House geckos have an excellent record in captivity and make great pets. All they require to flourish are five key factors: space, warmth, bugs, water and cover.
House geckos typically feed on crickets and mealworms purchased from pet stores or collected around the home, along with calcium/vitamin supplements like Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or Zoo Med Reptivite with D3. Before feeding these insects to their gecko, these supplements should be dusted on them with Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or Zoo Med Reptivite with D3.
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Crickets and Mealworms
House geckos enjoy snacking on crickets, mealworms and flies as their preferred insect feeders – these insects can be purchased from pet stores or raised yourself to save money in the long run.
Mediterranean house geckos are visual eaters and prefer live prey over dead. When out hunting in the wild, they will consume various species such as crickets, grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, isopods, flies, pillbugs and spiders.
No matter what kind of insects you choose to feed your reptile, always gut load them prior to doing so. This involves giving the insects a diet rich in essential vitamins and nutrients 24 hours before offering them up as food sources for your reptile.
Fruits and Vegetables
As part of its diet, house geckos should include various fruits and vegetables for health and growth purposes. This will provide essential nutritional support.
House geckos in the wild tend to primarily feed on insects, while crested and leopard geckos may eat fruit as well. If kept as pets in captivity, owners can easily offer more variety by breeding feeder insects themselves.
Before offering fruits to your gecko, always ensure they have been thoroughly washed to remove bacteria and pesticide residue. Pureeing can also make eating easier for your pet gecko! Also ensure he or she receives water and an appropriate diet supplement at each feeding.
Gut Load Cricket Drink with Calcium
Gut loading refers to the practice of providing feeder insects with a diet designed to increase their nutritional needs. This may involve dusted insects with calcium and vitamin D supplements or multivitamin powder designed specifically for reptiles.
These supplements are essential because many of the foods offered to leopard geckos in captivity lack essential minerals like iodine and calcium. By offering your gecko a variety of food sources and providing feeder insects that contain all essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins for its nutrition needs you can ensure they receive everything they require for healthful living.
Leopard geckos feed on an array of plant matter and small animals in their natural environments, such as pollen aggregates, fruit juice, dead lizards or prey items.
Repashy Calcium Plus
Reptiles are generally considered specialty pets and therefore less research has been conducted into their nutritional requirements. Therefore, supplements for reptiles vary greatly between manufacturers; most recommendations advise dusting with such supplements every feeding and providing access to a calcium tray (with or without D3) at all times for adults geckos.
Juveniles and younger leos that feed daily have differing opinions regarding how often to supplement them with Vitamin D3. Some recommend dusting your insects every insect feeding while others advocate gut loading them before each feeding and only giving a supplement once or twice each week – regardless, this supplement contains Vitamin D3 which is vitally important to their metabolism.
Zoo Med Reptivite with D3
Geckos receive vitamin D through exposure to sunlight, so pet parents should provide supplements containing this important nutrient for proper immune system function and absorption of other important minerals like calcium and phosphorus.
Zoo Med Reptivite with D3 is a powdered supplement for gecko that includes beta carotene (vitamin A), vitamin E, calcium and vitamin D3 to support immune health, calcium/vit D3 for bone health and more. Just dust this powder over their food at each feeding session!
Make sure that your gecko has access to water by providing it with either Exo Terra’s reptile fountain or Fluker’s rock dish, and misting their enclosure at least twice per day to provide enough humidity.
