Leopard geckos require a variety of feeder insects in order to obtain all of the essential vitamins and nutrients they require for healthy development. When feeding to your leopard gecko, always gut load or dust it with vitamin powder first before offering as food.
Mealworms are one of the best-known feeder insects and make a wonderful staple food source for Leopard Geckos when fed appropriately. Not only are they high in protein content and provide good levels of fat-soluble vitamins, but there is minimal risk from hard chitin shells impaction.
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Mealworms
Mealworms are an integral part of many pet reptile diets, including Leopard Geckos’. Mealworms provide protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals in abundance – and should be gut-loaded before being offered as feed to geckos to maximize nutritional value. Remembering the saying, “you are what you eat”, you can improve mealworm nutrition by feeding it nutritious foods such as fruit scraps, vegetables or dry cat food 24 hours prior to offering it for consumption by your gecko.
Crickets are another popular feeder insect and an ideal treat for some geckos. Easy to maintain and digest, crickets provide extra calories necessary for egg production or as a supplement in younger geckos diets. No gut loading necessary – simply dust with vitamin powder before offering.
Leopard Geckos can also be fed other insects such as hornworms (for treats), silkworms and Phoenix worms (Black Soldier fly larvae). All of these items should be supplemented with vitamin dustings such as Repashy Calcium Plus or ReptiVite to ensure your gecko is receiving all of its nutritional requirements from its food source.
Cockroaches
Leopard geckos are insectsivorous animals and should be fed live insects on a regular basis, including crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms and superworms, wax worms, phoenix worms, small hornworms and locusts. Each insect should not exceed the width of your lizard’s head and be lightly dusted with multivitamin powder supplements such as Nutrobal at each feeding – hatchlings/juveniles require this daily; adults require every other day.
These lizards are predominantly nocturnal, emerging at night to hunt food from holes and crevices to keep out of the sun’s heat. Their bodies feature bands across them with translucent skin that has moveable eyelids; unlike geckos they can even close their eyes!
Contrary to its name, these lizards do not occur naturally in Africa; instead they are commonly imported as pets from there and kept as captive pets for 10+ years in captivity. Males engaged in mating season may become aggressive towards one another by flicking tails and wrestling for dominance before mating occurs.
Crickets
Crickets are an extremely popular source of food for many reptile species, including leopard geckos. While crickets provide valuable sources of protein, lipids and energy, before feeding your Leo its meal it should also be dusted with multivitamin and calcium powder to ensure they receive an optimum diet without risk of mineral deficiency or deficiency.
As you prepare crickets for feeding your Leo, be sure they are appropriate in size for his age to prevent him from being choked by or digesting them improperly. Crickets should be provided daily depending on its age; young geckos require more frequent feeds while adult ones can go longer between feedings.
Your leopard gecko may also benefit from receiving additional insects as supplements to their regular diet, including mealworms (Blaptica dubia) or king mealworms as these insects are easy to keep in small insect tanks and can be gut-loaded with specific diets or a range of fruits and vegetables.
Superworms
Although superworms make for an acceptable occasional treat, they should not become part of your gecko’s regular diet as they contain too much fat and little other essential nutrients. Furthermore, their strong mandibles may bite when handled incorrectly so take care not to overindulge in this tasty treat!
Alternative: Wax Worms can serve as an inexpensive, yet nutritious replacement to superworms. Commonly available in pet shops and relatively affordable, make sure to gut load them prior to feeding them with some form of food they can digest over 24 hours to increase nutrient density and help avoid metabolic bone disease caused by too much phosphorus and insufficient calcium intake – such as pieces of carrot or potato or pre-packaged diet supplements containing added minerals such as powdered calcium. Finally, dust them lightly before feeding – dust lightly sprinkle with some powdered calcium dust before dusting them again before feeding as this will further boost nutrient density for optimal health benefits!
