Feeding guide

Best feeder insects for bearded dragons

By The Bug Cartel · 8 min read · Every fact cited

The best feeder insects for bearded dragons are lower-fat insects that take dusting well, such as dubia roaches, crickets and black soldier fly larvae, fed in rotation and dusted with calcium. Waxworms and superworms are high in fat and work as treats. Young dragons eat mostly insects. Veterinary sources put the insect share for adults at roughly a quarter to a half of the diet.

What makes a good staple feeder for a bearded dragon?

A staple feeder is the insect your dragon eats most days. It should give solid protein without much fat, take calcium dust and gut loading well, and stay alive and healthy until you feed it out. Size matters too. The insect has to fit the dragon.

Fat is the main thing that separates a staple from a treat. A 2015 analysis of crickets, mealworms, superworms and waxworms concluded that properly supplemented lower-fat insects such as crickets or smaller mealworms should form the bulk of the diet for most insectivores.5 Waxworms and superworms fell short on more nutrients once their high fat and energy were taken into account.5

Calcium is the other issue. Almost every feeder insect carries more phosphorus than calcium. Black soldier fly larvae are the main exception.7 That is why staple insects get dusted or gut loaded before they go in the enclosure.

Best staple insects for bearded dragons

VCA's veterinary feeding handout lists calcium-dusted crickets, mealworms and dubia cockroaches, plus silkworms and hornworms, as suitable animal protein for bearded dragons.1 The three staples below cover most dragons well.

  • Dubia roaches are high in protein and live a long time. The nymph stage lasts 180 to 380 days, and the whole life span can reach 530 days.8 They cannot fly or climb smooth surfaces, which makes them easy to keep and hard to lose.6 Our dubia roach size chart for bearded dragons matches each size to your dragon's age.
  • Crickets are sold in most pet shops13 and are lower in fat than mealworms, superworms and waxworms.3 Adult house crickets live about 120 days.8 If you are choosing between the two, see dubia roaches vs crickets.
  • Black soldier fly larvae are the one common feeder with more calcium than phosphorus.3 In a 2013 analysis they fell short of the reference requirements on fewer nutrients than the other three insects tested.4

Silkworms and hornworms are soft-bodied and wet. Silkworms are about 83% water.3 We could not find a peer-reviewed nutrient analysis of hornworms, so we have not listed numbers for them.

Feeder insect nutrition compared

Nutrient content of common feeder insects, as fed (wet weight). Ca:P below 1 means more phosphorus than calcium.
Feeder Moisture Protein Fat Ca:P Source
Dubia roach (subadult) 57.8% 23.1% 13.8% 1:21.5 Kulma 20166
House cricket (adult) 69.2% 20.5% 6.8% 1:7.2 Finke3
Black soldier fly larva 61.2% 17.5% 14.0% 2.6:1 Finke3
Mealworm (larva) 61.9% 18.7% 13.4% 1:17.5 Finke3
Superworm (larva) 57.9% 19.7% 17.7% 1:13.4 Finke3
Waxworm (larva) 58.5% 14.1% 24.9% 1:8.0 Finke3
Silkworm (larva) 82.7% 9.3% 1.1% See note Finke3
Hornworm (larva) No peer-reviewed analysis found None

How to read this table:

  • Cricket, worm and larva figures come from Mark Finke's published analyses, as he summarized them.3 We worked out the Ca:P ratios from his calcium and phosphorus values.
  • The dubia study reported protein and fat on a dry basis. We converted them to as-fed figures using the study's own moisture value.6
  • That summary lists the same calcium and phosphorus figures for silkworms as for superworms. That looks like a copying error, so we left the silkworm ratio out.3
  • Values change with what the insects ate and their life stage. In one trial, dubia roaches on different diets ranged from 38 to 73% protein on a dry basis.9 Another study measured dubia nymphs at 74.5% moisture, far wetter than the 57.8% above. Earlier work it cites put the nymph Ca:P near 0.35, or about 1:2.9.8

Does chitin make hard-shelled insects worse?

Keepers often worry that crunchy insects are mostly indigestible chitin. The research does not support a simple rule. In most insects studied, protein, not chitin, makes up most of the cuticle. Harder-bodied insects get their toughness from cross-linking proteins and do not necessarily contain more chitin.7 Researchers have found chitinase, an enzyme that breaks chitin down, in some lizards and tortoises.7 Dubia roaches in one study held about 6.5% chitin on a dry basis.6

Can bearded dragons eat black soldier fly larvae every day?

No study has fed bearded dragons a diet of only black soldier fly larvae, so nobody can give a tested answer. What the research does show:

  • Commercial larvae have measured 2.14 to 3.14% calcium on a dry basis, with Ca:P of 1.85 to 2.6:1.7
  • Their calcium is harder to absorb whole. Leopard geckos fed whole or pierced larvae digested 43% of the calcium and 45% of the phosphorus. The review's authors still judged the calcium level high enough for most insectivores.7
  • Larvae raised on different waste feeds varied from 0.84 to 8.29% calcium on a dry basis, so batches differ.7

In practice, larvae make a good daily option inside a rotation, not the whole diet. Our guide to black soldier fly larvae for reptiles covers sizing and storage.

Which insects are treats, and how often?

Waxworms and superworms are the usual treats. VCA advises giving them sparingly and not daily, because they are high in fat and can cause obesity.1 At 24.9% fat, waxworms carry more than three times the fat of adult crickets.3

No veterinary source we found sets an exact treat schedule. Many keepers offer a few waxworms once a week or less. A dragon that stops eating should see a reptile vet, not a dish of treats.

Why rotate feeder insects?

Each insect has gaps. Commercial feeders are often low in vitamin E, vitamin B12, carotenoids and omega-3 fatty acids, and insectivores fed only a narrow range of species may be more likely to develop deficiencies.10 VCA likewise recommends a wide variety of foods for balanced nutrition.1 Rotating two or three staples, such as dubia most days and larvae on others, spreads those gaps out.

If you feed dubia every week, a feeder subscription delivers them every 1, 2 or 3 months at 15% off, and deliveries of $35 or more ship free. You can skip, pause or cancel from your account.

How much of a bearded dragon's diet should be insects?

Sources vary, and the share changes with age. Growing dragons eat mostly insects. Adults shift toward plants.1 The two veterinary sources below give different numbers, so treat them as a range and talk to your vet about your own dragon.

Bearded dragon feeding schedule by age, from two veterinary sources
Age Insect share How often to feed Calcium dusting
Hatchlings and juveniles Almost 100% live prey (LafeberVet)2. Mostly insects (VCA)1 Twice daily (LafeberVet)2. Once or twice daily (VCA)1 Every meal (LafeberVet)2. Light dusting daily (VCA)1
Adults At least 25% by volume, with greens 50 to 55% (LafeberVet)2. About 50% (VCA)1 Every 1 to 2 days (LafeberVet)2. Every 24 to 72 hours (VCA)1 Once or twice weekly for non-breeding adults (LafeberVet)2. Light dusting daily (VCA)1

How often do adult bearded dragons eat insects?

Neither source gives a separate schedule for insects. Adults may eat only every 24 to 72 hours because they are no longer growing, and appetite varies by dragon.1 Keep insects at roughly a quarter to a half of what an adult eats.12 Offer only as many insects as it will eat in one sitting.13 Remove leftovers, since uneaten insects can nibble on the lizard.13 If your adult gains weight, cut back on insects and ask your vet.

Insects you should never feed a bearded dragon

  • Fireflies. Never feed them.1 Fireflies of the genus Photinus carry toxins called lucibufagins. Two bearded dragons at the Philadelphia Zoo died within hours of eating them, and a single firefly can be enough to kill a lizard.11 A 2026 veterinary review describes fatal heart toxicity in bearded dragons and other lizards.12
  • Wild-caught insects. Bugs from the yard or garden may carry fertilizer or insecticide residue.1 They can also pass parasites to your dragon.13
  • Spiders, wasps and Eastern tent caterpillars, which a veterinary handout lists as potentially toxic.13

Dusting and gut loading

Dusting coats the insect in calcium powder just before feeding. In one study, dusting crickets with calcium carbonate raised their Ca:P from 1:5.7 to 5.3:1.7 Dust right before you feed. Crickets can groom off half the powder in about 150 seconds.7

  • Use a phosphorus-free calcium powder. VCA suggests a light dusting daily, plus a calcium powder with vitamin D3 two to three times a week.1
  • More is not better. Too much calcium can block absorption of other minerals, and excess vitamins A and D can be toxic.7 Wrong supplementation is a common problem in pet dragons, so ask your vet for a plan.1
  • Your dragon also needs UVB light to use vitamin D3 and absorb calcium.1

Gut loading means feeding the insects a nutritious or high-calcium diet before they are eaten. VCA advises gut loading within 12 hours of feeding.1 Research shows similar results anywhere from 24 to 72 hours.7 A high-calcium diet can turn the dubia Ca:P ratio positive, but not every commercial gut-load diet does.8 Our guide on how to gut load feeder insects walks through it.

Keeping a leopard gecko too? Its needs differ. See best feeder insects for leopard geckos.

Sources

  1. Rich G, Hess L, Axelson R. Bearded dragons: feeding. VCA Animal Hospitals.
  2. Pollock C. 2012. Basic information sheet: inland bearded dragon. LafeberVet.
  3. Finke MD. 2014. Nutritional value of commercially raised insects. Gecko Time. The author's summary of his published analyses, including Finke MD 2002, Complete nutrient composition of commercially raised invertebrates used as food for insectivores, Zoo Biology 21(3), and Finke MD 2013, Complete nutrient content of four species of feeder insects, Zoo Biology 32(1).
  4. Finke MD. 2013. Complete nutrient content of four species of feeder insects. Zoo Biology 32(1), pages 27 to 36 (abstract).
  5. Finke MD. 2015. Complete nutrient content of four species of commercially available feeder insects fed enhanced diets during growth. Zoo Biology 34(6), pages 554 to 564.
  6. Kulma M, Plachy V, Kourimska L, Vrabec V, Bubova T, Adamkova A, Hucko B. 2016. Nutritional value of three Blattodea species used as feed for animals. Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences 25(4), pages 354 to 360.
  7. Finke MD, Oonincx DGAB. 2023. Insects as food for insectivores. In: Mass Production of Beneficial Organisms, 2nd edition, chapter 18. Elsevier.
  8. Barras E, Boykin KL, Aguilar MG, Lex Z, Bitter A, Mitchell MA. 2025. Effect of commercial diets on the nutritional value and mortality rates of dubia roaches (Blaptica dubia). Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery 35(3), pages 176 to 191.
  9. Oonincx DGAB, van Broekhoven S, van Huis A, van Loon JJA. 2015. Feed conversion, survival and development, and composition of four insect species on diets composed of food by-products. PLoS ONE 10(12), e0144601.
  10. Finke MD. 2015. A review of the nutrient content of commercial feeder insects and strategies for increasing their nutrient content. Proceedings of the Eleventh Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, AZA Nutrition Advisory Group.
  11. Segelken R. 1999. Poisonous North American fireflies are killing exotic zoo and pet lizards, Cornell biologists warn. Cornell Chronicle, Cornell University.
  12. Cowan VE, Berg KJ. 2026. Dietary intoxications of the exotic animal patient. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice (abstract).
  13. LafeberVet. 2013. Feeding insect eating reptiles (client handout).

Feeders in this guide