Golden geckos make excellent pets, being very easy to care for. Like other reptiles, golden geckos require a diet rich in essential nutrients to maintain good health.
An appropriate diet includes crickets, wax worms, mealworms and butter worms; just be sure to gut load them and give them calcium/vitamin powder twice every week for best results.
Contents
Insects
Vietnamese and Southeast Asian arboreal lizards make fascinating pets for reptile enthusiasts. Easy to care for with proper nutrition and a suitable habitat, these 6–8 inch long reptiles make fascinating pets that will draw the interest of even experienced reptile owners.
As is typical for other lizards, golden geckos require a diet rich in live insects as well as fruit and vegetables such as bananas, baby food fruit and apples.
Misting the cage twice daily and providing a large water dish are two effective strategies for maintaining an ideal humidity level within its confines.
Dust feeder insects with calcium/vitamin powder prior to feeding them to your gecko. This will help prevent Metabolic Bone Disease. Some keepers will dust their feeders before each feeding; others might do it every other time or skip this step altogether.
Fruit
Golden geckos are an omnivorous species, so they enjoy tropical fruits like mangos and bananas as part of their diet. You should occasionally offer these treats, but make sure to mix in some insects for maximum nutritional benefit. In addition, light dusting all feeder insects with calcium and vitamin D3 supplements is advised in order to maintain bone health in this species.
Many keepers opt for commercial crested gecko food instead of insects for their crested geckos, while many believe that including various insect prey is vital in helping prevent metabolic bone disease – which causes brittle bones and other skeletal issues in reptiles that don’t receive sufficient nutrition through their diets.
Water is essential to the well-being of golden geckos, who are susceptible to dehydration. Always provide them with clean and fresh, filtered water in their enclosure. Some geckos will drink directly from a dish while others prefer licking droplets off walls and plants in their habitats instead.
Supplements
Golden gecko diets differ significantly from that of most reptiles as they primarily feed on insects. Therefore, supplementation with calcium and Vitamin D3 may help prevent metabolic bone disease that often affects reptiles that do not consume enough calcium through their food sources.
Zoo Med’s ReptiVite with D3 is recommended by many gecko owners as an essential calcium/phosphorus ratio supplement, plus other important vitamins to support animal wellbeing.
Your gecko requires a dusting powder rich in phosphorus and calcium. Some experts advise using it with every feeding, while others suggest giving them mineral powder every other day as this allows you to avoid overdosing them with supplements which could upset their stomach if overdone; also this irregular feeding schedule allows them to digest their food more quickly.
Environment
Golden geckos require a warm, humid environment. Their cage should resemble nature as much as possible with climbing branches and plants, hiding places for sleeping, water-holding substrate (coir or reptile carpet) that holds moisture well, as well as regular misting sessions to maintain humidity levels.
An ideal daytime temperature range should be 75-80F, dropping down to 70-75F at night. A heat bulb is not necessary but if utilized should be enclosed in a reflector to avoid burns.
Nocturnal lighting is not necessary for this species, although red or blue reptile lighting may help promote feeding and activity. A UVB lamp may provide necessary vitamin D3 supplementation. A hygrometer should also be present to monitor humidity; additionally a water dish must always be available but they often prefer drinking from droplets of water on glass surfaces or from an automatic drip bottle such as the Zoo Med Little Dripper instead.