Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone. I've been feeding my dragons crickets. But the more and more I talk to various dragon breeders, roaches keep coming up in the discussion. Specifically, the Dubia Roaches. Apparently, they are better as far as filling them up. What are the best insects to feed to bearded dragons? I'd love any/all input I can get on this matter. Thanks.

Crickets are the easiest and most readily available and cheapest feeder insects for dragons. They are quite nutritous for them as well provided they are properly gut loaded (feed either store bought quality gutload about 12-24 hours before feeding to dragons...or feed mixed greens, crushed dry cat/dog food, dragon pellets or fish flakes (or a combination of the dry material with fresh greens, slice of orange, potato or squash for moisture)

A staple of crickets for baby dragons is fine. Adding other insect feeders such as phoenix worms, small butterworms, small to medium silkworms and hornworms, certainply provides a good variety. As your dragon gets bigger (say 12-14" or more) the larger butterworms, silkworms and hornworms can be fed as well as superworms.

Roaches are fine too though some species do have a hard shell and get too large as adults, to feed to even adult dragons (ie hissing roaches) The species you mentioned I believe is one of the better to feed to dragons. As with crickets, feed appropriate sized to the size of your dragon (space between dragon's eyes should equal or be greater than the length of the cricket or roach).

I feed a variety of insects...crickets, superworms, butterworms, silkworms and hornworms...though my staple insect for my adult dragon is superworms (this is only a small portion of what I feed, since she is an adult. I feed about 80% greens daily with a few superworms or other insects.)
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PHLdyPayne

I had Dubia roaches for 2 years. Some dragons love them but others don't. There is a hard shell to this species and most will agree it's not a good choice for dragons except adults. Even some of my adults did not digest them well.

I like everyone else, hates crickets but have accepted that they are the best feeder to grow baby dragons. But, you need to provide a good gutload for the crickets prior to feeding them out. Right now I am pleased with the product I am getting from progeckos.com

I also hatch silkworms for adults but am getting out of it for now due to the ridiculous increases in the cost of food. This fall and winter I am going back to the old standby, crickets and superworms.

Ok. Well, for the babies, yea, I'd use crickets. I was mainly asking this in regards to my adults. Like specifically, a few of my males that are currently breeding. They have lost some weight during this, and I'm probably going to take them off of breeding within the next week. I was wanting to find the best way to get weight back on them quickly. Thanks for the help everyone. I appreciate it.

You'd have to try the Dubia Roaches and see how it works out. Some of my males really loved them and others don't even seem to recognise them as food. A couple of mine would have a lot of undigested parts in their feces. These are the reason I stopped offering them. But, your experiences may vary.

Dubia's get my highest recommendation. They are an absolute delight to keep and maintain as opposed to crickets. No odor, no noise, and no escapees to deal with. I've never seen any undigested remains in fecals though I don't feed off adults often. Adult dubia's do have harder exoskeletons than crickets do. 3/4"-1" nymphs are still soft-bodied and a great size for adult dragons. If you start a colony with 50 or so adults you will have hundreds of feeder-sized nymphs within 2 months.