For several months now I have been wanting to create this page based on the various stories I hear from people all over the country.People call me regarding the diets or questioning a diet they want to feed their dragon or a diet they have fed their dragons and the horror stories I have heard. I am trying to protect all bearded dragons and their owners as well as my own customers from making these same mistakes.

I will continue to ad to this page as issues come up that I want the public to be aware of for future reference and to guide them not to make the same mistakes. As these calls come in I will continue to ad to this list, some may seem very unusual but there are some real crazy things that peple try to feed their bearded dragons.

NO MEAL WORMS LIVE OR DRIED: We do not recommend feeding any dried bugs. I had a customer of mine that had read on the internet on another website that feeding meal worms was good for bearded dragons and especially the dried meal worms which they claimed to turn to powder once they were ingested.  This is not true and meal worms are dangerous to your dragons. My customer was feeding her dragon the meal worms and the dried meal worms on the top of the greens and veggies salad she offered her dragon. One morning, much to her horror, she awoke to find her dragon dead in the bottom of the cage. This was not a juvenile but an early subadult that had choked on the hard outer shell of the meal worms and had tried to reguritate them and chocked to death. A meal worm has little or no food value because it contains a hard outer shell  that is difficult to digest and it has extremely little or no gut factor.  In place of meal worms we recommend using super worms once your dragon has reached the size of 12" from nose to tail tip. Although a superworm also has a hard outer shell it has a high gut factor load which is good for your dragons. For younger bearded dragons we recommend using wax worms, small horn worms, and phoenix worms.. No large portions or bowl fulls of superworms.. You can order some of the worms we have discussed through   http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/  This site will tell you how many horm worms it takes to equal the number of crickets or other feeders to equal the number of hornworms to feed or go to  http://www.mulberryfarms.com/ These worms because of their high fat should not be feed day in and day out as the staple protein or bug diet. They should be fed as treats or in combination with the crickets.

NO FIREFILES These are DEADLY to your dragon. They are highly poisonous to your dragon and it only takes one firefly to kill your dragon. Be sure to keep a screen or lid on the top of your cage so that one of these bugs does not accidently get into your dragon's cage.

NO BIRDS I had a call from a man that had an outdoor enclosure (large bird cage) and little birds would fly into the cage. His dragon was eating small birds. This is a big NO NO. The bones of the bird are not very digestible if at all and can cause an impaction or a perferation of the intestinal tract. These were little finches that were native to his state.

NO RAW MEAT I had a call from a person that asked if it was alright  to feed her dragon raw hamburger. I told her absolutely NOT. That there is too much bacteria including salmonella which is harmfull if not deadly to your dragon. Even people are supposed to eat hamburger cooked well done. Now, I have heard of people feeding COOKED (Boiled or Baked) SHREDDED CHICKEN with no bad or ill side effects so this could be an alternative if you are wanting to feed a "human type" food that is high in protein.

No Wild Caught Bugs: IF YOU DID NOT BUY IT - DO NOT FEED IT!  Do not feed any insects that have been caught outside or in your home. These bugs may have been exposed to pesticides and can be toxic to your dragon. No matter what the species, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, etc. Many of these bugs could be coming from a neighbor's yard or farm and you would have no way of knowing what they carry. Diseases and  poisons can cause serious illness to your dragon. Also, do not feed any spiders or hard shelled beatles which can also be poisonous and cause impaction or death.