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Glossary Of Terms
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Feeding A Leopard Gecko
  Background Information
  This section  was created to give you a more in-depth understanding of the various principles and guidelines to feeding captive leopard geckos.

Leopard geckos in captivity typically do not have access to the selection and variety of feeder insects that they would in the wild.  Captive diets typically vary from their wild counterparts in terms of:

  • The taste of the prey item.
  • The nutritional value of the prey item.
  • The overall appearance of the prey item.

Malnutrition in captive leopard geckos is often coupled with high mortality rates, the development of various diseases, health problems, stress and overall poor growth/development/performance.  Most nutritional problems seen in geckos result from:

  • Poor/improper feeding practices.
  • Imbalanced diets.
  • Malnourished (ie not properly gut-loaded) prey items.
  • Unappealing prey items.

Providing the proper diet, environmental and overall husbandry will help to ensure that you are raising a happy and healthy leopard gecko. 
  Nutrition and Energy
  Because leopard geckos are ectothermic, their body temperatures will depend on the external environment, as opposed to internal metabolism such as in humans.  These geckos are also heterothermic which means they can demonstrate a wide range of internal body temperatures that are directly related to their environmental conditions.

The environmental temperatures in your gecko's enclosure can affect:

  • The gecko's core body temperature.
  • The gecko's daily activities including hunting, digestion etc...

The energy needs of your particular gecko will increase with:

  • Reproduction
  • Growth
  • Eating
  • Daily activity.
  • Protein synthesis (such as with wound healing).

The amount of energy used by your gecko will depend upon:

  • The supply of food present.
  • The season (ie seasonal anorexia).
  • The environmental temperatures.
  Digestion
  Although leopard geckos do have small teeth, these teeth are not used for the degree of mastication that one sees in mammals for example.  They usually end up swallowing their food whole, or at least in large pieces.  This is one of the reasons why it is extremely important to choose the most appropriately sized prey item.
  • These geckos do not have a gizzard and do not purposely swallow small stones (also known as gastroliths) to aid in the mechanical digestion of food.

  • Saliva found in the mouth is primarily used for lubricating the prey item only and not for actual digestive purposes.

  • Digestion of food is carried out by various enzymes found in both the stomach and the intestine.

  • Geckos must be maintained within their Preferred Optimal Temperature Zones for proper digestion of their food.

Underfeeding and Temperatures

  • Geckos that are underfed in warm environments typically lose weight rather quickly because of increased metabolic rates.

  • Geckos that are underfed in cooler environments typically lose weight as a result of anorexia and poor digestion.

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