how often do you feed bearded dragons

You should feed bearded dragons every day , but how often and what you offer depends a lot on their age.

Quick Scoop: Basic Schedule

• Hatchlings (0–3 months): 3 insect meals per day, plus a small salad offered daily.
• Juveniles (3–6 months): 2 insect meals per day, salad offered daily.
• Older juveniles/subadults (6–12 months): 1 insect meal per day or every other day, salad every day.
• Adults (12+ months): Insects about 2–4 times per week, salads offered daily or at least most days.

This kind of schedule helps them grow well as babies but avoids obesity and gout as adults.

How Often Do You Feed By Age?

Baby bearded dragons (0–3 months)

• Insects:
  • 3 times per day is common.
  • Around 10–25 appropriately sized insects per feeding (small crickets, roaches, etc.).
  • Many keepers used to recommend “as many as they can eat in 10–15 minutes,” but that can lead to 50–100 insects a day and potential long‑term issues like gout and obesity.
• Greens:
  • Offer a small bowl of finely chopped greens/veggies every day.
  • Even if they mostly ignore it at first, it trains them to recognize salad as food.

Juveniles (3–6 months)

• Insects:
  • About 2 insect meals per day.
  • Roughly 10–20 insects per feeding, depending on insect size.
• Greens:
  • Salad available daily.
  • Many keepers feed insects earlier in the day and offer greens a few hours later so the dragon is more likely to try them.

Sub-adults (6–12 months)

• Insects:
  • 1 feeding per day or every other day, depending on body condition and appetite.
• Greens:
  • Salad every day.
• You gradually shift the ratio from mostly bugs (protein) to mostly greens to prepare them for an adult diet.

Adults (12+ months)

• Insects:
  • Common routine: 4–10 appropriately sized insects per feeding.
  • Frequency: about 2–4 times per week (some adults are fine with insects only 2–3 times weekly).
• Greens:
  • Salad offered daily is ideal; at minimum, several times a week.
• Adults don’t need as much protein; overdoing insects is one of the fastest ways to make them overweight.

How Much At Each Feeding?

Instead of just counting insects, use these guidelines:

• All insects should be no larger than the space between your dragon’s eyes.
• Babies: stop when they start to lose interest or after a modest number (not stuffing them until they can barely move).
• Adults: think more like a “portion” meal, not a buffet.
• For salads: as much leafy greens as they’ll eat in about 10–15 minutes is a good rule of thumb.

Watch their body:

• Visible ribs/hip bones, sunken fat pads on the head: may need more food.
• Round, heavy belly that stays big even when they haven’t just eaten: may need fewer bugs and more greens, plus more time between insect meals.

Example Weekly Pattern (Adult)

Here’s a simple pattern many keepers use for a healthy adult:

• Monday: Salad only.
• Tuesday: Salad + insect meal.
• Wednesday: Salad only.
• Thursday: Salad + insect meal.
• Friday: Salad only.
• Saturday: Salad + insect meal.
• Sunday: Salad only (or rest day).

You can tweak this based on your dragon’s size, activity level, and what your vet recommends.

Other Important Feeding Tips

• Feed earlier in the day so your dragon has hours of warmth and UVB to digest properly.
• Dust insects with:
  • Plain calcium several times a week.
  • Reptile multivitamin 1–2 times a week (babies a bit more often than adults).
• Always provide fresh water (even if they don’t drink much from a bowl, it helps with humidity and occasional drinking).

Short Answer (TL;DR)

• Babies: 3 insect feedings per day + daily salad.
• Juveniles: 2 insect feedings per day + daily salad.
• Subadults: 1 insect feeding per day or every other day + daily salad.
• Adults: Insects 2–4 times per week + salad offered every day.

If you tell me your bearded dragon’s age and approximate weight, I can suggest a more precise feeding schedule tailored to your situation.