Baby leopard geckos should be fed as many small crickets or cockroaches in 10 minutes that they can consume as nutritious and easy sources of sustenance.
Feed your pet grasshoppers only food that fits within their heads as this could pose a choking hazard, while geckos should not receive freeze-dried insects or worms as these have minimal nutrition value.
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Mealworms
Mealworms are rich in fats and proteins, providing leopard geckos with an essential source of nutrition. Refrigeration will extend their shelf life, as well as helping prevent spoilage. Furthermore, mealworms can also be gut-loaded with other food sources like kale, carrots or pieces of apple to increase nutritional value (this process is known as gut-loading).
Before feeding dried mealworms to leopard geckos, they must first be properly rehydrated so as to not be too difficult for their digestion. Furthermore, mealworms can be dusted with supplements for enhanced nutrition.
Mealworms should never be fed to baby leopard geckos as their exoskeletons are too tough for them to consume on a regular basis. Furthermore, mealworms contain high levels of phosphorous which may lead to metabolic bone disease in leopard geckos. When purchasing mealworms for leopard geckos make sure you purchase giant or super worms instead of regular mealworms for optimal results.
Hornworms
Hornworms are caterpillars commonly sold at pet stores and online. Commonly referred to as Goliath worms due to their size, these moth caterpillars have soft horn-like structures on their foreheads which make them popular among reptile owners.
Hornworms contain 9 percent protein and are an excellent source of minerals, making them a healthy option to supplement crickets or mealworms when it comes to meeting Leo’s protein needs. Due to their higher fat content, however, these treats should only be fed occasionally.
As a general guideline, it is best to offer your Leo hornworms no larger than their head in order to ensure that they consume all of it and prevent waste. Unfortunately, hornworms only live up to two months, thus being more expensive than superworms or butterworms but providing plenty of calcium!
Crickets
Leopard geckos are insectivores and thrive when fed a diet consisting of insects. Their digestive systems easily accommodate feeding them Dubia roaches, crickets and mealworms as food sources – however overfeeding should only occur occasionally as overdoing it could cause gastrointestinal impaction and potentially result in death.
Crickets make an ideal food source for leo owners since they can be found easily at most pet stores. Furthermore, their nutritional profile includes moderate levels of protein, fat and fiber. Unfortunately, their phosphorous content requires prior dusting or gut loading before feeding to their leo.
To increase the nutritional value of crickets, try mixing in some fatty waxworms – these treat can be irresistible to leopard geckos and can stimulate their hunting response.
Waxworms
Leopard Gecko’s can enjoy eating waxworms occasionally as they provide both protein and fat for their diet, making them a healthy treat. If fed too regularly though they could lead to obesity and health issues.
Waxworms also tend to have an extremely unfavorable calcium/phosphorus ratio, meaning they contain far too much phosphorus compared to calcium, which could damage bone health in your lizard.
Some Leopard Geckos can become addicted to eating waxworms, so it’s wise to feed them as treats only occasionally. If your gecko has developed an addiction to them it may take them some time to break free; but doing this is important because too many waxworms could pose health risks to their lizard.