Bearded Dragons
Can Baby Bearded Dragons Eat Silkworms?
Yes — baby bearded dragons can absolutely eat silkworms, and silkworms are arguably the single best supplemental feeder for hatchling and juvenile beardies. They are soft-bodied, easy to digest, low in fat, and naturally calcium-rich, which directly addresses the two biggest dietary risks in the first year of a bearded dragon's life: protein deficiency from refused meals and metabolic bone disease from poor calcium intake. The qualifier is sizing — get the silkworm size wrong and you create an impaction risk that no other care issue compares to in severity.
Why silkworms work for hatchlings
Bearded dragons under six months old eat insectivorously — they need 70–80% of their diet from insect protein, with vegetables filling the rest. The challenge is that hatchlings are tiny (3–4 inches), have small jaws, and refuse harder-bodied prey if it stresses them. Silkworms (Bombyx mori) hit a useful intersection:
- Soft body with no hard exoskeleton — easy to chew and digest
- Slow movement — easy for a hatchling to catch without stress
- ~10% fat, ~64% protein dry weight — building protein without fat overload
- Naturally calcium-rich — closer to the 2:1 Ca:P ratio bearded dragons need than crickets or mealworms
- ~76% moisture — meaningful hydration, important for hatchlings that drink less from a dish than adults
The non-negotiable sizing rule
The single most important husbandry rule for any insectivorous lizard, especially hatchlings, is that prey should be no wider than the space between the dragon's eyes. Oversized prey is the leading cause of impaction — a partial blockage of the digestive tract that can cause hindleg paralysis, organ failure, and death. Bearded dragons are particularly vulnerable in their first six months because their digestive system is still developing.
For silkworm sizing:
- Hatchlings (under 4 in total length, 0–8 weeks): very small silkworms, ~1–1.5 cm long
- Young juveniles (4–8 in, 2–4 months): small silkworms, ~2–3 cm
- Older juveniles (8–12 in, 4–6 months): medium silkworms, ~3–4 cm
- Sub-adults (12+ in, 6+ months): medium-to-large silkworms, ~4–5 cm
If you are uncertain about a silkworm's size, err small. A baby beardie can eat several small silkworms per meal; one oversized silkworm can cause weeks of trouble.
How often and how many
Hatchling and juvenile bearded dragons eat 2–3 insect meals per day, with each meal being "as many as they will eat in 10–15 minutes" of appropriately sized feeders. A workable silkworm contribution:
- Days 1, 3, 5, 7 (every other day): mix in 3–5 silkworms across the day's meals, alongside crickets or small discoid roaches
- Days 2, 4, 6: focus on staple feeders (crickets, roaches, BSFL) with vegetables
The goal is variety. A silkworm-heavy diet alone leaves a bearded dragon underexposed to chitin (which their digestive system needs in moderate amounts) and is also expensive per calorie. Treat silkworms as a high-value supplement, not the entire protein column.
Calcium dusting still matters — even with silkworms
Silkworms have a Ca:P ratio of roughly 1:1.4, which is much better than crickets (1:9) or mealworms (1:14), but still short of the 2:1 a growing bearded dragon needs. The standard hatchling supplementation schedule remains:
- Calcium with D3: dust feeders 5 days per week (skip on silkworm-heavy days)
- Multivitamin: dust feeders 1 day per week
This combined with proper UVB lighting (a 10.0 or 12.0 T5 HO tube replaced annually) prevents the metabolic bone disease that disfigures and ultimately kills poorly fed captive beardies.
Storage and presentation
Silkworms ship with a starter supply of mulberry chow and need to be kept at 72–82°F in a ventilated container. Never refrigerate silkworms — cold kills them in hours. Replace mulberry chow every other day, scraping out any that has dried or molded. With clean food and steady temperatures, a batch of small silkworms keeps for 2–3 weeks before they pupate.
To present silkworms, place them in a shallow feeding dish in the enclosure. They move slowly, so they will not escape. The slow movement also makes them less stimulating to a strong feeding response than a cricket — if your hatchling ignores silkworms initially, gently move one with feeding tongs to trigger the strike instinct.
When NOT to feed silkworms
There are a few situations where silkworms are not the right choice:
- An underweight hatchling that needs calorie density — silkworms are low fat and low calorie; small superworms or BSFL deliver more energy per gram
- A hatchling that has refused food for more than 24 hours — first ensure husbandry is correct (basking spot 105–110°F, UVB working, no recent enclosure changes), then offer the most stimulating prey available, usually crickets
- Right after a calcium-only meal — silkworms already have higher calcium; over-supplementation has its own risks
Bottom line
Baby bearded dragons can and should eat silkworms — they are one of the safest, most nutritionally appropriate feeders for the first year of life. Get the sizing right (no wider than the gap between the dragon's eyes), keep them as part of a varied rotation rather than the entire diet, and continue calcium dusting on staple feeders. For more on building a complete bearded dragon diet, our Creature Insights blog covers feeding charts, vegetable selection, and supplementation schedules in depth.
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