Leopard geckos are insectivores and thrive when provided with a varied diet of feeder insects such as crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms/superworms, or hornworms.
When feeding Leopard Geckos, make sure they receive only suitable-sized insects to prevent choking and impaction. Also try offering an array of feeder insects so they receive all of the essential vitamins and nutrients they require.
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Crickets
Crickets are an excellent source of protein and moisture for Leopard Geckos. Cheap and readily available from many high street pet stores, these insect feeders make great additions to their diet. Plus they make for easy hunting!
One potential drawback of feeding crickets to Leopard Geckos is an imbalanced Calcium to Phosphorus ratio that could cause metabolic bone disorders among young and pregnant Leopard Geckos as well as bacteria or fungal infections.
Crickets can be gut-loaded to increase nutritional value and dusted with calcium powder to aid digestion. They should be fed on a clean surface to encourage hunting while preventing impaction (where indigestible materials build up and block the digestive tract). Leopard Geckos prefer feeding at night as this allows the environment to remain cleaner by not adding bacteria and fungi from droppings into its habitat.
Mealworms
Leopard geckos can obtain most of their vitamins by feeding on crickets and mealworms, which are readily available at most pet stores and highly nutritious due to being high in proteins, calcium, fiber, phosphorus and low in fat and chitin content.
Feeding young leopard geckos a variety of feeder insects such as dubia roaches and mealworms helps them build up their immunity. To maximize nutrition value, these nutritious insects should first be gut loaded by feeding them a healthy food such as fruit.
Adult leopard geckos should be given 7 to 10 average-sized mealworms every week, with females held for breeding needing additional nutrient-rich foods than non-breeders. Another food option would be superworms (Zophobas morio), similar to mealworms but larger and softer with less chitin content that are easier for your gecko to digest and can even be dusted with vitamin powder for improved vitamin absorption. Waxworms can also make an excellent treat choice, although only as a special treat should they should only ever be offered as treats!
Roaches
Leopard geckos are insectivores, meaning their bodies have not evolved to digest fruits, vegetables or other meats; instead they rely on insects as a primary source of vitamins and minerals. When kept captive in captivity, their insects won’t have access to soil dustings like they would do in nature, making it up to you, their caretaker, to provide extra vitamins and minerals into their diets.
Crickets make an excellent food source for leopard geckos because they are high in protein and low in fat content. Unfortunately, their poor phosphorus-to-calcium ratio necessitates dusteding with powdered calcium supplements prior to each feeding session.
Try providing more nutrient dense feeder insects like dubia roaches (low in fat, high in protein) or phoenix worms (low fat, average protein content with an ideal phosphorous/calcium ratio) instead. Other options could be superworms but these may be harder for baby leos to digest due to their thick exoskeleton.
Hornworms
Hornworms are a favorite among Leopard Geckos as a treat, offering high fat and calcium levels as well as stimulating appetite and helping rehabilitate sick or underweight gecko populations. Hornworms should be fed at least weekly.
Hornworms can be gut loaded for optimal nutritional benefit 24 hours before feeding them to ensure maximum nutritional benefit and storage efficiency. As with crickets, dubia roaches, and waxworms, hornworms make great staple feeder insects thanks to their excellent nutritional profile and easy maintenance requirements.
Insectivores do not possess the Cecum, which helps digest cellulose found in vegetables and fruit, meaning that they cannot extract any essential nutrients from these sources of nutrition. While insectivores may nibble at vegetables and greens from time to time, for optimal health it’s best to feed these items via gut loaded feeder insects that allow you to monitor health issues such as nutritional deficiency or impaction – many feeder insect stores sell hornworms which can be gut loaded.