Jelly pots are processed foods containing high concentrations of sugar and little nutritional value, making them an unsafe diet choice for crested geckos and increasing their risk for diabetes, weight gain and malnutrition. Feeding these treats increases their chances of disease such as diabetes and obesity while decreasing nutrition intake significantly.
Therefore, it is not advisable to feed them to your herp. Instead, focus on providing their diet through whole foods and supplements.
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Nutrition
Leopard geckos have evolved to thrive in desert environments where food is often scarce, honing their instincts for processing and storing efficiently. But overfeeding in captivity can cause health issues for exotic animals; technicians can assist by providing clients with education regarding appropriate feeding practices and balanced diets.
Leopard Geckos are insectivores, so their diet should closely resemble that of their natural habitat. Mealworms make an excellent food choice because they are easy to find and affordably priced while also boasting high levels of protein for long lifespan. Refrigeration will extend their shelf life even further.
Gut-loading with water and multivitamin powder provides additional nutrition, helping prevent vitamin deficiencies. Keepers may dust feeder insects with Repashy Calcium Plus reptile vitamins and mineral powder; however, geckos’ stomachs may quickly overdo it without proper administration – therefore for best results it would be wise to provide gut-loaded worms or crickets as food items to provide more balanced nutrition for their gecko diets.
Diet
Leopard geckos are insectivores, and should be fed a high-protein diet consisting of live insect feeders with fresh insects. Frozen or freeze-dried insects should not form the basis of your pet’s diet as drying destroys essential micronutrients that stimulate hunting instincts.
Baby and juvenile leopard geckos should be fed crickets, Dubia cockroaches, or mealworms every day to meet their nutritional requirements. Mealworms should not be solely consumed by adult geckos as their hard chitinous shells may be hard on the digestive system than crickets or Dubia roaches.
Butterworms, waxworms and superworms are high-fat foods that should only be given as occasional treats to help avoid obesity in lizards. Their high phosphorous content may hinder calcium absorption. Therefore, to optimize absorption it is crucial that feeder insects are gut loaded before being dusted with high-quality calcium powder (without vitamin D3) prior to consumption.
Habitat
Leopard geckos require an ideal environment in order to remain happy and healthy, such as their natural desert home of rocks with crevices filled with sand-rich soil, rock crevices, and drought resistant grass vegetation. In order to create the ideal home environment for your pet leopard gecko and reduce stress levels it’s essential that they feel at home within it – providing similar surroundings can make your leopard gecko feel at ease and at home in its surroundings.
An ideal habitat for leopard gecko care is a 20-gallon glass tank. This allows you to easily observe and clean up after your leopard geckos while giving them plenty of room to roam free and explore their environment. A hygrometer will also come in handy as leopard geckos thrive best in environments between 30%-44% humidity.
Reptile carpet or tiles should be used to line the tank, as these are inexpensive, look nice and present no risk of impaction. A cave-like hide with one entry/exit hole will be essential in providing leopard geckos with space to shed their skin or find warmth.
Care
If you’re new to reptile keeping, a leopard gecko can make an excellent starter pet. Not only are they non-biting but their slow pace also requires only minimal enclosure space for their care.
These lizards thrive when fed a diet rich in crickets and worms for maximum nutrition. Prior to feeding, each insect must first be covered with calcium- and vitamin D3-rich supplements to aid digestion. This process is known as “gut-loading.”
Eliminate sand from leopard geckos’ habitats to prevent their eating it and developing an intestinal blockage that requires professional help to treat.
Provide your pet with a warm hide where it can sleep during the day and hunt at night, with proper ventilation and humidity monitoring using a hygrometer. Rearrange its habitat occasionally for added fun and to encourage natural behaviors to emerge; enrichment items are another good way of encouraging exercise of these behaviors while improving overall health.
