A diet rich in live insects is essential for your leopard gecko’s health. These reptiles can go for up to two weeks without eating, which can indicate an illness or poor diet. Their bodies are also able to store fat in their tails, which can mean they can go up to ten days without eating. During colder months, they can even survive without eating for an entire winter.
Contents
Advice on feeding mealworms to leopard geckos
One of the main reasons for feeding mealworms to your Leopard Gecko is because they provide your pet with micronutrients. Many commercially raised mealworms lack these nutrients, which can be vital for your pet’s well-being. This is why it’s important to gut-load mealworms before feeding them to your pet.
For the best results, you should feed your pet at least once a week. This will give your pet the nutrition that it needs, without causing it to gain too much weight. It’s important to feed your gecko at a consistent and regular schedule. If you find your pet is eating too much, try feeding it less often, or even cutting back on its feeding schedule until it reaches a healthy weight.
To ensure that your gecko eats only healthy mealworms, try to soak them for at least an hour before feeding them. If you don’t have the time to soak them for an hour, you can use a plastic bag or a small container to store the mealworms in. You can even add calcium and vitamin powder.
Alternatives to mealworms
For those who don’t want to feed crickets to their geckos, there are other feeder insects you can feed them instead. Crickets are popular with many reptile owners and are an excellent choice because they are easy to find and have low care requirements. However, they can also be quite noisy, and they are not an ideal choice if you’re trying to keep your geckos calm.
Luckily, there are some great alternatives to gut-loading mealworms for leopard geckos. Mealworms are already a very nutritious food source, and adding the nutrients they need through gut loading makes them even better. You can choose to do this as often as you like, or as little as once per week.
Calcium and vitamin D needs of leopard geckos
Leopard Geckos need both calcium and vitamin D to stay healthy and strong. Fortunately, they can obtain these minerals from a variety of sources, including hard-shelled insects. Although the Leopard Gecko doesn’t like to be in direct sunlight, it can get vitamin D3 from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
To supplement calcium and vitamin D3 in the diet of your leopard gecko, you can mix a Calcium-Vitamin D powder and feed it to your pet at least twice a week. You can also offer a multivitamin supplement once a month.
Vitamin D is essential for maintaining calcium and phosphorus balance in animals. It is acquired through the diet or is synthesized in the skin when exposed to ultraviolet B rays. Vitamin D deficiency in animals can lead to metabolic bone disease. Unfortunately, diurnal lizards are more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency, so dietary supplementation is essential for keeping your pet healthy and happy.
Feeding waxworms as an alternative to mealworms
Feeding waxworms to your leopard gecko is a great alternative to mealworms for several reasons. Waxworms are high in fat and lack essential vitamins and minerals, which make them an ideal food for your pet, but you need to be careful when feeding them to your pet. You need to provide your gecko with only small amounts of these waxworms, and you must watch their weight.
Earthworms are another alternative to mealworms, and they should be fed as treats only. Earthworms are high in protein and moisture, and they fill your gecko up without providing much nutritional value. Waxworm larvae, on the other hand, should be fed as treats. They have low protein and fat levels, and have a low calcium-to-phosphorus ratio.
Cost of feeder insects
While you can purchase feeder insects at most pet stores, you may not want to buy them individually. You can save money by buying them in bulk. You may also want to consider purchasing a bug gel that hydrates the insects. There are many online pet stores that offer these feeder insects at competitive prices.
You may also want to consider adding dietary vitamin D supplements to your leopard gecko’s diet. The calcium found in mealworms is not sufficient for the small animal, and it needs extra vitamin D. If you don’t want to buy a product with this added vitamin, you can add a supplement to your homemade diet.