Crested geckos may enjoy mealworms as an occasional treat, though their high protein and fat content makes it difficult for their exoskeletons to be chewed through and digested by cresties.
Mealworms are larval forms of darkling beetles (Tenebrio molitor). Easy to raise, these versatile food items make an attractive feeder option for fish, birds, reptiles and mammals alike.
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Feeding
There’s often debate surrounding whether crested geckos should be fed live insects. While live insects provide some essential vitamins and nutrients, their high chitin content could pose digestive issues. Furthermore, unchecked numbers of insects or worms could become overpopulated within their tank or enclosure and cause an infestation.
Crested geckos may eat crickets, mealworms, waxworms and dubia roaches as treats; however, these items should only make up part of their regular diet if fed regularly as they contain too many rich proteins that could lead to impaction issues for your pet.
Instead, offer your crested gecko soft and overripe fruits such as mangos, raspberries and kiwis for feeding purposes. Just ensure the skins have been removed as these may be difficult for crested gecko to bite into; then either mash or blend the fruit to create a nutritious and tasty treat. Alternatively, frozen or canned mealworms could also make an attractive offering; just treat them like snacks!
Diet
Crested geckos are either omnivorous or frugivorous in the wild. Their diet varies depending on season; plants, roots and insects are consumed along with fruit. When kept as pets in captivity, crested geckos require three feedings each week for optimal health.
To avoid your lizard becoming overweight, ensure to serve him live food with proper portion controls. Insects and worms contain 60% fat content, too much of which could contribute to heart disease or lifestyle illnesses that decrease his lifespan.
To help reduce this problem, begin by gut-loading insects with dark leafy greens and whole grains (this mimics how wild lizards get their vitamin intake), dust them with high-quality calcium supplements prior to serving them as treats – any mealworms not eaten within 15 minutes should be discarded immediately or canned mealworms can be purchased from pet stores or fishing bait shops as they offer greater nutritional density than live worms when stored in the fridge.
Health
Crested geckos can benefit from eating a variety of foods, such as fruit and insects like hornworms. But as treats only, hornworms should only be given occasionally; too many may clog the reptile’s digestive tract.
Mealworms pose several potential hazards for crested geckos. Their high protein content could lead to dehydration while their hard chitin exoskeleton may make digesting difficult, leading to stomach impaction that could potentially prove life-threatening.
To reduce these issues, owners of crested geckos should only offer their pets treats of small mealworms as treats and mix these with live feeder insects that do not exceed the width of a crested gecko’s head. Furthermore, every few weeks a small amount of fruit should also be offered as an added treat.
Disposal
Crested geckos may consume mealworms as part of a balanced diet; however, mealworms should not become their sole food source due to low calcium and high fat and phosphorus content, which could potentially lead to metabolic bone disease and kidney dysfunction if fed as the only food source.
Crested geckos benefit most from eating live insects as these provide more nutrition. If using dried mealworms instead, be sure to store them correctly and discard any expired ones as soon as they expire; expired mealworms could contain harmful bacteria that could harm your pet.
Feed your crested gecko a variety of insects such as dubia roaches, superworms, hornworms, wax worms and nutrigrubs to provide them with all of the essential vitamins and minerals they require for good health. In addition, consider dusting their mealworms with reptile vitamin powder that contains Vitamin D3 as these cannot be obtained naturally in their environment.
