Can Bearded Dragons Eat Crickets? (Benefits!)

Bearded dragons are reptiles that adapt very well to life in captivity. You can therefore adopt them as pets.

For this to be possible, you must take good care of them. Among other things, you need to feed them well daily.

So can bearded dragons eat crickets? The short answer is yes bearded dragons can have crickets.

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Do you need to feed bearded dragons crickets?

Before adopting any animal, be it a mammal or a reptile, you must first understand its lifestyle.

You must also know how to feed it to promote its development and prevent health problems or even premature death.

Understanding the bearded dragon’s diet is therefore an essential step before adopting this reptile.

To begin with, you should know that the bearded dragon feeds on vegetables and insects, especially crickets or black crickets.

It is not always easy to know how many insects to serve it each day, because it evolves according to its age.

Indeed, when they are very young, bearded dragons need a large quantity of insects. You can ask pet stores for advice on how many crickets a bearded dragon should eat.

The most important thing is to keep in mind that during its first months, your bearded dragon will need a lot of insects. At this age, it feeds almost exclusively on crickets.

It is only in adulthood, that it becomes an herbivore and consumes large bowls of vegetables. You will then only have to give it a few insects per week, to vary a little.

How many crickets to feed a bearded dragon?

Generally, from 3 months, it needs about 15 crickets per day , to be supplemented with a few cockroaches.

When your animal reaches 5 months, you will have to give it 25 insects composed of cockroaches, crickets and grasshoppers every day.

Between 6 and 7 months, it will be necessary to reduce the quantity of insects to serve to your bearded dragon. As we mentioned earlier, the juvenile bearded dragon is the one that feeds the most on crickets.

So, from 7 months until 8 months, give it between 10 and 15 insects. You should always expect crickets, along with other insects like locusts.

From 9 months, 7 insects per day are enough, because the adult bearded dragon must consume mainly vegetables and plants.

At 10 months, the quantity of crickets for your bearded dragon increases to 5 per day. Finally, from its first birthday until its death, you can give it just 5 insects, but only 2 to 3 times a week.

How to feed bearded dragon crickets?

The food to give to your bearded dragon must be rich and varied to promote its development.

It is for this reason that you should not give it only vegetables or only insects. For insects, it is also necessary to avoid giving it exclusively crickets, even if it is undoubtedly the insect that it consumes the most.

You need to vary by adding locusts, grasshoppers and cockroaches.

You also need to be careful how much you feed your pet. With too few crickets, it risks stunted growth and this could affect its health as well as his immune system.

Likewise, in case of overdose, it may develop kidney failure or other diseases. It is for this reason that you must learn to observe your animal, to know whether to increase or reduce the quantity of crickets that you give it.

Also, before feeding insects to your bearded dragon, you must measure it size. You need to make sure that the size of the insect does not exceed the width of your pet’s two eyes. Otherwise, it could be the victim of an intestinal obstruction.

What is the difference between a cricket and a black cricket?

The cricket and the black cricket are different in many ways. First of all, they are distinguished from each other by the color of their body.

This is because while the black cricket is black in color, the common cricket is brown in color. Easy, right?

The black cricket is a very aggressive insect, which can easily attack and bite. It is most often found outdoors, and moves most of the time on the ground.

It also has a fleshier and larger body. In addition, its shell is hard and difficult to bite. The black cricket for bearded dragon will therefore not necessarily be a good idea, especially for juvenile bearded dragons.

However, if your animal has good reflexes and reaches adulthood, you can give it a black cricket to hunt and feed on.

The common cricket is much more docile and less aggressive. It is he who is most often found in homes. He moves much more while jumping, unlike his counterpart.

Its body is thin and small, which makes it the ideal meal for a bearded dragon. In addition, its shell is soft and easy to bite.

Should I give live crickets or dead ones?

To maintain your bearded dragon’s hunting instinct, you can give it live insects fairly quickly. For example, you can put a live cricket in its terrarium, to allow it to stretch its legs.

Avoid putting more than one at a time, as these insects could attack your reptile and get the better of it.

You can also make it easier for your bearded dragon and feed it dried crickets. There are no specific rules to follow at this level. Depending on availability, you can give it live or dried insects.

Where can you buy bearded dragon crickets?

If you want to buy crickets for your bearded dragon, be aware that they are sold in bulk at pet stores.

There are also sites that specialize in the sale of these insects to individuals. You can therefore find it very easily to feed your animal.

However, there is another more practical solution. It consists of raising crickets at home so that you always have them available.

If they are too noisy, you can opt for other insects such as cockroaches. The latter reproduce at an incredible rate, emit no smell and make no noise.

What insect can you give to your bearded dragon?

If you do not have the possibility of feeding your bearded dragon with crickets, know that it is perfectly possible to find several alternatives.

Indeed, you can give your pet insects such as:

locusts
Cockroaches
Spiders
The verses to oneself
Occasionally mealworms (watch out, it’s greasy!)
Grasshoppers, etc.

Of course, it will always be necessary to pay attention to the size of these insects before serving them to your bearded dragon.

Don’t forget that if they are too big, your reptile will have a hard time digesting them, and hello the mess…