I am often contacted by people who would like to own a bearded dragon, and who want to know if there is any alternative to feeding them live food. At all stages of their lives they should have the correct balance of vegetables/fruit and live food. There is also the problem of obtaining live food - but if you don't live near a suitably stocked pet shop mail order is very efficient, and you can set up a regular order with most online suppliers. The basic live food diet is crickets. Don't feed crickets which are too big for your bearded dragon (remember the gap between the eyes rule), but conversely, if you try and offer crickets that are too small he might not be interested in them. All live food should be gut fed - this simply means feeding them the same vegetables that you are offering your beardie. When growing rapidly they should be fed live food 3 times a day up until the age of about 4 months - as many as they can eat in a 10 minute session each time. It is perfectly possible to feed crickets and dust them with calcium powder without having to touch them by using a Cricket Keeper. A roach colony can be kept at home, and so you can breed your own live food and make feeding much cheaper though not everyone wants to do this. Remember, feeding your bearded dragon the correct food for each stage of its life is important, but equally so is having your vivarium set up correctly.Your Guide to Paleo bonus