A feeding schedule does two things beyond just making sure your dragon is fed: it establishes the rhythm that lets you detect health problems early (a dragon that’s been ignoring food for three days is very different from a dragon that missed one meal), and it ensures you’re feeding at the right time of day for proper digestion.
This guide gives you the exact feeding schedule for every life stage, practical tips that most guides skip, and a direct answer to the most common question — how many insects per day?
Quick Answer: Bearded Dragon Feeding Schedule
Hatchlings eat insects twice daily (20–60 per day); juveniles once daily (5–6 insects per session); adults 2–3 times per week (3–4 insects per session) with vegetables offered daily at all ages. Always feed insects after the dragon has basked for 1–2 hours. Remove uneaten live insects after each session.
Why a Feeding Schedule Matters
The basics: bearded dragons are ectotherms. Their digestion depends on being warm — a cold-body dragon doesn’t digest food properly, which leads to rotting matter in the gut. Feeding on a schedule, after basking, ensures the food they eat actually gets processed.
Beyond digestion, a consistent routine makes you a better observer. You’ll notice when your dragon’s appetite changes — which is often the earliest signal that something is off. An adult that normally eats on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and suddenly skips two sessions is telling you something. A dragon without a routine just gets fed “whenever.”
Bearded Dragon Feeding Schedule by Age
Baby / Hatchling (0–3 months)
Insects:
– Frequency: 2 sessions per day (morning session after 1–2 hours of basking; second session midday if possible)
– Amount: as many as they’ll eat in 10–15 minutes per session
– Typical daily consumption: 20–60 small insects per day (hatchlings eat a lot — don’t be surprised by this)
– Best feeder: small Dubia roaches, small crickets, or black soldier fly larvae (match size to the space between their eyes)
Vegetables:
– Offered daily; a small dish of finely chopped collard greens, mustard greens, or dandelion
– Hatchlings may ignore them initially — offer anyway; establishing the habit early pays off at the adult stage
Supplements:
– Calcium (phosphorus-free): dust insects at every feeding
– D3 calcium: 2–3× per week
– Multivitamin: 2× per week
Juvenile (3–12 months / under 12” total length)
Insects:
– Frequency: 1 session per day (morning, after 1–2 hours of basking)
– Amount: 5–6 head-sized insects per session (where “head-sized” = roughly the space between the dragon’s eyes)
– Best feeders: Dubia roaches, crickets (gut-loaded), BSFL, silkworms
Vegetables:
– Offered daily; gradually increasing the vegetable portion as the dragon grows and transitions toward adulthood
– Target: greens making up 40% of the overall diet by 12 months (transitioning from the 60:40 insect:veg ratio)
Supplements: Same as hatchling schedule
Subadult / Adult (12+ months / over 12” total length)
Insects:
– Frequency: 2–3 sessions per week — NOT daily
– Amount: 3–4 head-sized insects per session (some sources note 8–10 medium Dubia roaches per adult session for heavier feeders — adjust based on your dragon’s size and appetite)
– Best feeders: Dubia roaches, BSFL, crickets (gut-loaded)
Vegetables:
– Daily — this is now the primary food source
– Leave greens in the enclosure for daytime grazing; remove uneaten greens at the end of the day
Supplements:
– Calcium on all insect feedings and dusted on salads
– D3 calcium: 1–2× per week (less if excellent UVB exposure)
– Multivitamin: 1× per week
Do not feed adults insects daily. Adults have no “full” regulatory instinct — they will eat beyond what their metabolism can process. Daily insects drive obesity, fatty liver disease, and gout. This is one of the most common keeper mistakes with adult dragons.
Full Feeding Schedule Summary
| Life Stage | Age | Insect Frequency | Insect Amount | Veg Frequency | Calcium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hatchling | 0–3 months | 2× daily | 10–15 min; 20–60 total/day | Daily (offered) | Every insect feeding |
| Juvenile | 3–12 months | 1× daily | 5–6 head-sized/session | Daily | Every insect feeding |
| Subadult/Adult | 12+ months | 2–3× per week | 3–4 head-sized/session | Daily | Every insect feeding + salads |
How Many Crickets Per Day? (Direct Answer by Age)
This is the most common version of the feeding question. Per DragonsDiet’s bearded dragon feeding guide, hatchlings can eat significantly more than most new keepers expect. Here are the cricket-equivalent amounts by life stage:
| Life Stage | Crickets Per Day/Session | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hatchling (0–3 months) | 20–60 per day (split across 2 sessions) | Small crickets (¼–½ inch); quantity is high during growth phase |
| Juvenile (3–12 months) | 5–6 per day (1 session) | ½–¾ inch crickets; supplement with Dubia when available |
| Adult (12+ months) | 8–10 per session, 2–3×/week | Full-sized crickets or Dubia equivalent |
Cricket vs Dubia equivalence: 1 medium adult Dubia roach provides approximately 3–4× more nutritional value per feeding than 1 standard cricket. Many keepers find they need fewer Dubias than crickets to satisfy the same feeding session. Adjust numbers accordingly.
Per VCA Animal Hospitals’ bearded dragon feeding guide, variety and appropriate portion size are both critical to preventing nutritional deficiencies. For full insect selection and nutritional comparison, see Bearded Dragon Diet Guide.
Practical Feeding Tips
Always Feed After Basking — Not First Thing in the Morning
This is the most important timing rule in bearded dragon feeding, and one of the most commonly skipped.
Bearded dragons are ectotherms — their digestion requires warm body temperature to function. A dragon that has been sleeping for 10 hours is cold. If you feed a cold dragon, the food sits in the gut rather than being processed — this leads to digestive issues, gas, and in severe cases, partially decomposed food content causing internal problems.
Rule: Wait until your dragon has been basking for 1–2 hours before the first insect feeding of the day. The dragon’s activity level and color will tell you — a dragon that has warmed up is alert, moving around, and actively responding to its environment.
Remove Uneaten Live Insects After Each Feeding Session
This matters more than most keepers initially realize. Crickets and roaches that remain in the enclosure after feeding will:
– Bite or nibble on a sleeping dragon (especially around soft-scale areas like the face and cloaca)
– Cause stress — a dragon in an enclosure with prey animals chasing it is a stressed dragon
– Potentially spread bacteria from fecal matter
Rule: Set a 10–15 minute feeding window. After the window closes, remove all remaining live feeders. You can return them to your feeder colony or discard them.
Leave Vegetables in the Enclosure During the Day
Unlike insects, uneaten greens are not a welfare concern if they stay in the enclosure for several hours. Bearded dragons graze — they’ll return to greens between basking sessions throughout the day. Remove any remaining greens by evening to prevent wilting and bacterial growth.
Fresh Water Daily
Provide a shallow, clean water dish daily. Some dragons drink regularly from standing water; others appear to never drink from a dish. Both are normal. Provide it regardless. Supplement with warm baths 2–3× per week (15–20 minutes, 85–90°F / 29–32°C) for reliable hydration.
Don’t Free-Feed Insects to Adults
Leaving a bowl of Dubia roaches or a container of crickets in an adult’s enclosure for “whenever they’re hungry” is a recipe for obesity. Adults will eat available food well past their caloric needs. Stick to the 2–3× per week schedule and measure the portion.
What If My Bearded Dragon Won’t Eat?
A missed feeding day or two is not an emergency. Per ReptiFiles’ bearded dragon diet guide, occasional appetite variation is normal and usually related to shedding, seasonal changes, or minor environmental factors. Most dragons occasionally skip meals with no explanation and no problem. Here’s when to pay closer attention:
Common causes of reduced appetite:
– Shedding (dysecdysis): many dragons reduce or stop eating during active shedding
– Brumation onset: seasonal appetite reduction in autumn/winter is normal in adults — see Bearded Dragon Brumation Guide
– Temperature issue: if basking surface is too low, digestion fails and the dragon stops eating; check with IR gun
– New environment: recently acquired dragons often won’t eat for 1–2 weeks while acclimating
– Boredom/food fatigue: adults that have been fed the same feeder insect for months may refuse it
Investigation timeline:
| Duration | Action |
|---|---|
| 1–2 days | Monitor; don’t intervene |
| 3–7 days | Check husbandry (temperatures, UVB, shedding status, brumation signs) |
| >1 week | Check for illness signs; review all husbandry basics |
| >2 weeks (without clear brumation/shedding explanation) | Consult a reptile vet |
For the full troubleshooting guide on why bearded dragons stop eating, see Bearded Dragon Not Eating.
Conclusion
Follow the schedule consistently, adjust portion sizes based on your individual dragon’s appetite and growth rate, and you’ll be in good shape. The two rules that matter most: feed after basking, and don’t overfeed adults on insects.
For what to feed alongside the schedule, see Bearded Dragon Diet Guide. For calcium protocol and supplementation timing, see Bearded Dragon Calcium Supplement Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this feeding schedule tell me what foods to offer, not just when?
Feeding frequency and portions are the scope here. For the complete list of safe foods with per-item frequency notes — insects, vegetables, and fruits — see What Do Bearded Dragons Eat?. For life-stage diet ratios and the insect-to-vegetable transition logic, see Bearded Dragon Diet Guide.
Does this schedule apply during brumation?
No. A brumating dragon may refuse food for weeks to months — this is normal and follows a completely different protocol. Attempting to maintain a feeding schedule during brumation is counterproductive. See Bearded Dragon Brumation Guide for brumation-specific feeding and supplement guidance.
Does this page cover calcium and supplement timing?
Yes — the supplement dusting schedule is integrated here by life stage. For the full supplementation protocol — product types, D3 vs plain calcium, multivitamin frequency, and MBD prevention logic — see Bearded Dragon Calcium Supplement Guide.
Does this guide cover why a bearded dragon has stopped eating?
Appetite loss troubleshooting is included here with a duration-based response table. The dedicated guide covering all 12 specific causes — including husbandry failures, shedding, brumation, and illness flags — is at Bearded Dragon Not Eating.
Does this schedule cover gut-loading timing for feeder insects?
Gut-loading is referenced here as a mandatory pre-feeding step (24–48 hours before offering). For the full gut-loading guide — what to feed feeders, for how long, and how it varies by insect species — see Bearded Dragon Gut-Loading Guide.
This article is for educational purposes. If your bearded dragon has not eaten for more than 2 weeks without a clear seasonal explanation, consult a qualified reptile-specialist veterinarian.