The amount of time bearded dragons can go without food depends on size, age, and the reason for going without food. In most instances, healthy baby dragons can survive for a day without food. On the other hand, adult beardies can stay for a month without food or even four months if they are brumating.
Keep reading to know more about how long beardies can survive without food, why they might refuse to eat, and much more.
How Long Can Baby Bearded Dragons Go Without Food?
Without any reasonable doubt, we bet you understand that baby beardies need nourishment more frequently than juveniles and adults. However, you might have observed that these tiny creatures eat more often than mature.
Babies experience rapid growth and development. Therefore, they need a lot of nutrients to facilitate robust growth. If you keep an eye on your baby dragons, you’ll notice that they keep increasing in size daily. You must give your baby beardies food rich in proteins to ensure they remain strong and healthy.
With that said, it’s vividly clear that baby bearded dragons won’t survive for a long time without eating. At their tender age, these scaly friends need to be provided with care and fed every day.
Considering that they need to be fed 3-5 times a day, baby beardies will starve if they go for 12 to 24 hours without food. If you push the scales too far, your baby dragon might lose its life.
How Long Can Juveniles Stay Without Food?
Unlike baby beardies, juveniles grow relatively slower, and their food intake rate is not that high. However, they still need to be fed more often. Those aged between 4-8 months should be fed 2-3 times, while juveniles above 8 months should be fed once daily.
So, the answer for how long juveniles can last without food is probably a few days or weeks, depending on the size and energy they have in their reserves. However, leaving juvenile bearded dragons for a week without food can adversely affect their growth rate.
Therefore, ensure that your juvenile beardie is fed daily, with half of its diet incorporating proteins and the other half veggies and greens.
These creatures might go for days without food, but you should never let them starve unless it’s something beyond your control.
How Long Does It Take for Adult Bearded Dragon to Starve to Death?
Unlike babies and juveniles, adult bearded dragons don’t need to be fed frequently. They must eat at least 2-3 times per week. In short, having a bearded dragon gives a keeper more freedom as they don’t need to be hands-on feeding their scaly reptiles.
Since bearded dragons are used to the desert climate where food can be scarce, they can stay for months without food.
Interestingly, adult beardies can last for a week without food without showing any slump in their overall health and wellbeing. This is because adult beardies have low metabolism and experience slower growth rates than juveniles.
However, reptile vets warn against letting your bearded dragon go without eating for more than a week. Still, bearded dragons go through a period of dormancy and inactivity known as brumation, where they stay without eating for months.
During brumation, bearded dragons slow down their bodily functions and thus don’t need too much energy. They enter a period of inactivity where they don’t eat or move around. Beardies can brumate for about 2 to 4 months.
Unfortunately, most pet keepers assume their bearded dragons are brumating when they don’t eat. They don’t understand that other things can cause these creatures to refuse to eat.
Do Bearded Dragons Need to Eat Every Day?
How often you feed your scaly reptiles depends on their size and age. However, there are some general rules that pet keepers should follow when feeding their beardies to keep them healthy.
A bearded dragon’s diet is broken into proteins and vegetables. Your bearded dragon will need a diet with different nutrients combo at various growth stages.
Younger beardies need to savor a diet with high protein content to facilitate growth. Since they are growing and developing fast, they need extra protein from eating insects.
Serving your bearded dragon a healthy diet from a tender age helps them attain substantial growth and development.
Here is a bearded dragon feeding table for quick reference:
| Age | Diet Ratio | Amount | Frequency |
| 2-3 months | 75% insects 25% veggies | 30-80 insects daily | 3-5 times daily |
| 3-8 months | 75% insect 25% veggies | 30-80 insects daily | 2-3 times daily |
| 8-12 months | 50% insects 50% veggies | 20-40 insects daily | 2-3 times daily |
| One year and above | 25% insects 75% veggies | 20-40 insects per week | 2-3 times weekly |
Why Is My Bearded Dragon Active but Not Eating?
A broad range of reasons can make your beardie refuse to eat. This can get you worried as a pet keeper. Luckily, these are issues you can fix. Let’s go through some reasons why bearded dragons may stop eating.
1. Incorrect Tank Temperature
Bearded dragons’ enclosures should have a specific temperature. The tank should have a basking area with temperatures ranging from 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and a cooler zone with temperatures ranging from 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beardies need heat for digestion and to perfume other bodily functions. When the temperature inside the cage is too low, beardies won’t feel the urge to eat since they’ll have undigested food in their bellies.
On the other hand, if the enclosure is too hot, beardies will suffer from overheating and will be restless. They’ll have difficulty trying to eat the food you offer them. Therefore, if your scaly friend stops eating unexpectedly, the temperature inside the enclosure might be off.
2. Change of Environment and Alteration of the Bearded Dragon’s Surrounding
Bearded dragons are habitual creatures that don’t like change. If you change the tank décor, introduce new accessories, or move the terrarium from its usual position, your scaly reptile might refuse to eat.
Try to give your beardies time to adjust to these changes. If they don’t resume eating after a short period, you should consider removing some of the accessories and see what happens. If their appetite improves, whatever you threw out was the problem.
New environments may also stress beardies. When you bring them home for the first time or maybe change the location of their terrarium, they might get stressed to the extent that they won’t have an appetite.
Try to make the transition from one place to the next as smooth and seamless as possible. If you’re adding new décor and accessories, introduce them one by one and see how the lizard reacts. Offering lots of hides will help the beardies feel safe and calm down when startled.
3. Stress
Bearded dragons are easily affected by stress. One indicator that your bearded dragon is stressed is losing its appetite. Your scaly friend may also get stressed if there’s another beardie in its cage.
Lizards might also get scared if the conditions inside the terrarium are not suitable or if other household pets are coming closer to their enclosure.
Bearded dragons are territorial creatures that will compete for space, food, and autonomy. If you put two lizards in the same tank, they’ll engage in fights that will leave the submissive beardie stressed.
Conversely, beardies will get stressed as they perceive any prominent animal that comes near its cage as a predator.
If your bearded dragon stops eating, check to see whether they are stressed. If the loss of appetite is brought about by stress, you should act swiftly to eliminate the elements making your beardie anxious.
4. They Don’t Like the Food
When introducing new foods to your dragon, you’re likely to experience a standoff where they might refuse to eat. These scaly friends are notoriously stubborn and are inherently fussy with food. It’s not unlikely for your beardie to refuse to eat commercial insects just because you’re used to giving them live insects.
Unfortunately, bearded dragon owners should learn to encourage beardies to eat even when they don’t want to. Beardies may go weeks or months without eating just because they don’t like what you’re serving them.
If your lizard refuses to eat greens, you can mix them with special treats like fruits to make them tastier. Conversely, you can hold your ground and wait until the lizards are hungry and ready to eat whatever you’re feeding them.
5. They Are About to Brumate
Beardies may also refuse to eat when they are about to brumate. Bearded dragons slow their food intake in preparation for brumation. If beardies lose appetite and start showing other signs such as lethargy, sleeping too much, and less movement, they might be getting ready for brumation.
6. Illness
Sometimes, your scaly friend may refuse to eat because they are sick. Beardies may suffer from various ailments, including metabolic bone disease, parasitic infections, and respiratory infections. They might also refuse to eat when they have gut impaction.
You should consult a reputable reptile vet for comprehensive diagnosis and treatment if you suspect your beardie is losing appetite because of an illness.
Will Bearded Dragons Starve Themselves to Death?
No, bearded dragons will not starve themselves to death just because they’re being fussy. They might refuse to eat for weeks until they lose weight but come around and start eating when they start to starve. The only time beardies will starve to death is if the loss of appetite is caused by another factor, such as an underlying health condition.
Should You Force-Feed Your Bearded Dragon If It Refuses to Eat?
No, forcing your bearded dragon to eat is wrong and should be avoided at all costs. Bearded dragons are stubborn and only eat what they want whenever they feel like it. Many people have force-fed their bearded dragons, but this should only happen during extenuating circumstances.
You should only force-feed your lizard if it becomes visibly fragile and thin. However, wait for your reptile vet to give you the go-ahead. You should only force your dragon to eat if the vet recommends it.
Here is how to force-feed your bearded dragon:
- Please pick up your bearded dragon carefully from its cage and place it comfortably, ensuring that you have a secure grip.
- Open the mouth by gently pulling down the lower jaw. Pull the skin below the jaw until the beardie opens its mouth.
- Slowly insert the food and let the beardie swallow
- Repeat the procedure until the lizard eats a substantial amount of food
- If your beardie can’t swallow the food because it’s too weak, you may be forced to use a syringe.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has laid out all the facts about bearded dragon feeding. The main points you need to remember are:
- How long a bearded dragon can go without food will depend on its age, size, and whether it’s brumation.
- Adult bearded dragons can go for a month without eating
- Baby and juvenile beardies should be fed every day
- Beardies may lose appetite because of various things such as:
- Incorrect tank temperature
- Change of environment or alteration of the surrounding
- Stress
- Illness
- They don’t like the food
- Brumation
- Bearded dragons may be fussy about eating certain foods, but they’ll never starve themselves to death.