Feeder insects for Leopard Geckos should be gut-loaded and dusted with calcium before feeding to them, to avoid impaction or choking. Also, feeder insects should be of an appropriate size so as to not cause impaction or choke off in their mouths.
Leopard Geckos should be fed with feeder insects such as nutrigrubs, Phoenix Worms, Black Soldier Fly Larvae and Tomato Hornworms to provide optimal nutrition to prevent Metabolic Bone Disease or obesity related conditions.
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Black soldier fly larvae
Black soldier fly larvae are the preferred food source for leopard geckos due to their low fat content and balanced nutrition, plus being easy for leopard geckos to digest without the risks associated with crickets choking or impaction.
Pet stores typically carry them, or you can find them online if having difficulty.
Alternative treats for leopard geckos include superworms (high in fat) or giant mealworms (artificially larger than regular mealworms with thicker exoskeletons for easier digestion), both are suitable as occasional treats; however they shouldn’t become staple insects as they don’t provide an appropriate nutritional profile. Instead, swap out staple insects every other week with Phoenix Worms (low fat/average protein content) in order to provide your gecko with more varied and complete nutritional profiles; always dust feeder insects with multivitamin/calcium powder before feeding your Leopard Gecko.
Tomato hornworms
Leopard Geckos find these caterpillars (the larvae of moth Sphingidae) delicious treats! At 84% moisture and moving slowly, they are easily caught and swallowed by geckos, while being low in fat while high in calcium and phosphorus content – but should only be fed occasionally as supplements or snacks to their primary food source (beware for baby geckos who may suffer nutritional imbalances due to low protein content).
Like all feeder insects, you should provide hornworms as a once-per-week snack or supplement for your Leopard Gecko. Since hornworms contain many essential vitamins but lacked some proteins that your Leopard Gecko needs, be sure not to overdo this by rolling them in multivitamin powder as doing so could become addicting for your lizard and fail to provide all of its nutritional requirements.
Dubia roaches
Dubia roaches make ideal feeder insects for leopard geckos because they do not require refrigeration like mealworms and superworms, yet are quiet enough and breed easily, as well as providing more nutrients than either crickets or superworms while not producing unpleasant smells like some other types of cockroach species.
Dubias can be gut loaded, which means they will receive a nutritional powder prior to being fed to your gecko, providing essential vitamins and minerals they require. This ensures they pass them onto their reptile host.
However, you should only feed your gecko these insects occasionally as treats due to their high fat content and risk of overfeeding them; no more than about one tablespoon at each feeding should suffice. It’s also essential that other essential nutrients, like protein, vitamins, minerals, and calcium are provided as part of this approach to feeding geckos.
Crickets
Leopard geckos are insectivores, meaning that they feed exclusively on insects for nutrition. Unfortunately, their digestive systems don’t support adequate processing of greens and other vegetables, nor the necessary enzymes needed to break down protein and fat from meat products.
Crickets are an ideal feeder insect for leopard geckos, providing protein and calcium. In addition, their lower risk of impaction makes them one of the more reliable choices; however, due to their higher fat content compared with other common feeder insects like black soldier fly larvae or dubia roaches they should be fed alongside another less-fattening option such as these two staples.
As well as crickets, your leopard gecko can enjoy eating other insects and treats such as mealworm beetles, silkworms, hornworms, Phoenix worms and Phoenix worms. Furthermore, feed him a mixture of fruits like bananas, papayas, guavas, apples etc in such a way that your gecko can digest them appropriately.
