The Best Food For a Leopard Gecko

best food for a leopard gecko

Leopard geckos are insectivores, so their diet should mainly consist of insects and other small invertebrates such as crickets or Dubia roaches with optimal protein and fat levels; additionally they may enjoy treat foods like hornworms or waxworms as treats.

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Avoid feeding your leopard gecko freeze-dried insects as this process removes many micronutrients that they need for health. Furthermore, avoid offering meat as this source often contains high concentrations of phosphorous while lacking in calcium content.

Contents

Insects

Leopard geckos are insectivores, meaning their bodies were never meant to process fruits, vegetables, or any non-insect foods such as fruits. Therefore, to ensure your leo is getting all of his essential nutrition he requires for optimal health it’s vital that you feed him a variety of insects and worms such as Dubia roaches which offer high protein and low fat with easy gut loading as they have long lifespan. Many owners recommend Dubia roaches as a staple feeder since these creatures don’t fly, can’t escape their bowls easily while offering long lifespan and easy gut loadability! Many owners find Dubia roaches ideal as feeders due to high protein/low fat/non escaping their bowls as they don’t fly/can escape bowls, don’t fly away/cannot escape bowls etc – which makes for happy owners as well!

Black soldier fly larvae is another affordable, convenient source of calcium (which should always be supplemented with powdered calcium without D3). They’re affordable, easy to store, and an inexpensive source.

Arachnids

Leopard geckos can easily consume spiders and other eight-legged insects, as well as devour scorpions with relish.

Feeder insects should typically be dusted with calcium powder 24 to 48 hours before offering to your reptile for consumption. It is also wise to feed your leo a variety of insects so they receive all of their necessary vitamins and nutrients in their diet.

Dubia roaches can be found both online and at pet stores, and are considered superior alternatives to crickets due to their higher protein and vitamin content as well as not chirping or fleeing like crickets do.

Scorpions

Leopard geckos enjoy snacking on scorpions as a protein-rich source. This provides them with additional variety in their diet while supplementing it.

Avoid feeding wild-caught insects to your leopard gecko, as these could contain pesticides or harmful parasites that could pose health threats to him/her. Instead, offer waxworms and butterworms once every week along with staple and semi-regular feeder insects to ensure that he or she receives adequate variety and nutrition.

Grasshoppers offer high levels of protein and moisture for improved hydration in leopard gecko habitats. Make sure to gut load them first to maximize their benefit for their wellbeing!

Meat

Leopard geckos are insectivorous reptiles, and their diet should consist of insects rich in protein. When kept captive, you can provide their daily requirements through various feeder insects; larger foods like crickets or cockroaches could choke or impact on them while freeze-dried food may lose some essential vitamins and minerals needed by your reptile.

Do not collect insects from outside as this leaves you uncertain what kind of vegetation they’ve been eating (and could contain parasites and pesticides), opting for commercially raised feeder bugs such as dubia roaches, mealworms and crickets instead.

Pinkie Mice

Leopard geckos enjoy feeding on a wide array of feeder insects, from crickets and dubia roaches as their staple food source, mealworms and waxworms as treats, to hornworms (especially beneficial for young geckos and breeding animals) or Phoenix worms (known as black soldier fly larva or calci-worms). To find one with the ideal balance of protein and fat content.

Be sure to gut load feeder insects prior to feeding them to your leopard gecko lizard; this helps ensure they contain nutrients. In addition, dust feeder insects with multivitamin and calcium supplements available at many pet stores.

Fruits

Leopard geckos differ from other reptiles in that they feed solely on insects such as mealworms, dubia roaches, silkworms, waxworms and hornworms for sustenance.

Grasshoppers can also make for a healthy food source if bred in captivity; these insects contain high concentrations of proteins, calcium and phosphorus while being low in fat and chitin content.

Avoid offering your leopard gecko insects collected from outside as these may contain parasites and insecticides that could pose health risks to their wellbeing. Gut-load your feeder insects 24-48 hours before offering them to your leopard gecko so they pass along extra vitamins and minerals directly to them.