Leopard geckos are insectivores that feed on invertebrates in their natural environment, such as grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, beetles, caterpillars and flies.
Many pet owners offer feeder insects as enrichment or to fatten up lanky adults, however this food item isn’t necessary for gecko survival. It’s essential that such meals also include essential dietary fiber.
Contents
Ingredients
Before the introduction of crested gecko meal replacement powders, reptile owners would frequently blend fruit puree, chicken or meat baby food and live insects together to mimic the diets of arboreal geckos found in nature. Unfortunately, this was time-consuming and error prone; consequently Allen Repashy released the first commercial crested gecko diet in 1994.
Your gecko’s diet should be tailored specifically for their species and contain all of their necessary nutrients, as well as plenty of fresh produce such as fruits and veggies, along with live insects like mealworms or waxworms for variety and happiness.
Low ash content helps ensure proper digestion. There’s also plenty of fiber to aid with regularity. And finally, this meal contains coconut and flaxseed-derived fats as a healthy source of both saturated and unsaturated dietary fats – essential sources for energy, cell development support and nutrient absorption.
Flavors
Before meal-replacement powders were available for crested geckos, many breeders utilized an assortment of fresh fruits and live insects as food to mimic the diets of wild crested geckos – an approach which often proved insufficient and imprecise.
Allen Repashy developed the first commercial crested gecko diets in order to meet their unique dietary needs, which includes combining insects and fruit compounds for maximum nutrition ratios. His formulas can easily be prepared, and various brands offer them.
Different brands vary in terms of the proportion of insect-to-fruit ingredients they contain, yet all guarantee similar analyses. Some contain higher concentrations of protein than others while fat and other undesirable components remain at comparable levels. Some brands even provide specialized breeding formulations which contain more protein to support reproduction – these foods can be mixed with water to create paste and fed to both nocturnal geckos at night and diurnal ones in the morning for best results.
Vitamins & Minerals
Crested geckos can be notoriously challenging to keep as captive pets due to widespread misinformation regarding their diet needs. Because fruits and vegetables often lack important minerals like calcium, iron and iodine as well as essential vitamins like A and B, home feeders should consider providing their pet with an additional vitamin and mineral blend supplementation plan to ensure its wellbeing.
Lugarti Premium Gecko Diet utilizes whole food ingredients from around the globe to provide your New Caledonian gecko with all of their nutritional needs, such as dried fruit, dubia roach meal, kelp and algae meals and bee pollen. In addition, coconut and flaxseed provide both saturated and unsaturated fats while fiber, and honey adds sweetness as a sweetener and some carbs for your crested gecko to eat in shallow dishes. All these components can be mixed with water to form pasty consistency that can easily fed directly into shallow dishes from them all!
Guaranteed Analysis
Crested geckos have specific dietary needs that must be met, and although feeder insects provide enrichment and encourage natural hunting behavior in some geckos, they aren’t essential to survival. Prepared diets like Pangea ‘With Insects’ or Repashy Grubs N’ Fruit from Repashy Grubs N Fruit contain enough insect protein for your gecko’s nutritional requirements without risky feeder insects.
These diets contain only high quality ingredients that provide an appropriate mix of vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin A & K for decreasing potential vitamin A toxicity; bee pollen provides essential fatty acid content; all major minerals are present in sufficient amounts;
These diets do not meet optimal calcium and phosphorus ratios, but are closer to meeting their requirements than many DIY mixes with their 3.6:1 ratios. Furthermore, some less expensive prepared diets (ZooMed or Flukers) contain even lower calcium and phosphorus concentrations while still providing nutritional value for your cat.
