When you feed your bearded dragon, it’s not a matter of what you CAN feed them, it’s a matter of what you SHOULD feed them. And you shouldn’t have to have a nutrition degree to figure it out. It should be made easy for you.
We got tired of incomplete bearded dragon food lists. We got confused by lists with way too much detail. We got frustrated by and lists that were hard to navigate and poorly laid out. So we made our own. We made it easy to read, easy to use, and as complete as we possibly could.
We broke the list down into four, easy to understand categories that will safely guide you to healthy foods for your bearded dragon:
Staple: A food you can feed your bearded dragon on a regular basis. It’s a good idea to mix these up from week to week to provide nutritional diversity and a more balanced diet.
Treat: Not a good food to feed regularly, but something that is okay to provide on an occasional basis. We recommend limiting these foods to 1-2 times per week. We also recommend mixing up these treats over time.
Not Recommended: This group contains foods that your bearded dragon either should not eat at all or are simply not good for them even though they “could” eat it. Kale, for example, is a high oxalate food. While a bearded dragon could probably eat this once in a while and be okay, we simply recommend avoiding it altogether. There are plenty of other foods that are healthier choices.
Toxic!!!: These are foods that are either known or thought to be toxic. Some, like lightning bugs, are fatal. Others can cause serious illness. In any case, keep your beardie away from these foods completely!
A lot of information went into making this chart, but we didn’t feel the need to publish all of the details here. While things like phosphorous-to-calcium ratios, levels of oxalates & goitrogens, and sugar content are all important in determining what is and isn’t a great food for your beardie, too much of that information tends to make things confusing.
Instead, we wanted to give you an accurate and easy-to-follow food list that will ensure you are feeding your beardie a healthy and nutritious diet. If you are interested in any of those more detailed food facts, the USDA food database is a great place to look. We used it extensively when compiling this list.
Please remember that, as a responsible pet owner, what you feed your bearded dragon is up to you and the consequences of those choices are yours and yours alone. Every bearded dragon is different and can react to foods differently. It’s important to always monitor the health of your beardie and consult a vet immediately in the event of any suspected health problems. If you suspect that any food, even one listed as safe on this list, is causing a negative reaction in your bearded dragon, you should immediately stop feeding them that food and seek the counsel of a qualified reptile vet.
Wow, great list! We really appreciate you making it this simple. All the forums just had us confused.
Glad it helped out!
Love your website. It’s the only website I trust. However, one question. On one food list, yams are listed as not recommended. However, on Bicardi’s list of suggested treats, yams are listed. Is it okay to feed juveniles yams. My six month old Lyzyrd Skynyrd seems to love them. I give as a treat only. – Thank you.
Thanks for asking that question, Jill! I just updated our food list to reflect that yams and sweet potatos are okay as treats. They also make great toppers for your greens as they are sweet and beardies tend to like them. We originally listed them as not recommended becuase we built the food list erring largely on the side of caution. If we saw any possibility that a food could be bad for your beardie, we listed it as not recommended. I double checked with out vet before answering your comment and she said just to make sure the pieces are small enough and that cooking can make them easier to digest, but takes some of the taste out. Again, thanks for the comment! It’s readers like you that help us keep the site up to date and accurate!