What to feed!?!?

I have a 5” baby bearded dragon that is being
fed crickets as of now. Should I continue to feed crickets or should I switch to roaches or some type of worms?

Pin head crickets are best for that size. Offer some very fine shredded veggies, off the safe list. Don't expect him to eat much in the way of veggies. There's a few other bugs he can be fed but most worms are fatty. Crickets fed off of veggies are good for the little guy. Dust 'em with calcium + D3 once a day. Feeding him a little at a time, as in about 3-5 meals a day.

I switched to dubia and I have loved it much more than crickets! Crickets die off fast, smell, and are hard to feed. I recommend feeding the little guy dubia nymphs everyday 3x a day, as much as he will eat in 10-15 min. Hope I helped!

~Nova

Blowfly gents (maggots) are a very good nutritious feeder and very soft and slow moving.
see this https://frogs.org.au/live-foods/product/blowfly-larvae/ for size near pupation. The hatchling will also enjoy the flies , especially just as they emerge from the pupa.

housefly gents , see above .
see this https://frogs.org.au/live-foods/product/house-fly-larvae/ size of full grown , ready to pupate maggots. The hatchling will also enjoy the flies , especially just as they emerge from the pupa.


Silkworms are also a very good and nutritious feeder.
This is what the look like a 1 day old

7 day old

twp weeks old

about 4 weeks old


The little hatchling can handle all these size silkworms , because they are very soft and squishy and full of moist goo and chewed up mulberry leaves or chow.

Small size BSFL are very good.

Size of pinhead crickets
https://frogs.org.au/live-foods/product/hatching-crickets/
not a lot of protein in each when so small cf amount of exoskeleton. It'll have to catch and eat dozens per meal , and they are very hard to care for at this size and hard to keep track off in the tank.
Sizes of smaller sized crickets suitable for hatchlings for comparison


I'd up from pinhead size to this size crickets - https://frogs.org.au/live-foods/product/small-crickets/ , 20 day old crickets , these will be easier to get a good meal of protein from and easier for you and the hatchling to keep track off in the tank.

Beauty of using gents , fly pupae close to hatching , and silkworms is they can be left in a suitable feeding dish (on a bit of mulberry leaf or chow if silkworms) for the hatchling to discover/notice and nibble at it it's own pace and when it chooses, the wont bite the hatchling, are slow moving, and will pretty much stay in the dish (leave in cool zone so they don't get cooked) and they are all very high in calcium and protein (exactly what the hatchling needs to grow and develop properly) , and most lizards go bananas for them (they love them).