Crested geckos are avid feeders that look forward to nightly feedings. But sometimes their keepers experience issues that cause their pets to either stop eating or consume less.
Stress relief may also help improve appetite; other potential sources could include bacterial infections and parasites that need professional advice to be addressed.
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Crested Gecko Diet
Crested geckos in the wild eat an array of fruits, vegetables, and insects; in captivity they benefit from being offered diets designed specifically to meet their dietary requirements. Doing this also makes terrarium cleaning simpler since uneaten food will less likely serve as shelter for harmful microorganisms.
Many brands provide ready-made diets designed specifically for crested geckos. These balanced blends combine fruits, vegetables, and insects in an optimal combination that maximizes nutrition for your reptile. Some products require no additional feedings while others can be provided alongside live foods.
Many reptile owners prefer providing their crested geckos with both live and prepared foods, especially live insects that provide protein such as insects that feed on them. Mealworms have hard exoskeletons which could potentially impaction when fed to small reptiles; waxworms offer superiority due to their more flexible exoskeletons.
Commercial Diets
Exo Terra offers several commercial crested gecko food products which make feeding easy, including their pre-mixed options which reduce waste.
Exo Terra Crested Gecko Food is a nutritious diet created specifically to support the long-term health and growth of crested geckos. This product blends natural fruits with appropriate amounts of protein for an irresistibly nutritious treat that crested geckos will readily accept as their daily staple diet.
Some owners prefer feeding their crested geckos a variety of fruits and vegetables as a supplement to their commercial diet, or adding live insects as protein sources; in particular, insects should receive an ideal high-quality diet including vitamin D3 and calcium for maximum benefit.
Keep in mind that cresties are wild animals and need access to a range of food, making a restrictive diet inappropriate for them. Therefore, we advise giving your cresties a varied diet consisting of commercial food, vegetables and live insects so they get all of the essential vitamins they require for optimal health.
Insects
Cresties geckos are omnivorous animals and will consume insects, flowers, seeds, nuts, vegetables, fruit and even small reptiles (sometimes their own unfertile eggs or young). When kept as pets in captivity they should either opt for feeding their cresteds live insects with fresh fruits and vegetables or pre-mixed diet options.
Diets for cats include gel, paste and smoothie diets containing healthy vitamins and minerals as well as proteins from whey and black solider fly larvae. Available as four-pack or single cans.
Some cresties enjoy snacking on mealworms, but these may cause impaction due to their hard chitin shells. Hornworms are another insect commonly sold at pet stores or online, but due to their high moisture content they should only be fed occasionally as too many can lead to diarrhea. Silkworms provide additional sources of protein but should only be given occasionally because of their large fat content.
Water
Crested geckos found in nature consume an array of foods including mature fruits, nectar, pollen and flowers as well as insect proteins like insects. EXO TERRA crested gecko food is specifically tailored to help support healthy growth and long-term health of these species by providing high quality fruit ingredients with sufficient amounts of protein – the formula has also been designed to enhance natural flavors and aromas to encourage feeding and foster acceptance.
Your crested gecko’s habitat should include several essential items, including high quality diet. An enclosure with dimensions 12x12x18″, or larger is ideal to help him create his own territory and reduce aggression between males and females.
Paper towels can be an efficient means for spot cleaning, sanitizing and deodorizing terrariums; however, they lack humidity control capabilities and may become messy over time. A more aesthetic alternative would be reptile carpet. Some keepers even prefer more natural-looking coconut husk fiber substrate, available from numerous suppliers and used both dry or wet. A spray bottle comes in handy for misting daily to maintain optimal humidity levels in the enclosure.
