Do bearded dragons have to eat live crickets?

Feeding live crickets to bearded dragons is popular, but they do not have to eat live crickets as part of their regular diet. Crickets have high amounts of parasites in their system. Feeding too many crickets to a bearded dragon puts it at risk for parasite infection.

Bearded dragons can be fed other insects such as mealworms and cockroaches that are bred as feeder insects. Waxworms are a good substitute but are high in fat, so they should only be given to pet dragons as an occasional treat.

Bearded dragons thrive on a healthy diet of mixed fresh greens, a little fruit and safe insects that do not have heavy parasite loads.