain a high protein, calcium and even water ratio and a low phosphorus, fat and chitin ratio. With some live prey it can be a trade off, offering a high calcium content insect may be at the expense of its high fat content, this is one of the reasons that a varied protein diet is the best approach. We use crickets and Dubai roaches as our staple feeders with superworms and mealworms, waxworms and butterworms as occasional supplements. Although various worms are a valuable part of a protein diet, waxworms, butterworms and superworms (and to a lesser degree mealworms) contain a high fat ratio and should be used conservatively.
Excessive numbers of live prey in the enclosure after the dragon has finished eating is not recommended. Crickets, who seek to hide during daylight hours, will emerge at night and may nibble on your dragon. Leaving the vegetable dish overnight in the enclosure provides a distraction for hungry or thirsty insects. It is also important that your dragons' live prey be dusted with calcium and vitamin supplements on a regular schedule to ensure adequate absorption and dietary balance.

Sizing Live Prey

The most commonly used rule of thumb when it comes to the size of live prey you should offer your bearded dragon is "no bigger than the space between its eyes". While we believe this is the best approach with hatchling and young juveniles we have found juveniles to adults can easily manage somewhat larger prey.

Gut Loading

Gut loading simply means offering your live prey a high protein and vitamin rich diet prior to being fed to your dragon. Everything your live prey eats is what your dragon is ingesting so gut loading 1-3 hours before feeding is required to assure your dragon is receiving the optimum nutritional value. Avoid feeding live prey directly from your pet store or supplier, as they may not have been fed adequately to pass on any nutritional value. There are many products available and creating your own "gut load" is also an option so please choose carefully. We personally use a gut loading mixture of finely ground chicken mash and alfalfa pellets to feed our cricket and roach colonies and supplement our worm colonies. The addition of most fresh vegetable ends or scraps provides moisture and additional nutrients.

Wild Insects

We do not feed or recommend the use of wild insects of any kind as they may have been exposed to pesticides, fertilizers or other toxic chemicals or may harbor parasites that can be harmful to dragons. FIREFLYS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS DEADLY TO BEARDED DRAGONS!

Feeding Young Dragons

Placing a few feeders at a time in the enclosure may be necessary at first so as not to overwhelm a young dragon, using an appropriate sized feeder. Using a separate enclosure to feed in is also an option to that will prevent excessive uneaten feeders hiding in the enclosure.