Technically, they can, though you should not offer your pet leopard gecko wild insects. Insects you catch may carry parasites, disease, or pesticides that can harm your gecko. Your lizard may eat wild insect given the chance, though most owners would rather not take the risk when there are safer food sources readily available. You can readily find feeder insects specifically intended as pet food at most pet shops. Check out our breeding guides for mealworms and superworms. Ants can easily crawl out of most food bowls, and would not be a good source of food.
Stink bugs have a bad taste and smell, which will deter a leopard gecko from wanting to eat it. Even small house spiders are not the best food source. What happens if your leo eats a beetle? Related post: Check out our info graphic explaining the mealworm life cycle.
Fireflies lightning bugs an other bio luminescent insects are toxic to leopard geckos. And after reading the section above, you know that insects from your backyard should not be fed to your pet gecko. A mix of mealworms, crickets, superworms, and dubia roaches, from a trusted source are the best choices for a healthy diet and proper nutrition.
Supplements like calcium powder are also important. Geckos can modify their metabolisms in tune with food intake within reason!
Best to include fast days each week. Some geckos slow down or cease feeding during winter, even if kept warm; we can discuss this if it appears to be a concern. Thanks for all of the help so far. We are currently using a basking bulb during the day and a red 40 watt bulb at night. We are going to be adding an under the tank heater with a remote thermostat switch. Where should the thermostat be placed in the tank? I know on the warm side but should it be on the ground , mid way , or top?
My guess would be about 2 inches off the bottom with the thermostat set for about We are doing away with the basking bulb and going to go with the repti compact flourescent during the day and only the red one at night when we are watching. This is a great helpful site keep up the great work.
Thanks for the kind words. The thermostat placement sounds fine; be sure to monitor temps by day if you remove a bulb, as the under tank heater will not likely warm the air very much. Hi Dan here with yet another question. We have not changed anything yet as far as the heat sources go.
Pinky the real pale pink gecko has been acting really strange. She will go to the warm side of the tank and go behind the cave and just continually try to climb the wall. We have a bonsai type tree near the middle with tires so they can get as close to the bulb as they want. She does this only in one corner on one wall.
She stands straight up on her tail and tries to climb up with all 4 legs on the glass. Is she ok or is her home lacking something.
Thenks Dan. Check temperatures…they may try to escape if too warm; gravid females will also become restless, provide a nest box as described here. Thanks for the help. On the left side of the tank it is 86 degrees f. It is 72 on the right side of the tank. She never goes to the cool side. Unless 86 is not warm enough.
It is close to 89 on top of the tree. This tank has 4 thermometers 2 digital and 2 stick on strip kind. We observe them for 3 or 4 hours in the evening with the red light on and again early before the white light gets turned on. The more normal looking one stays in the top of the tree from shortly after the red light goes on until we turn the red light off again in the am.
Food, we feed them 2 or 3 small insects every other day. The geckos heads are about a half inch across. They are about 5 or 6 inches long. Would you suggest more food first? How much more? Thanks again Dan. Hard to say when sexual maturity is reached, as captivity affects that a great deal, but she may be too young. Try upping the food…temps are fine, and individual needs vary. Try also providing additional hiding spots. Will do was headed out tomorrow to see if I can find a nice hollow log or something she could crawl up in to get higher.
Will keep you updated. Thanks so much again. Hi Dan again. I have increased their diet to several small insects every day and added a new hide cave. She is no longer trying to get out and climbing the walls. I would have never thought of feeding more. I just assumed she had more issues than very bad sight. Thanks again! I have a question as to how long my geckos can go with me away. We leave at thanksgiving for 4 days.
Again at Christmas time for almost a week. Should we take them with us and put them in a similar home or can we feed them before we leave and when we get back. My wife and kids have becom VERY fond of them and would be devastated if something happend to them. It is a 2 hour ride in which they would be in a much smaller transport container. I know this may sound silly but I want to do what is best for the geckos.
Assuming they are in goof health, days without attention will be fine. Occasional fasts are normal in the wild, and they are well-adapted to such. Just be sure to have lights and heat on timers, and leave a shallow water bowl. Dan here again.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was warned against putting a dish with calcium and vitamin D3 in the tank. My geckos lick at the calcium dish fairly frequently but since the warning I have removed it. There is quite the difference in opinion here on the net. So I would like your opinion.
Is the constant d3 bad for them? I use flukers with vitamin D3 in it. I know that they need the availability of the calcium. Thanks in advance Dan and Family. We do not have any specifics as to their actual Calcium or D3 requirements; but as leopard geckos have long been bred in captivity and are often long-lived, we can make some assumptions.
For adults, powdering food with Calcium 3x weekly, and with a Vitamin supplement containing D3 x weekly, will suffice. Using Calcium with D3 3x weekly has also been effective.
There seems to be a good deal of leeway, considering that When powdering food or leaving out a bowl of calcium, we really have little idea of how much they are consuming.
We know less about the effects of leaving a bowl out for them to consume at will. Some folks report success with this method. If the same hold for leopard geckos, then leaving supplements available might be a good idea. Hi Frank. Dan here once again. Our one gecko we call pinky has always been light pink and white.
She has recently started to get some very yellow places on her it. I have seen some morphs with yellow on them but have assumed ours was going to remain pink. Finally, geckos are more likely to lose interest in a specific food over time, so serving your pet, a combination of insects, will ensure they will continue to eat the foods they need.
You should avoid buying large crickets because your pet might have a hard time eating them. A dish with worms is a suitable option, especially if your leopard gecko has a hard time catching its food. Also, they have a low-fat content and are high in protein which will help your gecko maintain a healthy weight.
There are other types of roaches you are able to offer, like cockroaches, but dubia roaches stand supreme and are the best option, in my opinion. However, if you want to help your gecko gain weight after an illness, wax worms are a great choice. Finally, your gecko could end up being addicted to the taste of wax worms and thus refuse any foods from their staple diet. For additional information here is our post on how many wax worms leopard geckos should eat. Keep in mind, a butter worm has a higher fat content and should only be fed to your leopard gecko on occasion.
You want to ensure they are free of any pesticides, which in turn could cause harm to your gecko. They also contain serrapeptase, an enzyme known to promote calcium absorption and reduce inflammation and pain. Keep in mind; silkworms do not have a long life span, so only order what you know your leopard gecko will eat.
You may have to play around with the number as you figure out how many your pet is interested in eating. Finally, locusts are more expensive than crickets, but your pet will likely thank you for the pricey, tasty treat. They should still be considered a snack even though your pet may have an easier time catching them. Keep in mind, your leopard gecko may like the larvae, or they might turn their nose up to it.
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