Giant day geckos require a diet rich in minerals and vitamins, with insects, vegetables and fruit providing essential elements.
At least every two days, insects should be given as treats – including crickets, hornworms and waxworms. When feeding insects to feeder insects with calcium powder for best results. A mix of pumpkin, acorn squash, bell peppers and prickly pear leafs would make great sources for vegetables to provide food sources for these critters.
Contents
Fruit
Giant day geckos in the wild are predominantly insectivores and frugivores, feeding on insects as well as fruit, flowers and nectar for sustenance – with fruit making up roughly half their diet.
Tropical fruit baby foods are perfect for these omnivores, being easily digestible and closely mimicking what wild geckos consume in nature. Young geckos should be fed a combination of tropical fruit and crickets for an excellent and nutritive diet.
Calcium is the cornerstone of day gecko health and wellness, helping prevent metabolic bone disease. For maximum effectiveness it should be provided along with UVB lighting at each feeding. Vitamin A also plays an essential role, providing essential retinoids which assist with immune responses and night vision among other benefits.
Vegetables
Giant day geckos are highly adaptable feeders and thrive when provided with a diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, and live insects as well as commercial foods in powder or pellet form.
Zoo Med’s Tropical Fruit Mix-Ins can supplement wild gecko diet by offering 1:1 ratio of ripe fruit with honey or molasses plus water to produce a syrupy consistency – offer this three times each week as food supplementation.
Day geckos obtain most of their protein through feeder insects such as crickets, dubia roaches, silkworms and hornworms; all should be gut loaded first to pass essential vitamins to their diet compared to commercial insect foods alone. As always, be sure to dust all feeder insects prior to offering.
Insects
Day geckos, like other reptiles, depend on insects for the fat-soluble vitamins they cannot produce on their own. Of these vitamins, vitamin A is especially essential, aiding immunity response, night vision, and cell function. Dietary sources including insects can provide enough vitamin A; alternatives include tropical fruit baby food with honey or molasses added (just enough to create a syrupy consistency), Zoo Med ReptiCalcium with D3, and supplementation from ReptiCalcium Plus D3 once or more frequently than weekly.
Be sure to gut load any insects before feeding them to your giant day gecko, to ensure they receive as much nutrition from their prey as possible. Most pet stores sell prepackaged gut loads specifically designed for this purpose.
Giant day geckos are diurnal creatures that require UVB light for survival. Because these geckos can be quite active and climb, ensure that their enclosure contains plenty of branches, plants and places to hide for them to enjoy climbing around in. Humidity should also be maintained between 50-70% using a mister.
Mealworms
Giant day geckos enjoy snacking on mealworms, which are readily available at most reptile supply stores. Unfortunately, however, due to being deficient in key nutrients (calcium, thiamin and vitamin A) these insects must first be gut-loaded with these substances prior to being fed to them.
Best way: Blend some squash to form a “smoothie”, and dip your mealworms in it – this will allow them to absorb essential nutrients while staying alive longer so your gecko can consume them!
Vegetables play an essential role in our diets because they offer essential nutrients not found in fruits. Furthermore, vegetables contain large quantities of beta-carotene which is important in mitigating any negative consequences from too much dietary protein (Clemencet et al. 2013).
Select vegetables rich in fat-soluble zeaxanthin for their vibrant hue, which gives plants their color while being converted to vitamin A in your body.
