Mealworms are an indispensable food source for leopard geckos, offering protein, vitamins, and minerals at every mealtime.
However, their calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is subpar and must be supplemented with additional calcium powder in order to make them suitable for most insectivores – this process is known as gut loading.
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How to Feed
Mealworms are both affordable and easily sourced, making them an attractive feeder insect option. Furthermore, their longevity makes them superior to alternatives like crickets or dubia roaches in terms of lasting power.
Young geckos often find mealworms difficult to digest due to their hard, indigestible exoskeleton, leading to metabolic bone disease or even impaction if left uncorrected. To combat this problem, it’s crucial that mealworms be gut loaded beforehand with nutritious foods like carrots or apples to increase their nutritional content and maximize nutrient absorption by their gecko.
Mealworms can make for a nutritious food source for leopard geckos, but should not be the sole food source you provide them with. Incorporating crickets, dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae (also referred to as calci-worms), cricket larvae and black soldier fly larvae into its diet will ensure they receive all of the essential vitamins and minerals they require for optimal health.
Precautions
Mealworms are an essential staple food source for gecko owners, yet do not provide an appropriate balanced diet due to being high in fat content and potentially leading to health issues like obesity.
Another concern regarding leopard geckos’ diets is their low calcium and phosphorus content. Mealworms alone cannot meet this need, therefore for maximum nutrition mealworms should be gut-loaded with vitamin supplements before being fed to leopard geckos.
This can be achieved by placing mealworms in a container with fruit, vegetables and/or leafy greens as food sources; additionally they can be dusted with powder supplements like Vitamin D and A to give your leopard gecko an adequate diet. Mealworms should be offered once every week as part of an overall program to combat deficiencies; alternatively you could feed Dubia Roaches or waxworms which provide a more balanced diet option for leopard geckos.
Dietary Requirements
Leopard geckos are generally insectivores, though they will accept some fruits and vegetables as food sources. Aiming for a 2:1 ratio between insects and fruits/vegetables provides your leopard gecko with all the vitamins and minerals he requires for proper health.
Mealworms are the go-to feeder insect for most pet owners. Conveniently available at pet shops and online, their lifespan can be extended with refrigeration and they’re easy to breed – but be warned: mealworms may contain too much fat for young leopard geckos to enjoy eating them as prey!
Mealworms contain an unbalanced calcium to phosphorus ratio, so additional calcium supplements must be dusted on them to provide your leopard gecko with all of his necessary nutrition. Gut loading means feeding mealworms nutrient-rich food sources like carrots, potatoes or apple for 24-48 hours prior to offering them up as treats to your leopard gecko.
Availability
Leopard geckos tend to prefer live food and will ignore anything non-living that doesn’t move, such as dried mealworms which pose an increased risk of impaction and provide less moisture than fresh ones. Instead, some owners choose between various alternatives like cockroaches, dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae and crickets for their gecko’s diets.
These insects contain important vitamins, fats and proteins and can be easily purchased from various breeders. Furthermore, they’re easy to raise at home for efficient gut-loading purposes.
However, some owners report that their geckos can choke on mealworms, so you should crush their heads to feed your leo. Furthermore, these insects can bite humans as well as other worms; therefore it is always advisable to wear gloves when handling them; their bite is mild and more likely to result in a mild rash than serious injury.
