Leopard geckos in captivity can be fed a wide variety of insects. Most hobbyists feed mealworms, crickets, waxworms and Dubia roaches on a regular basis for feeding purposes. Before each feeding session begins it is important to gut load feeder insects with multivitamin and calcium supplements prior to placing into their enclosures.
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Mealworms
Leopard geckos require a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate prey in order to get all of the vitamins they require, such as insects or plants in their natural habitat. Therefore, it’s essential that you understand exactly how much food a gecko will require when housed indoors before beginning feedings.
Feeder insects can provide your reptile with a wide variety of foods. Available online and at most pet stores, these feeder insects offer great sources of protein, fat, and calcium; but some species may contain parasites or bacteria that could harm them.
Feeder insects should always be gut loaded with vitamin supplements prior to feeding them to your lizard, in order to assist it with processing phosphorus and increasing calcium consumption. It is advised that any powder nutrient does not include Vitamin D3 to minimize any risks of overdose.
Crickets
Black crickets (Gryllus assimilis) and brown crickets (Acheta domesticus) are two commonly kept household pet insects that provide an adequate source of protein, lipids, energy, fiber and calcium–an essential nutrient for leopard geckos’ skeletal systems.
These insects contain linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid necessary for metabolism in leopard gecko reptiles, as well as unsaturated fats like oleic acid and palmitic acid that serve as protective buffers against overeating of saturated fats that can lead to obesity in reptiles.
Gut load (feed them high-calcium food 24 hours prior to offering them to your gecko) crickets for maximum nutrition value and to prevent geckos from developing gout, a disease which weakens their skeletal structure and causes bones to break more easily, shortening their lifespan significantly. To reduce the chances of this happening, feed at least two appropriately-sized crickets at each mealtime – each inch in their length counts!
Waxworms
Leopard geckos in the wild consume a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate insects, small plants, algae, and fungi as food sources for sustenance. Therefore, providing your pet with an equally diverse diet is particularly essential if breeding occurs.
Hatchlings and babies should be fed more frequently than adults; about once daily. Adults can be fed every other day; it is best to incorporate different insect species in each feed session.
Waxworms may provide adult leopard geckos with a nutritious supplemental food source; just be careful not to provide pupating or dying waxworms as these could contain bacteria and disease.
Opt for a diet rich in proteins with reduced phosphorus and fat levels. Dubia roaches make an excellent option, provided that they are coated with high-quality calcium powder for nutritional balance in leopard geckos; too much phosphorus hinders calcium absorption in their bodies leading to Metabolic Bone Disorder. Providing feeder insects with quality mineral powder also enhances nutrition.
Dubia Roaches
Dubia roaches are another excellent feeder insect for Leopard geckos, often found in bulk at pet stores for less money and with less waste produced than crickets. At 560 mg/kg they contain more calcium than almost any other feeder insect – like other captive invertebrates, dubia roaches should also be dusted or gut-loaded before feeding to prevent metabolic bone disease.
Dubias are similar to crickets in many respects but differ in that they lack the arolium structures needed for crickets to climb surfaces and are larger in size. Dubias can be fed to Leopard geckos alongside mealworms and crickets for food sources during breeding cycles or used as an excellent fattening agent after breeding females stop eating when their cycles end – perfect for breeding females who become less interested in eating at that point and need an alternative source. To speed digestion time further, place insects in the refrigerator for one minute prior feeding them to your pet!
