Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cockroaches? (Explained)

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Bearded dragons are among the most popular pet lizards for their dragon-look and peaceful nature.

Bearded dragons are amenable to eating cockroaches and following these tips will help you start feeding them. Keep reading to learn how!

Can Bearded Dragons Eat Cockroaches?

Bearded dragons can eat cockroaches, and they consider it one of their favorite foods.

Dubia cockroaches are considered the best insect option for bearded dragons because they’re easy to store, have a lot of nutrition, and offer no risks to your pet. 

However, the cockroach should be clean and farmed for animal food. Pets should never eat insects from the wild.

I remember when I found out that dragons don’t exist. That was really disappointing for me, because I loved them so much as a child.

If someone had told me about bearded dragons back then, I wouldn’t have been as sad.

I don’t know what mythical dragons ate, but bearded dragons absolutely love cockroaches.

They enjoy most types of cockroaches and dubia cockroaches are their favorite type of all.

Roaches are a good source of protein for bearded dragons.

Most roaches have 50-60% protein content, whereas food with 52% protein is perfect for bearded dragons because they can digest that quickly. 

Dubia roaches have 54% protein content. It’s really easy to store cockroaches. They don’t make their container dirty like crickets do. 

Compared to crickets, cockroaches are so much easier to maintain and feed! Crickets make their box messy, and many of them die quickly.

Crickets need to be replaced every two days in pet stores, but cockroaches can last for months.

Young bearded dragons need more protein in their diet, so they should eat about 70-80% meat and 20-30% vegetables. As the bearded dragons grow up, they eat more greens and less protein.

Adult bearded dragons need both protein and veggies in their food. They eat 20% protein at this stage in their life. 

New adults get 50% of their diet from protein and veggies, but all adult dragons need a combination of these two things.

All different types of cockroaches (insects) can offer a lot for humans, but not all types are good for your bearded dragons.

Check to see if you can feed those cockroaches to your bearded dragons.

Madagascar hissing cockroaches:

These tiny, reddish-brown insects survive by eating decaying plant material and feed on bugs, reptiles and small animals.

Giant bearded dragons can’t eat Madagascar hissing cockroaches directly. These cockroaches are too big and only adult bearded dragons can eat them comfortably.

German cockroaches:

German cockroaches are great as food for baby or juvenile bearded dragons, but they can be hard to find. Never feed your dragon wild insects.

House cockroaches:

Wild cockroaches won’t work for your beardie. House roaches can be really hard to find and they bite! That’s why you need to know what you should do instead. Keep reading to find out how.

Wild cockroaches:

You should never feed a wild cockroach to your bearded dragon. Cockroaches can have parasites that can make you pet sick, and the food they just ate might not be good for your critter either.

A wild cockroach can come into contact with pesticides and that is super harmful to your reptile friend.

American cockroaches:

American cockroaches are one of the most common pests in the United States.

The American cockroach, unlike the German cockroach, is a safe variety for bearded dragons. But they will not do well in captivity without a proper diet and plenty of space to roam.

Dubia cockroaches:

The best or the worst part about these roaches is they reproduce rapidly. You won’t only get a lot of cockroaches, but it won’t take long at all for them to hatch!

Dubia cockroaches are a trendy food for bearded dragons, and most of the dragon owners say their dragon loves them better than any other insect.

As we proceed through this article, we will talk more about dubia roaches.

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.

Mostly, fruit flies and wax worms are best for newborn babies. However, after your little one becomes a bit bigger, they will eat smaller dubia cockroaches.

Regardless of the type of insect you give your baby bearded dragon, make sure it is small. A young or juvenile bearded dragon can eat up to 70 insects in a day.

Providing lots of insects to a baby bearded dragon is a vital aspect of caring for a baby bearded dragon. They are more dependent on insects than vegetables or fruit, as they are growing and developing. 

Luckily, you can feed them some green vegetables and fruits too. Feeding your worms calcium and nutrient supplements is a simple task. 

You can just sprinkle some of these powdered supplements over the insects or vegetables you feed them and they’ll ingest it. This process is called dusting.

How Often Can Bearded Dragons Eat Roaches? How Many Roaches Can Bearded Dragons Eat?

Bearded dragons can eat roaches as much as they need to in order to feel full. It all depends on their appetite and the time of day, but experts say that a six-inch cockroach once or twice a day is appropriate.

The food requirements for baby bearded dragons depend on their age. Baby bearded dragons should be fed 70+ crickets, worms or insects per day to satisfy their appetite. 

However, that does not offer the best health for them so you will need to provide them with 25-50 cockroaches per day 3 times a week, as well as a meal of 50-100 crickets, worms or insects once every other day.

The cockroaches must be smaller than the head size of the bearded dragons. Babies have trouble eating larger insects and can choke on them.

Although bearded dragons need protein, they’ll also need more vegetables to stay healthy. A medium-sized Chinese cockroach should be given every day to a juvenile dragon. 

It helps keep them from feeling hungry and irritable, and can supplement vitamins in their diet. 2-3 feedings a day is recommended for adult dragons.

Young bearded dragons have a high appetite and can eat 3-5 dubia cockroaches per day. Gut loading one’s cockroaches is an essential part of feeding them.

Did you bring a newly breaded dragon over last time? They naturally eat less when they’re in a new place, so it should be fine if he refuses to eat for a few days.

Bearded dragons sometimes stop eating for a day or two. Don’t worry, as long as your pet doesn’t lose weight or show any unusual behavior, it can usually go back to normal with no intervention from a vet.

As bearded dragons are omnivorous, one of their favorite foods is cockroaches. Here are 5 reasons why.

Here are the top reasons to feed your bearded dragon cockroaches.

Cockroaches are delicious:

We observed cockroaches get excited when we asked them about their favorite food.

Dubia cockroaches are the most common type of feeder insects for bearded dragons and many people never get bored of eating them. Every beardie, however, may have different preferences and characteristics.

Cockroaches are nutritious:

Cockroaches are known to have the right level of protein, nutrients, and vitamins needed by a bearded dragon for healthy growth.

Cockroaches also contain minerals that are essential to the bearded dragons’ development.

Gut loading:

Cockroaches, because they have a habit of eating twice as much as their body weight, are the go-to for gut loading.

The bearded dragons will eat the nutrients in the roaches as well as the jelly inside roaches.

This means they should be fed with healthy fruits and vegetables to avoid poisoning their system.

Easy to keep:

Crickets are a lot dirtier than roaches, and they die quickly. It just doesn’t make sense to keep them as pets for the letter.

With the Dubia roaches offered by Animal Plastics, you don’t have to feed them for weeks at a time. They can live in an enclosure that could be in your home.

Availability:

You can easily find cockroaches in pet shops.

What Type Of Roaches Do Bearded Dragons Eat?

Dubia cockroaches are one of the best bugs for feeding your pet bearded dragon.

The other ones that you can feed them to dragons are also fine, but they may be harder to find at your local store (depending on where you live). 

Bearded dragons can eat these easily because they’re medium-sized. Dubia roaches are a popular choice for bearded dragons because they are nutritious and very tasty.

Some of the bad things you need to know to take care of your bearded dragons are phosphorus and fats.

Dubia cockroaches, which are often fed to lizards, have less harmful nutrients than other insects. In this respect, they’re a better choice than fireflies or any insect that glows.

How Do I Feed Roaches To My Bearded Dragons?

To feed your bearded dragons, follow these easy steps.

Collecting the cockroaches:

Look for cockroaches in pet stores or pet food supply agencies. Sometimes these offices can be found near you.

Storing:

I’ve been meaning to get some of those live cockroaches for ages! We’ll have to order a couple so I don’t run out. 

They can be stored for long periods without food or water, so long as they have plenty of hiding places and appropriate air and water.

Gut loading:

Gut loading is the process of providing feeder insects with a nutritious diet in order to maximize their nutrient content before they are used as food for reptiles and amphibians.

To prepare cockroaches for feeding your bearded dragon, use gut-loaded or pre-fed cockroaches.

You can also add supplements to the food before you offer it to your bearded dragons.

Feeding:

It can be challenging to achieve the right balance when it comes to feeding your beardies.

Young ones should get between 20 and 40 crickets every day, while adults will require around 5-6 cockroaches each.

Final Thoughts

Dubia roaches are a very nutritious and delicious food for bearded dragons. It helps their growth and development, and it keeps them happy. 

It’s also a more than safe food to give them because they’re bred in the U.S., so you don’t need to worry about any pesticide residues on them.

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