Leopard geckos are insectivores and in their natural environment they eat almost every small insect that they come across. The insects provide the leopard gecko with many of the nutrients and minerals that they need to remain healthy. Those geckos that are bred and raised as pets must also be provided with a highly nutritious diet to ensure that their health and growth will be optimum.
It can be quite a challenge to provide a broad range of food for a pet gecko that is both delicious and health. So, extra effort has to be made by the pet owner to provide a well-balanced diet for a gecko. In this article we will discuss what leopard geckos eat and some of the nutrients that are essential to their survival and their health.
Commercially bred insects like crickets, wax worms, meal worms and such small insects are the staple of a Leopard gecko's diet. Leopard geckos should be fed food that is live. The insects themselves should be fed a nutricious diet before they are given to the gecko. Feeding an insect is called gut loading them. After gut loading the insects, they should then be dusted with powdered calcium and other supplements before they are given to geckos. Leopard geckos are delighted when they are fed live food. Many of the insects that can be fed to a leopard gecko are available in many local pet stores.
Insects found in pet stores, such as crickets are usually not well nourished. They therefore need to be gut-loaded to make them healthy by offering the crickets food such as wheat germ, oatmeal, a slice of orange, fish flakes, green vegetables and small slices of any number of fruits.
Insects in general should be fed for 1 day at least before giving them to a leopard gecko. Siimply keeping the insects in a ventilated container along with the food should be enough for them to become gut-loaded.
Meal worms are another ideal food source for leopard geckos. However, meal worms should be given to a leopard gecko only in limited quantities because these worms have a tough outer covering that the leopard gecko finds difficult to digest. So, meal worms must be restricted to once a week. Meal worms can be bought and stored in large quantities in a cooler and this functions to slow down their transformation into adult beetles.
The wax worm is another food that leopard geckos enjoy. Wax worms are high in fat content and this is a draw back. A leopard gecko that eats too many wax worms too frequently can become overweight and this in of itself is not good. As a result, wax worms should not be fed to leopard geckos often. They are usually added to their diet as a means to add something to their food regimen so that it does not get boring.
Food is a very important for all living creatures, in sustaining life, and for leopard geckos this is no different. Special attention has to be paid to the food given to leopard geckos that are kept as pets. Their food has to be dusted with calcium and supplements. The insects given to leopard geckos have to be gut loaded before they are given to the geckos. All this should be done to ensure that the leopard gecko is receives the proper nutrients in order to remain healthy.