Can Bearded Dragons Eat Hornworms? Yes, Bred Ones Only

Hornworms are a listed feeder insect

VCA's feeder insect list for bearded dragons includes calcium-dusted crickets, mealworms and dubia cockroaches, plus silkworms and hornworms. It separately says waxworms and superworms should be fed sparingly because they are high in fat. Hornworms are on the main list.

Their soft bodies and bright color make them a favorite. Some keepers use them to tempt a dragon that has gone off its food, or to add variety to a rotation of crickets and roaches.

Never use hornworms from the garden

Hornworms are familiar to gardeners as caterpillars on tomato and other nightshade plants. Those wild caterpillars are not feeder insects. VCA warns against collecting wild or garden insects because fertilizers and insecticides may be toxic, and the plants they feed on are themselves a concern; Lafeber notes that nightshade plants are toxic even though their fruits are safe.

Captive-bred feeder hornworms are raised on a prepared diet in their own cups, which avoids both problems. Buy them from a reptile supply store or breeder.

Offering food in the warm end of a properly heated reptile terrarium helps digestion; our bearded dragon enclosure guide explains how to set up that gradient.

How to feed hornworms

Hornworms usually arrive in a cup with their food. Pick out the number you plan to feed, dust them lightly with calcium powder, and offer them in a shallow dish or by tongs. Choose a size your dragon can swallow comfortably; they grow fast, so a cup bought for a juvenile can outgrow it within days.

VCA recommends gut-loading feeders within 12 hours of feeding. Feeder hornworms are already eating their prepared diet, so keep them fed until you use them, and keep the cup at room temperature.

Feed insects from a smooth-sided dish or with tongs so they cannot escape into the substrate of the bearded dragon tank; the rest of the habitat basics are in our reptile supplies.

How many and how often

Juveniles eat insects once or twice a day and need more insects than adults, VCA says. A few hornworms mixed into a juvenile's insect rotation through the week works well alongside crickets and roaches.

Adults are fed every 24 to 72 hours and eat more plants. For an adult, a few hornworms a couple of times a week as part of the insect portion is reasonable. Hornworms are moist and filling, so they also help hydration.

Calcium and lighting still apply

The Merck Veterinary Manual names metabolic bone disease, caused by diets low in calcium relative to phosphorus, too little vitamin D3 or poor UVB lighting, as the most common bone disease in reptile practice. Insects alone do not supply enough calcium.

VCA recommends a phosphorus-free calcium powder lightly dusted on food daily and a calcium powder with vitamin D3 two to three times a week, together with UV light. Dust hornworms like any other feeder.

Signs to watch and when to see a vet

If your dragon may have eaten a wild caterpillar from a garden plant, call a reptile veterinarian for advice. Watch for weakness, twitching, refusal to eat or unusual behavior.

Merck lists poor appetite, lethargy, abnormal walking, a swollen jaw or limbs, muscle twitching and tetany as signs of metabolic bone disease; those need a vet soon. A dragon that stops eating for several days outside of brumation should also be checked.

This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your pet.