How much do you feed your beardie, and why?

Ok so I keep looking at site after site, forum after forum with similar results. People seem to feed their bearded dragon a ton of protein. I understand pumping them up with protein and calcium when they are younger, but I do not understand the purpose of feeding them crickets 2+ times a week. Looking at information from the wild, bearded dragons turn to a vast majority vegetation once they pass adolescence and eat insects far less regularly. I have also talked to a few herp guys that say that the way to keep an animal healthiest is to stick as close to their natural environment as possible. That being said, I have a hard time thinking that an animal that thrives in the wild on ~80% vegetation, would require more than, say, 2-3 dozen crickets a week (insects also contain a good bit fat, not just calcium and protein).

So here is my question. What are the diets that you give your beardies, how are they doing with it, and why do you give them that diet? I have seen a lot of beardies that are HUGE (fat) on here, yet no one seems to point out the fact that they look borderline obese haha. I am not saying anyone is wrong, if you have a healthy beardie than fantastic, just interested as to what you are feeding and why.

Thanks for your time and input

Anyone have any advice or input here? Something I have been wondering about for a while now.

Hey Zach!

As far as wild bearded dragons go, I'm sure they eat whatever comes their way in a hurry. However, captive bearded dragons are subject to much different environmental conditions, and therefor, require a much different diet.

What works for me is a combination of greens, dubia roaches, and superworms. I offer greens daily and it is the first thing they eat for the day. I usually go with collard greens or some mustard greens as well as spaghetti squash and butternut squash. Later in the day I feed dubia roaches and/or superworms. I use dubia as a staple feeder and offer superworms 1-3 times a week.

What I notice, and what most beardie enthusiasts will tell you is that the younger the dragon is, the more protein they require. As they get older they shift to a more veggie oriented diet. For example: a baby/juvie dragon may eat 20-30% greens and 70-80% protein, whereas an adult dragon will eat 20-30% protein and 70-80% greens. This isn't always the case, but for the most part, it gets the job done.

I like to feed dubia instead of crickets as a staple for a few reasons. They're really easy to breed, my dragons get full off of much less (7-12 dubia compared to 20-25 crickets), and they are easier on the dragons digestive system.

When it comes down to it, you gotta do what works for your dragons. Variety is key, keep mixing it up until you find what they like and you'll be set.

I hope this helped, good luck!

Definitely helps and thank you for the input. So you feed protein daily? I usually do a dozen and a half crickets 3 times a week with my guy and he seems to be happy, and is healthy according to the last herp that checked on him. However, he is slightly smaller (weight) than a lot I see on here, but looks much hardier than wild beardies. Is it better to have a little extra weight on him (no breeding intentions) or do people just enjoy beefing up their beardies?

Thanks again for your input

The bigger and fatter the dragon the better (as long as they are active). If you're vet said that your dragon is healthy, then I'm sure his diet is fine. I like to make my dragons reach their maximum potential for size. One of my males is 22" 524 grams and still growing strong.

I'm not sure if it's better for them to have extra weight but that's what I like for my dragons.

We feed greens everyday and bugs every other day except our babies they get bugs everyday and greens.

Greens every day 2x a day, and superworms 1 time a day 2x a week. My dragon is 6 years old.

My diet is more along the lines of yours mystic. I feed a large mix of greens daily mixing some treats in usually once a week. I use feeder insects twice a week until he stops eating. Gotta love an animal that can do well in such a range of conditions.