Crested geckos, like many reptiles, require a varied diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables to remain healthy and happy. Blending their own mix can often prove too time consuming or wasteful; thus Allen Repashy created the world’s first crested gecko diet meal replacement powder (CGD).
Ingredients in these gecko food pellets contain an ideal combination of vitamins and minerals, along with whole food components found in arboreal gecko food sources found in nature. Incorporating occasional live insects is also recommended.
Contents
Fruit
Crested geckos have evolved to consume insects and fruit in the wild. When first brought back into reptile hobby, owners used baby food blends with live insects as a substitute, which proved both time-consuming and often ineffective as it didn’t contain all necessary vitamins and nutrients for proper feeding of their captive gecko population.
Meal replacement powders (MRP), like the Lugarti Premium Gecko Diet, were designed to make feeding your crested gecko easier and more effective. Sold as powder form that easily mixes with water to form paste for feeding your crested.
Vegetables
Crested geckos are predominantly insectivores, so incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet is crucial to their wellbeing. Vegetables provide enrichment as well as exercise opportunities while being an invaluable source of beta-carotene.
Fresh fruits and veggies that do not contain high concentrations of oxalates or phosphorus (such as avocado and rhubarb) should be safe to feed your geckos; just watch out for those containing persin, as this could be harmful.
Before meal replacement powders were available, crested gecko owners often fed their reptiles baby food which often contained too much sugar and additives that may harm its wellbeing. Meal replacement powders offer the ideal alternative as their contents contain far fewer harmful sugars and additives for their reptile’s wellbeing.
Bee Pollen
Bee pollen is often considered nature’s perfect food, boasting loads of proteins, vitamins, and minerals – especially vitamin B12. This makes it an excellent supplement for Crested Geckos, Leopard Geckos, Bearded Dragons as well as being fed through gut loaded feeder insects such as Black Soldier Fly Larvae.
Long term consumption of bee pollen increases immunity and helps prevent MBD, while providing a natural source of phenolic compounds that regulate metabolic pathways and fight free radicals. A few drops can easily be added to pre-made meals or given as treats for an added nutritional boost.
Coconut & Flaxseed
Crested geckos naturally consume a diet consisting of fruits, nectars and insects; however, creating their own fresh diet is often impractical for reptile keepers; therefore many companies have developed crested gecko food formulas tailored specifically to these arboreal reptiles.
Coconut and flaxseed both offer healthy sources of fat for crested geckos. Both provide both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids to provide essential fatty acids needed by crested geckos.
Soluble fiber found in whole grains helps bind cholesterol in the GI tract and keep it from being absorbed, and studies have proven that regular consumption reduces cholesterol levels while protecting against heart disease.
Honey
Crested Geckos in the wild derive much of their protein from insects and small vertebrates, so CGDs that do not contain insects (such as Pangea with Insects, Repashy Grubs & Fruit) cannot meet all their dietary needs.
Feeder insects do provide enrichment and exercise for reptiles, promote natural hunting behavior, accelerate juvenile growth and fatten thin adults faster – so I believe supplemental live insects could be beneficial to your pet gecko.
Vitamins & Minerals
As with any new diet formula for crested geckos, this one must work hard to gain the trust of keepers and breeders. However, the vitamin and mineral mix here is pretty comprehensive, featuring calcium to ensure proper bone health, beta-carotene to minimize Vitamin A overdose risk, as well as all major B vitamins.
I also appreciate that this product doesn’t rely on one single protein source; that way it is more likely to meet the dietary needs of crested geckos, such as insects and small vertebrates; as well as having a more sensible ratio of calcium-to-phosphorus content.
