Food
In my opinion there are three rules to respect when feeding Pogona Vitticeps:
The size of the prey should not exceed the distance between their eyes. Otherwise, the dragon can choke, vomit, or even remain paralysed.
Food should contain twice as much calcium as phosphorus.
The dragons require heat to wake up, to start hunting and to digest. Therefore you should wait two hours after turning on the lamps before you feed them. They should also not be fed in the two hours before you turn the lights off.
Pogona Vitticeps are omnivorous. This leaves a wide choice for the composition of their menu.
Live preys: crickets, locusts, cockroaches, even mice for adults. To avoid: worms (except silkworms) and moths. Indeed, by giving too many worms and moths, liver problems may occur.
The proportion “live preys” vs. “plants” evolve in the following manner depending on the age of the dragon:
0 to 2 months: 90% live preys and 10% plants,
2 to 5 months: 80% live preys and 20% plants,
5 to 12 months: 60% live preys and 40% plants,
More than 1 year: 20% live preys and 80% plants.
Pogona Vitticeps need a lot of calories to ensure their growth during their first months of life. This explains why, as they age, the proportion of live preys in their diet tends to decrease.
Here is a table showing the proportion calcium / phosphorus ratio for the main plants:
| Plants | Ca :P |
| Apple | 0.7 :1 |
| Apricot | 0.8 :1 |
| Avocado | 0.3 :1 |
| Bananas | 0.3 :1 |
| Beans | 1.3 :1 |
| Bette leafy | 3.0 :1 |
| Blackberry | 1.1 :1 |
| Brocoli | 1.3 :1 |
| Carrot | 1.0 :1 |
| Cassis | 1.8 :1 |
| Celery (white) | 1.6 :1 |
| Cerise | 0.2 :1 |
| Chicory | 1.5 :1 |
| Courgette | 0.6 :1 |
| Cress | 3.6 :1 |
| Cucumber | 0.8 :1 |
| Dandelion | 2.8 :1 |
| Datte | 1.1 :1 |
| Endive | 0.8 :1 |
| Fennel | 2.0 :1 |
| Fig | 2.6 :1 |
| Gooseberry | 1.2 :1 |
| Grapefruit | 1.3 :1 |
| Grapes | 0.9 :1 |
| Green pepper | 0.4 :1 |
| Khaki | 2.7 :1 |
| Kiwi | 0.7 :1 |
| Leek | 0.9 :1 |
| Lettuce | 1.5 :1 |
| Mandarine | 2.4 :1 |
| Manguo | 3.6 :1 |
| Melon | 0.9 :1 |
| Mustard | 3.6 :1 |
| Orange | 2.1 :1 |
| Papaya | 3.6 :1 |
| Parsley | 2.9 :1 |
| Passion fruit | 0.2 :1 |
| Peach | 0.5 :1 |
| Pear | 0.8 :1 |
| Peas | 0.2 :1 |
| Pineapple | 1.4 :1 |
| Prune | 0.5 :1 |
| Pumpkin | 1.0 :1 |
| Quince | 0.7 :1 |
| Radi | 1.1 :1 |
| Raspberry | 0.8 :1 |
| Romaine | 2.7 :1 |
| Scarole | 2.4 :1 |
| Spinash | 1.8 :1 |
| Strawberry | 1.0 :1 |
| Tomato | 0.5 :1 |
| Turnips (sprout) | 4.3 :1 |
| Watermelon | 0.6 :1 |
Foods for juveniles
Every day I give my juveniles a bowl of plants (vegetables and fruits) that I have prepared and cut into bits that suit the animal’s size. I also get rid of any large veins the leaves may have to ensure the dragons do not choke. I give them a shallow bowl of water that I take out every evening. This is to prevent them from falling asleep in it and drowning. Twice a day (at regular times) I give them crickets adapted to their size. Every two days I sprinkle the preys with calcium carbonate and vitamin supplement that contains among other things D3 vitamin. If juveniles are not fed enough, they could end up eating eachother!
It is important to vary the plants as much as possible and to not forget calcium and vitamin supplement to prevent nutritional deficiencies and to ensure that the growth and the development is optimal for your dragon.
Personally, I do not leave any live prey in the terrarium overnight. Several cases have been reported where crickets had attacked the juveniles in their sleep!
Food for adults
As I do for the juveniles, I also give my adults a bowl containing plants every day (vegetables and fruits). On the contrary to juveniles, I do not remove the bowl containing water in the evening, but I renew the water daily. I do not feed them more than once a day (or even every two or three days) with live preys. Indeed, it is not uncommon that one of my adults doesn’t eat live preys for a few days. The prey will be sprinkled with calcium and vitamin once or twice a week.
Note concerning food
When more than one Pogona Vitticeps is kept in a terrarium, a hierarchy is created. We must therefore ensure, for both juveniles and adults, that each individual eats. If this is not the case, it is recommended to feed the dominated separately.
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