Bearded Dragon Calorie Calculator
To feed a bearded dragon correctly, split the daily plate between insects and greens by life-stage: hatchling 80/20, juvenile 60/40, sub-adult 50/50, and adult 20/80. This calculator gives you the exact insect count, greens grams, and Calcium-D3 plus multivitamin schedule for any age and weight, aligned with ARAV-affiliated husbandry guidance.
Split plate diagram
Inputs
Press Calculate to see your dragon's daily insect count and greens grams.
Insect feeder reference
| Feeder | kcal/g | Ca:P ratio | Protein % | Fat % | Staple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dubia roach Blaptica dubia | 1.5 | 1:3 | 23.4 | 7.2 | |
House cricket Acheta domesticus | 1.4 | 1:9 | 20.5 | 6.8 | |
BSFL (Phoenix Worm) Hermetia illucens | 1.6 | 1.5:1 | 17.5 | 14 | |
Hornworm Manduca sexta | 0.4 | 1:3 | 9 | 3 | |
Silkworm Bombyx mori | 0.6 | 1:2 | 9.3 | 1.1 | |
Superworm Zophobas morio | 2.4 | 1:18 | 19.7 | 17.7 |
Greens reference
| Green | Ca:P | Oxalates mg/100g | kcal/g | Max servings/wk | Staple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collard greens | 14.5:1 | 450 | 0.32 | 7 | |
| Mustard greens | 2.7:1 | 130 | 0.27 | 7 | |
| Dandelion greens | 2.8:1 | 24 | 0.45 | 7 | |
| Turnip greens | 4.5:1 | 50 | 0.32 | 7 | |
| Butternut squash | 1.5:1 | 0 | 0.45 | 4 | |
| Arugula | 1.5:1 | 0 | 0.25 | 5 | |
| Curly kale | 2.4:1 | 20 | 0.35 | 3 | |
| Spinach | 0.4:1 | 970 | 0.23 | 1 |
Pair this with our UVB calculator and tank size calculator for a full husbandry plan.
Weekly supplement schedule for Adult
Calcium with D3 dusted on insects 3x/week, multivitamin 1x/week. Brands: Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, Arcadia EarthPro-A, Zoo Med Reptivite.
Body weight to daily calories
| Weight (g) | Hatchling kcal | Juvenile kcal | Sub-adult kcal | Adult kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| 25 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| 50 | 13.0 | 10.0 | 7.5 | 4.5 |
| 100 | 26.0 | 20.0 | 15.0 | 9.0 |
| 150 | 39.0 | 30.0 | 22.5 | 13.5 |
| 200 | 52.0 | 40.0 | 30.0 | 18.0 |
| 300 | 78.0 | 60.0 | 45.0 | 27.0 |
| 400 | 104.0 | 80.0 | 60.0 | 36.0 |
| 500 | 130.0 | 100.0 | 75.0 | 45.0 |
| 600 | 156.0 | 120.0 | 90.0 | 54.0 |
| 700 | 182.0 | 140.0 | 105.0 | 63.0 |
The math
kcal/day = body_weight_kg x kcal_per_kg (260, 200, 150, 90 by stage) x activityWorked: a 480 g (0.48 kg) adult at normal activity needs 0.48 x 90 x 1.0 = 43.2 kcal/day. Split at 20/80 = 8.6 kcal from insects (about 6 medium Dubia at 1.5 kcal/g and 0.9 g/piece) and 34.6 kcal from greens (about 105 g of collards at 0.33 kcal/g, or 35 g of nutrient-dense rotated greens).
insects_per_day = (kcal_day x insect_pct) / (insect_kcal_per_g x avg_piece_g)Worked for crickets at 1.4 kcal/g, 0.45 g/piece, adult 20 percent: (43.2 x 0.20) / (1.4 x 0.45) = 8.64 / 0.63 = 13.7 crickets — round up to 14 if dusted with calcium, dropped to twice per week.
Feeding calculations
Calculate to save your feeding plan — kept in your browser only.
How to feed your bearded dragon in 5 steps
- Weigh your dragon. Use a kitchen scale weekly to nearest gram. Hatchlings 4-30 g, juveniles 30-200 g, sub-adults 200-400 g, adults 400-600 g.
- Pick the life stage. The split-plate widget shows the insects-to-greens ratio for that stage.
- Choose your staple insect. Dubia and BSFL are the best Ca:P ratio; crickets are easy to source; superworms are a treat.
- Press Calculate. You get the per-day insect count, greens grams, calories, and the supplement schedule.
- Dust feeders and serve. Calcium-D3 dusted on insects 3-5x/week (age dependent), multivitamin 1x/week. Greens go in a flat dish every morning.
Why bearded dragon diet flips from insect-heavy to plant-heavy — the science
In 2026, a new bearded dragon owner sizing the first bag of crickets needs to know exactly how many to buy and how much salad to chop, and the answer is not the one the pet shop sells. Pogona vitticeps evolved across the Lake Eyre basin and central Australian scrub as an opportunistic omnivore whose juvenile diet is 80 percent insect protein for growth and whose adult diet is roughly 90 percent plant matter for kidney and liver health.
The captive husbandry literature consolidated this ratio in the late 1990s. Sandfire Ranch (Bob Mailloux, San Diego, 1989 onward) was the first US large-scale operation to publish life-stage feeding ratios that match wild gut-content studies done by Ehmann and Cogger in the Australian outback in the 1980s. The 80/20 hatchling, 60/40 juvenile, 50/50 sub-adult, 20/80 adult schedule was codified in the early 2000s by the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) practice guidelines.
Calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is the single most important food-chemistry rule. Wild dragons gut-load on Acacia flowers, dandelion, and high-calcium succulents that bring the dietary Ca:P average above 2:1. In captivity, crickets (Ca:P 1:9) are calcium-poor and require dusting with Calcium D3, while Dubia roaches (1:3) and BSFL larvae (1.5:1) need almost none. Hornworms (1:3) are hydration treats. Mismatched ratios cause metabolic bone disease (MBD), the leading preventable illness in juvenile bearded dragons. See our UVB calculator for the D3 synthesis side of the equation.
The shift to plant-heavy diets in adulthood is biology, not preference. Adult Pogona vitticeps livers process roughly 1.5 to 2 grams of insect protein per kilogram body weight per day before hepatic lipidosis sets in. A 500 g adult fed daily crickets typical of juvenile schedules will accumulate fat at roughly 3 g of body fat per week and present with bulging fat pads and a sluggish basking response within 6 to 9 months. Switching to a salad-based daily routine with insects only 2 to 3 times per week resolves this within 12 weeks per ARAV case reports.
The 2020s also brought the rise of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) as a near-perfect staple. BSFL are calcium-positive (Ca:P 1.5:1), high-fat for growth, easy to keep alive in containers without escapees, and farmable on food waste. The Repashy nutrition team, Dubia Rangers in the US, and Arcadia EarthPro in the UK now endorse BSFL as the most calcium-friendly staple feeder for hatchlings through adults — paired with greens, the entire dietary calcium need is met without dusting some weeks.
Greens are not a one-bowl-fits-all category. Collard greens (Ca:P 14.5:1, oxalates 450 mg/100g) are the calcium powerhouse but moderate in oxalates. Mustard and dandelion are next-best stapes. Spinach (Ca:P 0.4:1, oxalates 970 mg/100g) actively binds calcium and should appear once per week at most. The calculator above caps each green by weekly servings to enforce the rotation.
The final rule, often missed: feed insects 1 to 2 hours after basking lights come on. Bearded dragons cannot digest below 90 F core body temperature; food in a cold gut ferments and causes impaction. Greens go in cold (room temperature is fine) and are grazed throughout the day as the dragon thermoregulates. The split plate above is the visual contract for that daily routine.
What reptile vets and breeders say
“The split-plate visualization is the clearest teaching tool I have ever sent home with a new client. The 80/20 to 20/80 inversion across life stages is the single most-missed husbandry rule in my clinic.”
“I run 30 breeding adults and use this to onboard buyers. The insect frequency schedule for adults is exactly what I preach — twice a week, period, or you get fatty liver.”
“Finally a calculator that calls out the calcium-to-phosphorus problem with crickets. I bookmark this for every outreach event.”
“We get surrendered dragons every month that are obese on superworms. This calculator shows owners the daily greens grams target in a way Excel sheets never did.”
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