While Leopard Gecko’s have big appetites and will eat pretty much any insect that wriggles in front of them, over-feeding them, or giving them the wrong type of food, can have very serious health consequences.
Keep reading for advice on how to provide the best diet for your Leopard Gecko.
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- What do Leopard Geckos eat?
- What size food should I feed my Leopard Gecko?
- How often do Leopard Geckos eat?
- How much do Leopard Geckos eat?
- Can Leopard Geckos eat fruit and vegetables?
- What food is toxic to Leopard Geckos?
- My Leopard Gecko is not eating
- Gut loading insects
- Dusting Leopard Gecko food with vitamins and minerals
Insure your Leopard Gecko for £1,000 of vet fees. Death and theft cover also available.
Leopard Gecko food – what do Leopard Geckos eat?
The best insects to feed your Leopard Gecko are crickets and mealworms. However, you can also feed him waxworms, butterworms, silkworms, tomato hornworms, beetles, sow bugs and cockroaches.
Waxworms and superworms should be fed as a treat as they’re high in fat. Too many may lead to obesity in your gecko, so providing these around once a week should be enough.
Butterworms should also be kept as a treat, as they are fatty, contain bad calcium and some geckos have been known to get addicted to them and refuse all other food.
You can buy live food for your Leopard Gecko from Northampton Reptile Centre.
Read our article about setting up your Leopard Gecko’s vivarium
All food should be live, don’t ever feed dead or dried insects, and you shouldn’t feed him any fruit or veg.
Our vet fee only policy will cover £1,000 of vet fees for accidental injury or illness. Find out more about leopard gecko insurance.
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What size food should I feed my Leopard Gecko?
- Baby Geckos: You should feed your baby gecko crickets that are around 3/8 inches in size.
- Juvenile Geckos: You should feed your juvenile gecko crickets that are around 1/4 inch in size.
- Adult geckos: You should feed your adult gecko small adult to adult size crickets.
As a rule, you shouldn’t feed your gecko insects bigger than the space between his eyes.
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You can buy crickets from Northampton Reptile Centre.
How often do Leopard Geckos eat?
- Leopard Geckos younger than one year should be fed every day.
- Healthy adult geckos should be fed every other day.
- Sickly geckos should be fed once a day until they regain their strength.
- Food should be given late in the day or early in the evening, as that is the time Leopard Geckos are likely to start hunting in the wild.
- If your gecko is a problem eater, feed it normally, but leave a dish with worms in its tank in case it wants to eat later.
How much do Leopard Geckos eat?
Whether he’s a baby, juvenile or adult Leopard Gecko, he should be fed two insects for every inch of body length.
Don’t forget that adult geckos should only be fed every other day.
Can Leopard Geckos eat fruit and vegetables?
Leopard Geckos are insectivores and cannot eat fruit or vegetables. A Leopard Gecko’s body can only digest meat, such as insects.
The reason they can’t eat fruit or vegetables is because their bodies aren’t designed to manage or digest fruit and vegetables.
They don’t possess a functioning Cecum, which is the part of the body that would digest Cellulose, the substance found in fruit and vegetables.
In addition, they have a shorter digestive tract, that is alkaline, where as a herbivore has a much longer and acidic digestive tract.
They also have a skull and jaw that has evolved to eat meat, being smaller and less robust than a herbivores.
Some research has revealed that Leopard Gecko’s can eat fruit and vegetables, however, as they cannot digest it, it’s unlikely that it’ll do them any good.
If your Leopard Gecko does eat fruit and vegetables, it’s likely that they’re doing it because the food is ‘there’ and not because it’s a natural thing for them to do.
We would recommend sticking to a diet of insects, a food they can naturally digest.
You can buy insects and worms, from the Northampton Reptile Centre, or via other reptile outlets.
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Source: Leopard Gecko Talk, via YouTube.
Leopard Geckos and obesity
It’s your responsibility to avoid over feeding your Gecko, to help prevent obesity.
In the Leopard Geckos natural habitat (the dry regions of South-eastern Asia), the availability of food varies drastically according to conditions.
For this reason, Leopard Geckos have developed a habit of effectively processing and storing food, which is helpful in the desert, but may cause over-eating and obesity in captivity.
As they carry their fat in their tales, it is not always obvious they are gaining too much weight, but this can still have health consequences.
As a rule, a gecko’s tail must always be wider than its body and its stomach should be mostly flat (except for right after feeding).
Over feeding your Leopard Gecko can cause it to regurgitate its food and may cause lethargy. If you notice any of these issues with your Leopard Gecko, you should cut back on the amount of food you feed it and make sure not to feed it fatty insects (like Waxworms and Butterworms).
What food is toxic to Leopard Geckos?
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- Bugs that light up are toxic to Leopard Geckos: The most harmful insects are bugs that light up (like Lightning Bugs and Fireflies).These bugs contain chemicals which are extremely toxic to geckos and should never be used as a food source.
- Wild caught insects can be toxic to Leopard Geckos: Opinions are split on whether you should feed your geckos insects you’ve caught yourself.Some websites say that these can be a good (and cost effective) source of nutrition, while others like Thebeardeddragon.org, say you should never feed wild caught insects to your gecko, as these may contain parasites or have traces of pesticide that can be toxic to your Leopard Gecko.
If you do choose to feed your gecko insects you’ve caught yourself, make sure you have an in-depth knowledge on the kind of insects which are toxic to geckos and be aware of pesticide contamination (so, preferably stick to your own garden).
Keep these as a treat to stop your gecko becoming addicted to them and refusing to eat shop-bought food.
Policies can include vet fee cover, mortality and theft. Getting a quote is quick and easy. Read more about leopard gecko insurance.
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This post was last modified on December 9, 2024 11:38 am