{"id":1795,"date":"2020-05-19T15:26:30","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T15:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reptilefollower.com\/?p=1795"},"modified":"2023-11-08T09:43:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T09:43:12","slug":"can-a-bearded-dragon-eat-beetles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reptilefollower.com\/can-a-bearded-dragon-eat-beetles\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a Bearded Dragon Eat Beetles? (Will they bite?)"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are looking for the best food for your Beardie (Click here to learn, from this guide, the safest food for your Beardie)<\/a><\/strong> then you may be wondering if beetles are a good idea.<\/p>\n

Can a bearded dragon eat beetles? No, beetles are not a good idea for your Bearded Dragon. This is because they are difficult for him to consume, with their hard exterior, have limited nutritional benefits, and high-fat content, in their larval form.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that you know that beetles are not a good idea, keep reading to see what other risks they provide, exactly what they are, if baby Beardies should be eating them, and much more.<\/p>\n\n

What are beetles?<\/h2>\n
\"Mealworm

Mealworm beetle (Tenebrio opacus)<\/p><\/div>\n

Before we go any further, let me break down exactly what a Beetle is. I get it, the chances are you already know what a beetle is, right? But, do you know its scientific classification, how many species in its order, etc?<\/p>\n

Scientific Classification<\/h3>\n

According to Wikipedia<\/a>, beetles is quite a generic term. It is a collection of insects from the Coleoptera order. For your info, when I say “order” I mean in the scientific term. In simple terms, it is a biological ranking. Species are on the lowest level, followed by the Genus, the family, and then the “order”, are you with me?<\/p>\n

Therefore, to put this into perspective, in the Coleoptera order, there are over 40,000 different species. And, to make things even more complex, new species are being found to this day.<\/p>\n

What are the most common beetles for Bearded Dragons?<\/h2>\n

Now that you know about the scientific classification and exactly what beetles are, in general, you know there is a lot to consider. So, considering there are over 400,000 species, it is impossible to break them all down here. So, what beetles are more common to the Bearded Dragon community?<\/p>\n

Darkling Beetles<\/h3>\n

The chances are if you have been around the Bearded Dragon community for a while you will have heard people talk about Darkling Beetles.<\/p>\n

The thing to understand is Darkling beetle is a common name for a large family of beetles called Tenebrionidae. So, when someone says Darkling Beetles, they could be referring to over 20,000 specific species, are you with me?<\/p>\n

Common Darkling Beetles discussed<\/h3>\n

Now that you understand that there are many different species in the Darkling Beetle category let me explain some of the common beetles that you may have heard of:<\/p>\n