|
Dr. Gecko recommends feeding a varied diet to leopard
geckos. A vast
majority of the nutritional imbalances often seen in geckos result from
a poor and/or unbalanced diets. Feeder insects to consider as prey items
could include appropriately sized:
- Commercial house crickets (Acheta domesticus)
- Black field crickets (Gryllus domesticus)
- Mealworms (Tenebrio molitor)
- Superworms (Zophobas mario)
- Silkworms (Bombyx mori)
- Locusts (Melanopus spp.)
- Cockroaches (Blaberus cranifer, etc...)
- Wax worms (Galleria melonella)
- Pinky mice (for breeding females)
Why feed a variety of insects?
Each insect, in terms of nutritional quality, is comprised of varying
levels of:
| minerals |
water |
enzymes |
protein |
| vitamins |
carbohydrates |
fats |
fiber |
All of these work together to provide your gecko with energy, proper
metabolic functioning, prevention of diseases and disorders, and much
more. Each of these are required in varying amounts which can be
achieved by offering a varied diet.
There are other factors that one should take into
consideration when creating a well-rounded diet for their gecko .
Things to consider include:
| overall health and well-being |
age |
activity level |
| environmental conditions |
sex |
|
For example, younger and still-growing geckos may have a higher
protein requirement than already established adults.
It is also important that you maximize/enhance the nutritional quality
of the mealworms by offering them a high quality diet - this process is
called gut-loading. Here
is a widely used and accepted gut-loading diet that can be used with
several different insects. As with humans, you are what you eat!
Most feeder insects have a poor calcium:phosphorous ratio which is
why it is often recommended to offer them as part of a varied diet.
|