4 Expert Tips for How to Get Your Bearded Dragon to Eat in No Time

It isn’t uncommon for a bearded dragon to develop picky eating habits and essentially shun their fruits and veggies, especially if they’re young and you’ve recently transitioned them to a less protein-dense diet.

However, bearded dragons can also shun certain feeders as well!

Regardless of whatever your bearded dragon is choosing not to eat, rest assured, there are strategies you can adapt that will show you how to get a bearded dragon to eat again. Just keep reading!

When it comes to understanding how to get a bearded dragon to eat, it is important to consider their overall health and state of their habitat.

Bearded dragons that are shedding, preparing to brumate, impacted, or sick will usually have a suppressed appetite.

While those with inadequate cage temps and insufficient UVB exposure will also have suppressed appetites.

However, healthy beardies with a good cage setup refusing to eat? You can almost always chalk it up to them just being stubborn!

Bearded Dragon Refusing to Eat Vegetables

Because of this, it is so important to consider the current overall health and behavior of your dragon, as well as their cage setup.

If everything checks out, you most likely just have a picky albeit healthy dragon whom will likely begin eating again if you follow one or more of the strategies below!

With that being said, if your dragon is healthy and of a good weight, not beginning to shed or brumate and has the right cage setup, then just keep reading below to discover what you can do to get them to start eating!

Also, feel free to use the Table of Contents below for easy and quick navigation to the section that most accurately describes your concern.

In This Article

Strategy #1: Consider an Appetite Stimulant

The goal is to get your bearded dragon to eat on their own, so using a stimulant should (ideally) be a part of a bigger strategy.

You can encourage your beardie to eat with a Fluker’s Reptile Appetite Stimulant Supplement while you figure out what foods they prefer OR if there are other issues (health, cage setup, etc.) going on.

Feeding with a stimulant will help if they begin to get weak or lose too much weight.

Another product I would recommend for your beardie’s appetite is Reptaid.

Reptaid (read our in-depth Reptaid review) uses herbal extracts to help bearded dragons fight off parasites and viruses, but also works to stimulate their appetite and get them eating again.

It’s a great option for a short term solution while you wait to take them to the vet or figure out why they’re not eating.

Strategy #2: Offer a Varied Diet

Bearded dragons can be similar to humans in that, if fed the same thing over and over, they can begin to get bored and essentially lose their appetite.

This is especially common when it comes to feeding them greens and veggies!

So, if your bearded dragon won’t eat greens anymore, try offering them a new kind of green to taste.

Ideally, you will stumble upon a type they’ve never tried before and see to your delight, a curious bearded dragon gobbling up a new food!

Strategy #3: Try to Make Their Feeding Experience Fun

If you have time, you can always try handing feeding your bearded dragon greens to encourage them to eat them.

Some dragons love being hand fed and will only eat their greens this way.

You can also wet their greens to give them a new texture as well, or sprinkle in a little unsweetened apple sauce to provide a new and exciting flavor.

Additionally, adding wiggly feeders (think super worms) underneath greens can provide a movement that stimulates their hunger and interest in greens if they were previously shunning them.

Strategy #4: Hold Your Ground

As long as your bearded dragon is healthy and a good weight, considering holding your ground until they begin eating.

You may want to also stop feeding them feeders for a few weeks until they eventually realize they need to eat their greens.

Once they’ve started eating their greens, you can very slowly reintroduce feeders.

If your dragon is an adult, consider offering them feeders just 2-3 times a week and greens daily. Just make sure you monitor their weight at all times.

Bearded dragons like to essentially shun their food in the hopes of getting something better, so if you give in, you’ll only be reinforcing this bratty behavior all the more.

How to Force Feed a Bearded Dragon

Only under serious conditions should you be concerned about “force feeding” a bearded dragon.

If your bearded dragon is sick, extremely malnourished or you’ve been instructed to force feed by a reptile vet, this is when you’re going to want to work on feeding them yourself.

First, you’ll need a small syringe like this (without a needle) which you can feed them with.

Second, you’ll need specific types of baby food like squash, pumpkin, or pea puree.

You can also soak bearded dragon pellets in organic, non-sweetened apple juice as well.

In Conclusion

So there you have it! I hope this article gave you a better understanding of the strategies you can implement for how to get a bearded dragon to eat.

Again, it is important to always examine many things when your bearded dragon stops eating, so you can rule out any serious habitat or health issues.

Ensuring your beardie is healthy and has the right temps and exposure to UVB is crucial in getting them to eat again! And when in doubt, it never hurts to take them to a reptile vet.