Types of Gecko Food
The most common feeding insects are crickets - either black or brown, meal worms and wax worms. Large meal worms, also called super worms, are sometimes fed, as are locusts and roaches.Meal worms are generally considered a poor choice for staple food, since they have a large amount of chitin in their bodies. This can be reduced to some degree by offering primarily meal worms which have recently shed and have not yet built their chitin levels back up.
Wax worms are very fatty, which can lead to an obese gecko if fed as a staple. However, wax worms make excellent treats, and can be used to get a sick lizard back into condition again, as well as for fattening breeding females. If you've been feeding wax worms and notice that your gecko is showing signs of fatness, simply reduce or eliminate them until an appropriate weight has been reached.
Locusts are less noisy than crickets but harder to find. They're also much more expensive in most cases. Just like crickets, they can be bred at home, and they have similar nutritional content, making it important to dust or gut load them.
Roaches are becoming more commonly used as reptile food, due to their extreme prolificness and easy maintenance of colonies. They can be kept at home and have a high nutritional content, but care must be taken to avoid escapes. A line of petroleum jelly along the rim of the container can keep them from climbing out, or you can choose roaches that are unable to climb sheer surfaces.
Feed your geckos roaches no longer than three quarters of an inch (about two centimeters)
and remember to gut load them before feeding. If you feed roaches, remember that the ones most commonly used as reptile food are tropical species incapable of creating a home infestation. They can be ordered through an online herp supplier, or found at some pet stores, though they remain uncommon.
Other treats that will offer the geckos different nutrients and a little variation are silkworms, butter worms and baby mice, as well as tomato hornworm larva.
Some geckos will take only live mice, while others will accept pre-killed ones with no problems. Offer these and other snacks in moderation, since they are much higher in calories than a cricket. You can be sure that your geckos will react with enthusiasm, however.
Source(s):
We are Leopard Gecko enthusiasts who were tired of finding incomplete information about our pet Geckos. We enlisted the help of some serious gecko enthusiasts,breeders,owners, and veterinarians who helped us compile information for people who just wanted to know how to take care of their Leopard Geckos knowledgeably and safely.
Please visit our website http://www.theultimateleopardgeckomanual… to learn everything you need to
know and to sign up for a FREE mini course on Leopard Geckos!
* 11 months ago
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091121152343AARL1zc
The most common feeding insects are crickets - either black or brown, meal worms and wax worms. Large meal worms, also called super worms, are sometimes fed, as are locusts and roaches.Meal worms are generally considered a poor choice for staple food, since they have a large amount of chitin in their bodies. This can be reduced to some degree by offering primarily meal worms which have recently shed and have not yet built their chitin levels back up.
Wax worms are very fatty, which can lead to an obese gecko if fed as a staple. However, wax worms make excellent treats, and can be used to get a sick lizard back into condition again, as well as for fattening breeding females. If you've been feeding wax worms and notice that your gecko is showing signs of fatness, simply reduce or eliminate them until an appropriate weight has been reached.
Locusts are less noisy than crickets but harder to find. They're also much more expensive in most cases. Just like crickets, they can be bred at home, and they have similar nutritional content, making it important to dust or gut load them.
Roaches are becoming more commonly used as reptile food, due to their extreme prolificness and easy maintenance of colonies. They can be kept at home and have a high nutritional content, but care must be taken to avoid escapes. A line of petroleum jelly along the rim of the container can keep them from climbing out, or you can choose roaches that are unable to climb sheer surfaces.
Feed your geckos roaches no longer than three quarters of an inch (about two centimeters)
and remember to gut load them before feeding. If you feed roaches, remember that the ones most commonly used as reptile food are tropical species incapable of creating a home infestation. They can be ordered through an online herp supplier, or found at some pet stores, though they remain uncommon.
Other treats that will offer the geckos different nutrients and a little variation are silkworms, butter worms and baby mice, as well as tomato hornworm larva.
Some geckos will take only live mice, while others will accept pre-killed ones with no problems. Offer these and other snacks in moderation, since they are much higher in calories than a cricket. You can be sure that your geckos will react with enthusiasm, however.
Source(s):
We are Leopard Gecko enthusiasts who were tired of finding incomplete information about our pet Geckos. We enlisted the help of some serious gecko enthusiasts,breeders,owners, and veterinarians who helped us compile information for people who just wanted to know how to take care of their Leopard Geckos knowledgeably and safely.
Please visit our website http://www.theultimateleopardgeckomanual… to learn everything you need to
know and to sign up for a FREE mini course on Leopard Geckos!
* 11 months ago
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091121152343AARL1zc
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