Crested geckos are rare reptiles that have recently become popular pet species. Their name comes from the small crests around their eyes that give the impression of having lush eyelashes.
Crested geckos kept in captivity usually consume dehydrated meal replacement powder (MRP), pellets, and fruit as food sources. There are a variety of MRP flavors available such as Pangea Watermelons and Repashy Banana.
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Meal Replacement Powder (MRP)
Repashy and Pangea each produce over a dozen crested gecko diet flavors for their respective companies, but one of the most sought-after among breeders seems to be Pangea Watermeon Mango; this formula features a blend of whey, casein, and egg proteins to provide high levels of protein for breeders.
Zoo Med’s Crested Gecko Diet is an extremely popular option. This diet fulfills all of their dietary requirements for crested geckos throughout life stages and contains high concentrations of crude fats, calcium and phosphorous as well as fruit such as banana and papaya that could be found in nature – as well as black solider fly larvae protein and pea protein for high levels of protein intake.
Food that’s easy to prepare and has plenty of proteins and fats makes a nutritious choice for baby crested geckos and other insectivorous reptiles, like skinks, anoles, and chameleons. Once your gecko becomes familiar with its commercial diet you can switch over to offering fresh fruits or purees as treats.
Pellets
Leopard geckos are insectivorous lizards that also eat small amounts of fruit and vegetable matter in the wild, so providing lots of rocks, branches, plants and fake or real foliage for your leopard gecko to hide under and climb is highly recommended for maintaining optimal health.
Repashy and Pangea Reptiles’ dehydrated meal replacement powders (MRP’s) offer an ideal way to supplement a leo’s diet without feeding live insects. Simply combine these MRP’s with water and provide it to them three times each week in small dishes in amounts they’ll consume at one sitting; any uneaten MRPs must be removed within 24 hours from their tank.
Feeder insects for your crested should include dubia roaches (which can be quickly raised and last much longer than standard cockroaches) and waxworms, making sure to gut-load each feeder as this allows your pet to absorb more nutrients from them.
Fruit
Crested geckos in the wild eat fruit-rich environments; therefore, many owners offer fresh fruit to their crested geckos as part of a balanced diet. Pangea and Repashy provide fruit-based diets, such as watermelons and mangos that mimic wild diets for crested geckos and many cresties love these food items immensely; additionally these diets also contain protein from eggs and whey sources for optimal performance.
Pangea and Repashy produce high quality fruit mixes, but for maximum effectiveness it is always smart to add live insects into the mix as this stimulates hunting behavior, helping young cresties grow faster if offered insect meals regularly. You can choose from various feeder insects such as crickets, worms and dubia roaches; most can be purchased at pet stores while you could even breed your own! When feeding to crested geckos these feeder insects must first be gut loaded before being given to them for consumption.
Insects
Crested geckos enjoy feeding on insects and are highly adapted to do so in the wild, competing for them with other geckos and larger predators for sustenance. Offering live insects is a great way to enrichment while providing vitamins and minerals to these unique reptiles.
Feeder insects play an essential role for crested geckos as they provide them with essential vitamins not found in their MRP diet, such as B, C, D and E. Furthermore, insects provide valuable sources of protein and fat for these geckos.
Although some crested gecko breeders advise against feeding feeder insects to their crested geckos, others see them as essential components of repashy crested gecko complete diets such as Pangea with insects or Repashy Grubs N’ Fruit.
Some of these foods also include black soldier fly larvae, pea protein and rice protein to provide additional nutrition. It is advised to only offer such feeders once or twice weekly and treat them as treat foods; too much sugar consumption could lead to obesity, organ disease, tooth and mouth rot or other issues in pets.
