Bearded dragons are one of the most popular pets among the lizards for their dragonish look and peaceful nature.
They are easy to keep and feed. This article will discuss feeding cockroaches to bearded dragons and tips for feeding them. Keep reading to learn how to feed your dragon!
Can bearded dragons eat cockroaches?
Bearded dragons can eat cockroaches, and it’s one of their favorite food. Dubia cockroaches are considered the best insect option for bearded dragons as they are easy to store and full of nutrition. However, the cockroach should be clean and farmed for pet food.
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Wasn’t it disappointing when you realized dragons do not exist in reality back in childhood? For me, it was! I wouldn’t feel that sad if someone told me about bearded dragons then.
I have no idea what mythical dragons had in their food menu, but bearded dragons certainly have cockroaches on the top of the list. They will happily eat most cockroaches, but they prefer dubia cockroaches above all.
Cockroaches have the right amount of protein that bearded dragons can digest quickly. Bearded dragons can digest food with 52 percent protein, whereas most cockroaches have 50-60% protein content. Dubia cockroaches have 54% protein content.
It’s super easy to store cockroaches. They don’t make their place dirty like crickets. Compared to crickets, cockroaches are so comfortable to keep and feed. Crickets make their box dirty, and many of them pass away quickly.
You will have to visit pet stores for crickets every two days to get crickets, but you can keep cockroaches for months.
When bearded dragons are young, they need more protein food for their growth. Young and juvenile bearded dragons need about 70-80% protein and 20-30% veggies in their food. As they grow up, they eat more greens and less protein.
New adult bearded dragons need 50-50% protein and veggies in their food. Older bearded dragons eat only 20% protein. But in all stages of their life, protein is a compulsory food.
Cockroaches are a great source of protein and good nutrients, but all types of cockroaches are not suitable for your loving bearded dragons.
Check if you can feed those cockroaches to your bearded dragons.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches:
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are excellent for giant bearded dragons. Those cockroaches are too big, and only adult bearded dragons can eat them comfortably.
German cockroaches:
German cockroaches are great food for baby or juvenile bearded dragons, but it can be hard to find farmed german cockroaches for your bearded dragon. Never feed your dragon wild insect.
House cockroaches:
House cockroaches are actually wild cockroaches unless you are farming them. You can’t just catch hiding cockroaches and feed your bearded dragon for so many reasons. Follow the following sections to know why.
Wild cockroaches:
You can’t feed wild cockroaches to your bearded dragons. Wild cockroaches may have parasites that can make your pet sick, and the food in that cockroach’s gut can be unhealthy for the bearded.
A wild cockroach can come into contact with pesticides which is super harmful to your reptile friend.
American cockroaches:
American cockroaches are also great for bearded dragons. But the cockroaches must be bred and farmed for pets food.
Dubia cockroaches:
Dubia cockroaches are a trendy food for bearded dragons, and most of the dragon owners say their bearded dragon loves dubia cockroaches more than any insects.
In the latter part of the article, we will discuss more on dubia cockroaches.
Can baby bearded dragons eat cockroaches?
If the cockroaches are smaller than bearded dragons’ heads, it’s okay to feed them to the breaded dragons.
But mostly, other smaller insects such as fruit warms, wax warm and red worms are best for newborn babies. After the baby grows a bit, they will eat smaller dubia cockroaches.
You can find different types of insect options for your baby bearded dragon but always choose a lot of small insects for the young ones. A young or juvenile bearded dragon can eat more than 70 small insects daily.
Baby bearded dragons need a lot of insects as they are more dependent on insects for food. However, you will need to feed them some green veggies and fruits every day.
You will also have to feed them calcium and nutrient supplements with their food occasionally. The supplement comes in powder form. You can just spread the powders over the insects or veggies while feeding. This process is called dusting.
How often can bearded dragons eat roaches? How many roaches can bearded dragons eat?
The cockroach feeding requirements depend on the age of the bearded dragons. Baby bearded dragons can eat 70+ insects per day but feeding them that much is not suitable for their health. You will need to provide them three times and 25 to 50 cockroaches per day.
The cockroaches must be smaller than the head size of the bearded dragons. Babies can choke while eating for more giant insects.
Adult bearded dragon needs more vegetables for their living, although some protein is necessary for their health maintenance. Adult bearded dragons need to eat 5-6 regular size Dubai cockroaches every day. You will have to feed them 2-3 times a day.
Older bearded dragons will eat only 3-5 dubia cockroaches. Gut loading is an essential part of feeding cockroaches.
Did you bring a new breaded dragon recently? They naturally eat less in a new condition. It should be okay if the new bearded dragon refuses to eat for 5-7 days.
Sometimes, an adult bearded dragon can refuse to eat insects for a day or two. There is not much to worry about; visit a vet for checkups if you notice weight loss and unusual behavior.
5 reasons why bearded dragons can eat cockroaches
Here are the top reasons for feeding your bearded dragons cockroaches.
Cockroaches are delicious:
You can’t ask a bearded dragon about his favorite food, but we observed cockroaches make them super excited.
They never get bored of eating cockroaches, especially dubia cockroaches. However, every bearded dragon may have different choices and characteristics.
Cockroaches are nutritious:
Cockroaches have the right amount of protein, nutrients, and vitamins needed by a bearded dragon to grow up and live healthily. Cockroaches have some minerals that are vital for the bearded dragons’ growth.
Gut loading:
Cockroaches can eat two times more than their body weight, making them best for gut loading.
The bearded dragons will get the nutrients of the cockroach and the food inside the cockroach’s gut. So it is essential to feed the cockroaches with healthy fruits and vegetables.
Easy to keep:
Cockroaches are a lot cleaner than crickets, and they don’t perish quickly like other insects while keeping them for the letter.
So, you can keep the cockroaches as long as you want for feeding. It’s also possible to make your dubia cockroach farm in your home.
Availability:
You can easily find cockroaches in pet shops or pet food agencies.
What type of roaches do bearded dragons eat?
Dubia cockroaches are the best insect to feed breaded dragons. Other cockroaches are also acceptable to feed, but other farmed cockroaches are a bit harder to find. Bearded dragons can eat them easily because of their medium size.
Bearded dragons find dubia roaches very delicious. Dubia roaches are also very nutritious for the breaded dragons.
Like good nutrients, there are some terrible nutrients too for the bearded dragons. Phosphorus and fats are some of the harmful nutrients for bearded dragons.
Dubia cockroaches have the least amount of harmful nutrients and more good nutrients. Remember, the glowing insects have phosphorus and other toxic chemicals for the bearded dragons. So, never feed your dragon fireflies or any glowing insects.
How to feed roaches to bearded dragons?
Here is the detailed process for feeding cockroaches to your bearded dragons.
Collecting the cockroaches:
Collect cockroaches from pet stores or pet food provider agencies. Some pet food agencies can exist in your locality.
Storing:
After getting the live cockroaches, keep them in a box with lots of hiding places, water, air and food. Cockroaches are very hardy and can be stored for a long time.
Gut loading:
Before feeding cockroaches to your bearded dragon, gut-load the cockroaches with the food you want to provide your bearded dragons. You can also spread some nutrient powder supplements before feeding them.
Feeding:
Feed 5-6 cockroaches to the adult bearded dragons every day and 25 to 50 to the juvenile to baby ones.
Final Thoughts
Cockroaches are very delicious and nutritious food for bearded dragons. It helps their growth & development and keeps them happy. Dubia cockroaches are mainly used to feed Beardies. Give them alive cockroaches, as they are healthier, and it’s exciting for the bearded dragons to catch and eat them.