Can Bearded Dragons Eat Crickets?

Insects are the common food for Bearded Dragons and many questions also arise regarding feeding the crickets to bearded dragons. Can Bearded Dragons Eat Crickets? Crickets are the popular insects for bearded dragons as they provide a high content of protein. Also, they are cheap and easy to care for, source, and breed. Crickets are the natural food item for bearded dragons.  Crickets provide essential nutrients and vitamins to your pet.

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Benefits of crickets for bearded dragons

Crickets are the popular insects for bearded dragons as they provide a high content of protein. Crickets provide essential nutrients and vitamins to your pet. It possesses nutritional content such as protein, iron, and calcium that is beneficial for beardies especially when the bearded dragons are growing.

They have soft exoskeletons as compared to Dubia roaches or some other cockroaches. Therefore, the crickets are perfect feeders for bearded dragons.  Crickets are easily obtained online and also available online.

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Can bearded dragons live without crickets?

Bearded dragons can live without this feeder insect. While this is a popular source of food for bearded dragons but it is not essential for a healthy bearded dragon. There are also other insects that can be given to the bearded dragon to meet its nutritional requirements. Bearded dragons can eat a wide range of insects. The most popular insects are Dubia roaches and super worms.

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Can bearded dragons eat crickets every day?

It is fine for bearded dragons to take crickets every day because it contains sufficient protein and low fat.  Bearded dragons should eat live food on daily basis. The baby pet can eat multiple times per day, while for adults a single feed is enough. This is an addition to the daily vegetable portion of your pet. 

Can bearded dragons throw up crickets?

Bearded dragons will throw up the foods when they suffer from a gastrointestinal issue. This is due to eating too much, poor digestion, impactions, bad bacteria or parasite on the ingested food. So, if your bearded dragon is suffering from such a problem it may throw up crickets.

Does the size of the cricket matter for bearded dragons?

The size of the crickets that you give to your bearded dragon should relate to the size of the body. Large crickets can only be fed to the large adults. Choose the crickets that should match the size of your bearded dragon.

Can a cricket kill a bearded dragon?

Yes, the crickets can pose risk to bearded dragons by biting them. They can also cause a choking hazard or impaction risks. Only in extreme cases, this can be fatal but with good pet husbandry, you should not need to worry about this.

Can bearded dragons eat dead crickets?

Bearded dragons can eat the dead crickets if they are fresh. If the cricket has recently died and also has been preserved by drying, canning, or freezing it is okay to feed. If the crickets have been left dead they can gather bacteria for the decomposition that are harmful.

Do bearded dragons need live crickets?

Bearded dragons do not require live food necessarily but it is best for them to feed live food. The dead preserved insects can also be given to cover the protein requirements of bearded dragons but live foods have the best nutritional value. 

Can bearded dragons eat crickets from outside?

Bearded dragons should not take crickets or other feeder insects from outside. The wild insects ingest many things that can be harmful to your bearded dragon including fertilizers. The wild insects also carry parasites.

Can bearded dragons eat banded crickets?

The banded crickets are a great choice. These crickets are more delicious than some other crickets. They have a soft exoskeleton, they can live longer, and are immune to the common cricket virus.

Can bearded dragons eat camel crickets?

The camel crickets are found naturally but should not be given to the bearded dragons as they may be contaminated with chemicals such as pesticides. These are not safe for bearded dragons.

Can bearded dragons eat canned crickets?

Bearded dragons can eat the canned crickets. The canned ones contain lower nutrition than the live crickets so they can not be used to replace the live feeder insects but they are helpful as a protein source for emergencies.

Canned crickets are long-lasted, convenient, and also have the strong fragrance to attract the bearded dragon. 

Can bearded dragons eat dried crickets? 

Bearded dragons can take dried crickets. They offer little nutritional value therefore, they can be used just as a convenient treat. They are not considered the main part of the bearded dragon’s diet.

A majority of nutritional content that a cricket possess is embedding the juicy part of the cricket. While drying a cricket a lot of the nutrients get evaporated with the moisture. Due to this dehydration, most of the nutrients are lost with moisture.

Can bearded dragons eat frozen crickets?

Bearded Dragons can eat frozen crickets if they are fresh. They have nutritional value and are beneficial, but live crickets are more beneficial. Bearded dragons can eat the crickets at any stage of life if they are suitable in size.

Can bearded dragons eat mole crickets?

Bearded dragons can also eat mole crickets. They have been found in Australia naturally. Do not give your bearded dragons the mole crickets that are found outside.