Of all the things you can do to ensure the health of your bearded dragon, ensuring a proper diet is the most important. These lizards can be very vulnerable to nutrient deficiencies, as they eat a wide variety of food in the wild. If you do not simulate the varied diet that these animals eat in the wild, their health will suffer.
In this article, we will look at seven products and attempt to find the best diet for bearded dragons. The best diet for bearded dragons will be the one that delivers in the categories of nutrition, edibility, storage life, quality of ingredients, and more.
7. Roackie Dubia Roaches Entree
This food is made mostly of dried and powdered Dubia roaches. These roaches are commonly fed to beardies, as they are both delicious (for lizards, anyway) and nutritious.
These little pellets also contain dried vegetables and a lot of added vitamins. However, one of them is niacin, and that is not necessary. This stuff is also pretty expensive, but its a lot more pleasant than dealing with live roaches.
- Contains all necessary nutrients
- Much more pleasant than live roaches
- Long shelf life
- Pricey
- Contains niacin
6. Fluker’s Buffet Blend Adult Veggie Variety
This is a dried food that is meant to be a blend of dried bugs and vegetables. However, a lot of the vegetables are in leaf form, and these little leaf bits tend to collect at the bottom of the jar.
Still, this is a pretty cheap option, and the freeze-drying process does a better job of locking in nutrients than most other forms of dehydration. The crunchy bits are easy to feed, but smaller lizards might find them hard to chew.
- Very cheap
- Long shelf life
- Freeze-dried
- Herb bits tend to settle
- A little hard to chew
5. Rep-Cal Adult Bearded Dragon Food
This is another food consisting of long dried pellets, but this one doesn’t have those annoying herb bits. It’s meant to provide a complete diet so that no other foods or supplements are necessary, and is very high in protein while being low in fat.
The only thing to consider is that some lizards just won’t eat this stuff. It helps to moisten with water or fruit juice, but it won’t suit all beardies.
- Uniform consistency
- Complete vet-approved diet
- High-protein, low-fat
- Needs to be moistened
- Some lizards hate this stuff
4. Nature Zone Bites for Bearded Dragons
This one does not provide a complete diet, but can be a very convenient part of your lizard’s feeding mix. This food comes in soft little bites, with each one being just about the right size for an adult bearded dragon.
One little problem, though: This food dries out quickly in the open air, losing a lot of its lizard appeal. It’s not the best diet for bearded dragons by itself but makes a great addition to their diet.
- Very convenient
- Well-fortified
- Easy to chew on
- Dries out quickly
- Not a complete diet
3. Fluker’s Freeze-Dried Crickets
This is a very simple product indeed: It’s just a jar of dried crickets. On the plus side, these crickets were fed a calcium-rich diet so that the calcium will be passed on to your lizard. It’s definitely easier than dealing with noisy, filthy crickets. Of course, crickets alone are not enough for your beardie, but these crickets can be mixed with anything.
Crickets are extremely high in protein, so be careful not to make this your lizard’s primary diet. While high-protein food is good for them, too much of it can overwhelm their system and lead to protein poisoning.
- Much easier than keeping live crickets
- Supplemented with calcium
- Nice and simple
- Not a complete diet
- Can sometimes cause protein poisoning
2. T-Rex Bearded Dragon Gourmet Food
The main selling point of this food is the fact that it contains no preservatives. This is very good for the health of your beardie, but it does make for shorter shelf life. That’s probably why this food is mostly sold in small bottles…that, and the fact that it’s pretty expensive.
Still, this is a very healthy food that is almost like fresh food when softened with water. It might be the best diet for bearded dragons with sensitive stomachs.
- No preservatives
- Like fresh vegetables when softened with water
- Loads of nutrients without supplementation
- Pretty expensive
- Doesn’t store well
1. Zoo Med Gourmet Bearded Dragon Food
This is another all-natural, no-preservatives kind of food. The whole thing consists only of vegetables and bugs, with virtually nothing else. A look at the nutritional profile shows a well-balanced blend of protein, fat, and fiber.
Like our previous product, this one has a relatively short shelf life, and we’re not sure why they added rose petals. Lizards like them, but they don’t add much nutritional value
- No preservatives
- Just whole veggies and bugs
- Well-balanced nutrition
- Short shelf life
- Rose petals are basically candy
Conclusion
Having looked at all of these products, we must now find the best diet for bearded dragons. As far as we can see, the best diet for bearded dragons is the Fluker’s freeze-dried crickets. Although this one doesn’t provide a complete diet, it is best for your lizard to be eating fresh vegetables anyway.
When combined with fresh vegetables, this food provides a great and cheap alternative to cricket keeping, which not everyone enjoys. If you have enjoyed this article and would like to add something to the discussion, please feel free to comment below.
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