What Insects Do Bearded Dragons Eat? Complete Live Food List
Walk into any pet shop and you will be sold crickets. They are cheap, they are always in stock, and they are almost never the best thing in the tub. Knowing what insects bearded dragons eat is really two questions: which bugs are safe, and which ones are worth the money.
The safe list is longer than most new owners expect. The everyday list is much shorter.
- The Short List: What to Actually Feed
- Staple Feeder Insects
- Occasional Feeders
- Treats: Fatty and Fun
- Insects to Never Feed
- Feeder Insect Comparison Table
- How Many Insects, and How Often
- Size, Gut Loading, and Dusting
- Where to Buy Live Food
- FAQ
The Short List: What to Actually Feed
If you want the answer without the detail, here it is. Build the insect side of the diet on dubia roaches and black soldier fly larvae. Add crickets if your dragon likes the chase. Keep hornworms in reserve for a dragon that needs water or has gone off its food. Everything else is optional.
That is four insects. Most keepers rotate two or three and their dragons do fine, because the greens side of the diet is doing more work than the bugs are once a dragon reaches adulthood. The full bearded dragon diet guide covers how those two halves fit together by age.
Staple Feeder Insects
A staple is something you can feed at every insect meal without causing a problem. Four qualify.
Dubia Roaches
The best all-round feeder, and it is not close. Dubia run roughly 21 to 23 percent protein with about 7 to 9 percent fat, which is a better protein-to-fat balance than almost anything else on the shelf. They have soft bodies, so less shell to pass. They cannot climb smooth walls or fly, so escapees end up under the fridge rather than in your bedroom. They are quiet, they do not smell, and they live for months in a tub.
The catch is the calcium ratio, which sits near 1:3 in favour of phosphorus. That is normal for feeder insects and it is exactly why dusting exists. More on that below, and in the dubia roach feeding guide.
Black Soldier Fly Larvae
Sold as calciworms, phoenix worms, NutriGrubs, or repti-worms depending on the brand. They are the one common feeder with more calcium than phosphorus, roughly 1.5:1 to 2:1, because the larvae store calcium in their bodies. That makes them the only feeder you can reasonably serve undusted.
They are small, so they suit babies and juveniles well. Fat content runs higher than dubia at around 14 percent, so they are not an unlimited food. Feed them alongside dubia rather than instead of them.
Crickets
Crickets are fine. They are just not special. Protein sits around 18 to 21 percent with low fat, and the calcium ratio is poor at roughly 1:9. What they do offer is movement, and movement triggers a feeding response in dragons that have gone fussy.
The downsides are practical rather than nutritional. They chirp, they smell, they die in the tub, and any cricket left in the enclosure overnight will chew on your dragon. Feed what gets eaten in ten minutes and remove the rest. The cricket guide goes into housing and keeping them alive.
Discoid Roaches
Nearly identical to dubia in nutrition and handling. They matter mainly if you live somewhere dubia are restricted, which in the United States means Florida. If you can get dubia, there is no reason to switch.
Occasional Feeders
These are safe, but each has a reason it should not be the everyday bug.
Silkworms
Nutritionally excellent. High protein, very low fat, soft bodied, and high moisture. If they were cheaper and easier to keep alive they would be a staple. They need mulberry-based food and they do not store well, which is why most keepers treat them as a rotation food rather than a base.
Hornworms
Around 85 percent water, very low fat, and soft enough for any age. That makes them the go-to for a dehydrated dragon, a dragon coming out of brumation, or one that has stopped eating and needs something tempting. They are not a nutrition food. They grow fast, they are expensive, and a dragon fed only hornworms would be badly underfed. Details in the hornworm guide.
Superworms
Adults only. Superworms carry roughly 15 to 18 percent fat and a tough outer shell, and they are addictive in the sense that a dragon offered superworms often starts refusing greens. They also bite, which matters if you are feeding by hand. A few a week for a healthy adult is fine. Never for hatchlings.
Mealworms
The most overrated feeder in the hobby. High chitin, moderate fat, poor calcium ratio, and not much protein for the shell you are asking your dragon to process. They are not dangerous for a healthy adult in small numbers, but they should not be anyone’s staple. Baby dragons should skip them entirely, since undigested shell is a known contributor to impaction. The mealworm guide has the full picture.
Treats: Fatty and Fun
Waxworms and butterworms sit around 22 to 29 percent fat. They are the reptile equivalent of chocolate. Dragons love them, will hold out for them, and will happily get fat on them.
Use them for one of three jobs: tempting a sick dragon to eat, hiding a medication, or building trust with a new dragon during hand feeding. Two or three at a time, not more than once a week.
Insects to Never Feed
The rest of the do-not-feed list:
- Any wild-caught insect — the big one. Insects from your garden may carry pesticide residue, herbicides, or parasites, and none of that is visible. This includes wild crickets, moths, spiders, and grasshoppers.
- Venomous or stinging insects — bees, wasps, hornets, scorpions, centipedes.
- Ants — formic acid, and fire ants in particular can cause serious injury.
- Boxelder bugs and ladybirds — both carry defensive chemicals that make dragons sick.
- Spiders — some are venomous and none are worth the risk.
- Wild grasshoppers and locusts — commercially bred locusts are safe where sold; wild ones are a common source of parasites.
The pattern is simple. If it came from a breeder, it is probably fine. If it came from your lawn, it is not. Our toxic foods guide covers the plant side of the same question.
Feeder Insect Comparison Table
Approximate as-fed values. Figures vary by supplier, insect age, and what the insects were fed before you got them.
| Insect | Protein | Fat | Ca:P ratio | Use as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubia roach | ~21–23% | ~7–9% | ~1:3 | Staple |
| Black soldier fly larvae | ~17–18% | ~14% | ~1.5:1 | Staple |
| Cricket | ~18–21% | ~5–7% | ~1:9 | Staple |
| Discoid roach | ~20–23% | ~7–9% | ~1:3 | Staple |
| Silkworm | ~9–11% | ~1–2% | ~1:2 | Occasional |
| Earthworm | High | Low | Not ideal | Occasional (hydration) |
| Hornworm | ~9% | ~3% | ~1:3 | Occasional / hydration |
| Superworm | ~19–20% | ~15–18% | ~1:15 | Occasional, adults only |
| Mealworm | ~19–20% | ~12–13% | ~1:7 | Occasional, adults only |
| Butterworm | ~16% | ~29% | ~1:30 | Treat |
| Waxworm | ~14–16% | ~22–25% | ~1:7 | Treat |
Notice that every feeder except black soldier fly larvae has more phosphorus than calcium. Phosphorus blocks calcium absorption, which is why dusting is not optional and why calcium supplements matter as much as the bugs themselves.
How Many Insects, and How Often
Insects are the bulk of the diet when a dragon is growing and a side dish once it stops. The switch happens gradually, not on a birthday.
| Age | Insect meals | Roughly how many | Insects vs greens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–3 months | 3–5 times daily | As many as eaten in 10 minutes | ~80% insects |
| 3–8 months | 2–3 times daily | 20–40 per day total | ~60% insects |
| 8–12 months | Once daily | 10–20 per day | ~40% insects |
| 12+ months | 3–4 times weekly | 10–15 per feed | ~20% insects |
Fresh greens go in every single day at every age, including for hatchlings that ignore them. The habit matters more than the amount early on. The feeding schedule guide breaks this down week by week.
Size, Gut Loading, and Dusting
Three rules turn a tub of bugs into an actual meal.
- Size. No insect should be wider than the space between your dragon’s eyes. Too big is the most common feeding mistake and a genuine impaction risk, particularly with hard-shelled feeders.
- Gut load. Feed the insects properly for 24 to 48 hours before they go in the tank. An insect raised on cardboard delivers almost nothing. One raised on collard greens, squash, and carrot delivers real nutrition. This is the highest-value habit in the whole routine, and the gut loading guide covers what to use.
- Dust. Calcium powder at most insect feedings for babies and juveniles, two to three times a week for adults. Whether you use calcium with or without D3 depends on your UVB setup. A multivitamin goes on once a week.
Dusting is easiest in a bag or a deli cup: drop the insects in, add a pinch of powder, shake gently, tip in. Anything heavier than a light coating gets refused.
Where to Buy Live Food
Online feeder breeders beat pet shops on price, size range, and freshness, and it is not a close contest. A pet shop sells you fifty crickets at a markup and you lose a third of them in a week. A breeder ships a few hundred, sized to order, for less.
What to look for: guaranteed live arrival, the ability to choose size by measurement rather than “small, medium, large,” and a supplier that tells you what they gut load with. For dubia specifically, buy a mixed-size colony if you plan to breed your own, which pays for itself within a few months if you have more than one dragon.
Buy roughly a fortnight of food at a time. Bugs are cheaper in bulk, but a tub sitting too long loses condition and dies off.
FAQ
What is the single best insect for a bearded dragon?
Can bearded dragons eat bugs from outside?
How many insects should an adult bearded dragon eat?
Can bearded dragons eat only insects?
Do I have to dust every insect?
Why won’t my bearded dragon eat its insects?
Are mealworms bad for bearded dragons?
The Bottom Line
The list of insects bearded dragons can eat is long. The list worth buying is four: dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, crickets, and hornworms when you need them. Rotate those, gut load them properly, dust them, and keep the pieces small.
Everything else on the shelf is a treat or a nice-to-have. Nothing from your garden belongs in the tank, and a firefly can kill a dragon outright.
Three of these feeders qualify as true staples. See which, and why, in the bearded dragon staple foods guide.
Locusts belong on this list too, where they are legally sold. See can bearded dragons eat grasshoppers.
Sources & Further Reading
- VCA Animal Hospitals — Bearded Dragon Feeding
- Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians
- USDA FoodData Central — Composition Data
This article is educational and is not a substitute for veterinary advice. If your bearded dragon stops eating, loses weight, or shows signs of illness, contact a qualified exotics vet.
