How Often Do I Feed My Crested Gecko
As fellow crested gecko owners, we understand the potential stress associated with figuring out the perfect feeding schedule for our new pets.
The good news is crested geckos are arguably the easiest reptiles to own in terms of feeding.
Still, I want you to know how to provide the proper care or crested geckos, especially around food.
As a general rule, baby crested geckos should be fed every day, and adult crested geckos should be fed three or four times per week. The majority of their diet will consist of commercial crested gecko food, making it easy for all owners to ensure their pets consume enough vital nutrients.
There are several different types of commercial food on the market.
Let's take a look at the most popular brands, what some safe fruits and insects are, and a recommended feeding schedule for both baby and adult geckos.
Crested Gecko Diet
For the average crested gecko owner, most of a crestie's diet will consist of commercial gecko food.
Some expert owners may choose to make their gecko food with fresh produce and live insects while also rounding off their pets' diets with appropriate vitamin and mineral supplements.
Some of the most popular brands of gecko food on the market are Repashy, Zoo Med, and Pangea.
These trusted companies formulate their foods specifically for cresties over several generations to ensure our pets are getting the best of the best.
To break it down further, there are three main types of crestie food sold by these competitors.
As owners, we have a couple of mixes of meal replacement powder to choose from.
The most commonly used form of crestie food is meal replacement powder.
These powders are budget-friendly and are easy to store.
Following the directions on the packaging, owners simply need to add water to the appropriate portion size and mix it.
We will create a brief list of trusted gecko foods with their links below.
All list items are highly rated on Amazon with hundreds of five-star customer reviews.
- Repashy Superfoods Meal Replacement Powder
- Pangea Fruit Mix with Insects
- Zoo Med Premium Blended Gecko Formula with Probiotics
Each of these listed formulas is suitable for geckos at all stages of life.
Once you've chosen your desired gecko food, simply follow the instructions from the manufacturer for serving sizes based on your pet's age and weight.
Other than the food, you will also need to supply your pet with fresh water every day.
Many crested gecko owners choose to keep a shallow water dish in their enclosure.
Cresties often obtain their hydration from the water droplets left on the leaves of the real plants in their terrariums.
These droplets are left behind from the daily misting required to keep the humidity level of the enclosure consistent.
Even so, it is best to keep a water bowl in the enclosure at all times.
Fresh Fruits
Fruit is a major player in a balanced diet. In their natural habitat, these geckos consume large amounts of fruit to sustain life.
Fruits are even listed as a majority of the ingredients in commercial gecko foods.
Since these reptiles love fruit so much, many owners enjoy giving their pets fresh fruit as treats.
This is done by either providing small cubes of sliced fruit or by making your fruit puree.
One of our favorite ways to serve fruit to our geckos is by blending several fruits they enjoy with water, calcium, and vitamin supplements.
Once your mix is prepared, simply pour it into a silicone ice cube tray with tiny square cubes.
Pop it into the freezer, and you have fruit treats ready to go for several weeks.
Some owners opt for high-quality organic baby food fruit purees as a quick and easy substitute.
This is acceptable on occasion for adult geckos, but we do not recommend using processed baby foods for baby geckos due to their high sugar content.
But if the idea of using baby food interests you check out our post on feeding crested geckos baby food for complete details.
The following is a list of recommended fruits for cresties.
Crested gecko owners are not limited to the fruits in this list.
- Mangos
- Papaya
- Figs
- Watermelon
- Peaches
- Nectarines
- Bananas
- Pears
- Apricots
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
Many fruits tend to have high levels of phosphorus.
Phosphorus inhibits calcium absorption, so we suggest dusting a calcium supplement with vitamin D3 with each fruit serving to balance out the calcium to phosphorus ratios.
Calcium with vitamin supplements is not optional.
Even insects with calcium aren't enough.
Always supplement when possible.
Feeder Insects
Live insects are also used as a weekly treat.
Animal proteins are also a key ingredient in commercial foods, so it is unnecessary to feed your gecko insects regularly.
Some common feeder insects used by owners include:
- Crickets
- Dubia Roaches
- Calcium Worms (Black Soldier Fly Larvae)
- Waxworms
- Butterworms
How Often To Feed Crested Geckos By Age
Baby Geckos
Baby and juvenile cresties are constantly growing, so they need to eat every day.
These geckos are considered babies or juveniles until approximately 18 months of age.
Some will be fully mature by age one, and others will continue to grow until their second birthday.
To provide proper crested gecko care, you will want to stick to the commercial gecko diet for most of its meals.
As long as your pet eats every day, we suggest using the commercial food mixes for six days of the week.
In some cases, cresties will not want as much food as they get closer to adulthood.
You should still offer food to a growing gecko every day and remove the uneaten food from the food bowl after 24 hours.
One day per week is usually dedicated as a treat day.
These days, we suggest offering a combination of insects and a few small cubes of fresh fruit or puree.
You should not feed insects to baby geckos under one month of age.
Once they have surpassed one month, you may introduce a single small insect. We suggest using crickets 1/8 to 1/4″ inches in size.
Any choice of insect should never be wider than the space between your reptile's eyes.
Calcium worms are also an excellent feeder insect to give to babies since calcium content in these insects is so high.
We do not suggest using waxworms or butter worms as treats for babies due to their high-fat content.
Still, make sure you dust insects with calcium or gut load them.
Adult Geckos
An adult crested gecko will eat less often than it did as a baby.
Once your crestie is fully mature, you will transition it to eating three or four times per week.
The exact number of days will depend on your personal experience with your gecko.
Some cresties are larger and need more food than others.
But if your crested stops eating read our post on reasons why crested geckos stop eating to see if there's something you should be concerned about.
We suggest feeding an adult crestie commercial gecko food three times per week, leaving one extra day as a treat day if necessary.
The easiest way to do this is to select three days of the week as your permanent feeding days.
For instance, you may choose to feed your gecko its commercial diet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
This leaves you the option of adding treat day on Saturday or Sunday.
These treat days will be essentially the same for adults as they are for babies.
The only difference will be the portion sizes.
While baby geckos should never eat more than three small insects per week, adults can eat up to six larger insects throughout the week.
Crickets, dubia roaches, and calcium worms should be used most often.
Waxworms and butter worms should only be offered as a very rare treat, no more than once or twice per month.
Remember to always gut load your insects and to sprinkle calcium powder on every treat meal.
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Source: https://oddlycutepets.com/how-often-to-feed-crested-geckos/
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