# Bearded Dragon **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 19, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270 "2017-10-19T05:11:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ladysolanine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7bcc69/32.png) [@Ladysolanine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ladysolanine)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270/1 "2017-10-19T05:11:13Z")
Hey guys I just got a beardy! He’s 3 years old and I just gave him some worms as a treat. Does anyone have any advice in terms of food? He’s sleeping now but I’m a bit worried. Do they usually sleep like a log? Should I be less worried? He’s usually happy and alert I’m just psyching myself out a bit and would like reassurance. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270/2 "2017-10-19T05:51:38Z")
**Moderator Action** Welcome to the SDMB, **Ladysolanine**. Questions seeking advice and opinions belong in our In My Humble Opinion forum. It’s no biggie. I’ll move the thread there for you. Moving thread from GQ to IMHO. Good luck with your beardy! ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270/3 "2017-10-19T14:29:29Z")
Pics. It’s a rule or something. I don’t know anything about bearded dragons, other than that they are cute, and they sometimes wave at people. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270/4 "2017-10-19T14:50:22Z")
We have two. They eat super worms. Really. That’s what the things are called. I thought my wife was kidding when she sent me to get some. Then I half expected the clerk at the pet store to bring me worms wearing tiny red capes. Nope, just a container of worms. They will also eat crickets and lettuce. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270/5 "2017-10-19T17:14:27Z")
They are similar to Iguanas in care in feeding. Usually raised on a diet of insects they need a well rounded vegetarian diet as adults. Bananas and dark greens are good food to take care of their nutrient needs, but you have to be careful of anything that might have even traces of insecticides in them. They’ll need a heated basking rock to help digest their food, and may need some vitamin supplements. Like many lizards they won’t move around all that much. Don’t try to keep them with other animals, at least a male, they’ll be aggressive and territorial. We got a harness for Izzy, our big 4 foot long iguana we used to have so we could take him outside. We’d attach a weight to the leash so he could roam free a little, he was impressively strong and could drag that thing far and fast. I don’t think Dragons get that big and strong though, but I’m sure he will be surprisingly fast if he thinks he can make a break for it so never let him totally loose outside. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270/6 "2017-10-19T18:25:43Z")
We fostered one for the Torqueling’s school a few years ago, and she loved loved loved crickets. It was fun to watch her chase them down, too. If you ask at the pet store, they’ll “dust” the crickets with some kind of calcium powder or something that’s needed in their diet. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270/7 "2017-10-19T18:42:32Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > We fostered one for the Torqueling’s school a few years ago, and she loved loved loved crickets. It was fun to watch her chase them down, too. If you ask at the pet store, they’ll “dust” the crickets with some kind of calcium powder or something that’s needed in their diet. It’s still not a good diet for adult lizards of this kind. The trouble is that they are often raised on crickets and don’t adjust to the vegetarian diet. Vitamins and calcium help, but it’s not how they evolved to live. I’m sure there are good herpetology forums online. The one I used to go to back in the bulletin board days was Herpnet, but that doesn’t look like it deals with the care of herps anymore. ---
**Author:** ![jkirkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@jkirkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkirkman)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bearded-dragon/799270/8 "2017-10-21T01:47:09Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s still not a good diet for adult lizards of this kind. The trouble is that they are often raised on crickets and don’t adjust to the vegetarian diet. Vitamins and calcium help, but it’s not how they evolved to live. The perils of raising dragons as meat-eaters was thoroughly covered in that fine documentary on HBO called “Game of Thrones”. If their research is correct, you are going to need a larger house.