Q&A for How to Feed Mealworms to a Bearded Dragon

An adult beardie does best on a varied diet, consisting of 75% fruit and vegetable, and 25% live foods such as locusts or mealworms. When feeding a new food for the first time, always check it is safe for a bearded dragon to eat. Many human foods (such as avocado) are dangerous for beardies.

This will depend on your bearded dragon. If the beardie likes to feed themself, you can get special bowls with a lip and place the mealworms inside. Then the beardie can help himself but the worms can't wriggle away and escape. Alternatively, you can tweezer feed mealworms, just as you would locusts. Give mealworms as part of a balanced diet, so avoid feeding to excess as this could cause a bowel blockage.

Never feed earthworms caught from the garden. These are toxic to beardies. However, it's fine for an adult bearded dragon to eat a variety of waxworms (super tasty!), mealworms, and morio worms. Balance this with veggies, fruit, and insects such as locusts or crickets.

No. Mealworms have a tough chitinous exoskeleton which is too hard for a young bearded dragon to digest. If you want to give a treat, feed the beardie the equivalent of candy - a wax worm. But go easy with the quantities as they should be a treat rather than a staple food.