Best Food for Leopard Gecko: Reviews & Guide 2022

Deciding to take a leopard gecko home is the day that you will most likely remember fondly for the many years to come. If you grew up with dogs, cats or another pet, then you know how much pets bring life and fun into the house.

Some aspects of caring and feeding for pets are universal like the need to pay attention to them and to check their health on a daily basis. Leopard Geckos, however, requires some special consideration.

If you are an owner of a leopard gecko, then you need to know the best diet and food for these amazing creatures.

Top 10 Best Foods for Leopard Gecko

Leopard geckos are widely known to love a pure insect diet. However, a gecko’s dietary preferences change over time so you need to keep more than just one type of gecko food. With a broad selection of foods, then you will be able to provide the best diet for your leopard gecko.

Here are the top 10 best food for leopard gecko:

1. Crickets

Crickets are by far the best and most popular food choice for geckos. You do not have to catch a cricket in the middle of the night just to feed your beloved geckos— crickets can be bought in bulk from a wide variety of suppliers. However, you need to ask in advance about the sizes of the crickets. If these crickets are too large, then your gecko might have a hard time eating them.

Crickets, however, have major drawbacks. Most people find crickets to have this unpleasant smell which is difficult to ignore. Also, crickets are escape artists— they master the art of escaping and just disappear without a trace. This is why most gecko enthusiasts prefer to use other food from time to time.

Pros:

• Erratic movements stimulate feeding
• Gut loads well
• High protein
• Low fat
• Cheap
• Easy to find

Cons:

• Can bite your gecko
• Hide in crevices
• Short lifespan
• Jumpy
• Good at escaping
• Unpleasant smell
• Noisy

2. Mealworms

Mealworms are another good feeding choice for your gecko. Like crickets, there are various suppliers who can provide you with the necessary mealworms for your gecko packaged into a one pound container. The good news about mealworms is that they do not have the capability to easily escape and just disappear. Mealworms, however, do not have small sizes like crickets.

Take note that some geckos do not like mealworms since they do not move that much, making them less challenging to hunt. If your leopard gecko repeatedly refuses this insect, then you need to switch to a more “active” option.

Pros:

• Easy to breed
• No smell or mess
• Decent lifespan
• High protein
• Cheap
• Easy to find

Cons:

• Slow movement can turn off your gecko feeding
• Does not gut load well
• Bad calcium to phosphorus ratio
• High-fat content

3. Silkworms

Silkworms are one of the best options in order to add some variety to your leopard gecko’s diet. These small and white worms only live a few weeks, so you might want to order them in only small quantities. Silkworms, however, are somewhat less common, so if you can’t find a supplier, then you might need to do the hunting. Moreover, silkworms are much expensive than other feeding options on the market.

Pros:

• Easy to digest
• Low fat
• High moisture

Cons:

• Slow movement may not stimulate feeding
• Special feeding requirement
• Hard to find
• Expensive

4. Waxworms

Geckos absolutely love waxworms. Why? Because these worms are high in fat. And just like how we enjoy fatty foods, geckos also enjoys eating fatty foods; however, you need to watch the amount of waxworm you feed to your leopard gecko and limit this type of food every month or less often. Surely, you do not want to have an obese leopard gecko, right?

Pros:

• Used to jump start feeding
• Irresistible to geckos
• Cheap
• Easy to find

Cons:

• Sensitive to heat and moisture
• Smelly
• Cannot be gut loaded
• Short lifespan
• Extremely high-fat content

5. Dubia Roaches

Dubia roaches are less known than mealworms and crickets; however, this gecko food is quickly becoming more popular. This is because of several advantages they provide to gecko enthusiasts. Dubia roaches live much longer than worms and do not bring any unpleasant smell to your home. Also, some people choose to breed them, in order to have a steady supply of food for their leopard gecko.

Pros:

• Gut loads really well
• Easy to breed
• Movement stimulates feeding
• Low fat
• High protein
• Extremely long lifespan

Cons:

• Not easy to find
• Expensive

6. Phoenix Worms

You can add variety to your leopard gecko’s diet by adding phoenix worm to the mix. Unlike crickets, these worms are smaller, thus it is easier to feed it to smaller leopard geckos.

Pros:

• Movement stimulates feeding
• Decent shelf life
• Best calcium to phosphorus ratio available
• Cheap
• Easy to find
• Low fat
• Decent protein

Cons:

• Some geckos don’t like them
• Messy
• Cannot be gut loaded

7. Locusts

The famous insects from the bible that plague the Egyptians, Locusts are part of the leopard gecko’s diet. They are similar to some of the other food options however, these insects are more difficult to find. If you wish to add these insects to your leopard gecko’s diet, then you need to measure its size. The best locust meal for your gecko should be no longer than your leopard gecko’s head. Otherwise, you might end up with a frustrated leopard gecko.

Pros:

• Gut-loads well
• Movement stimulates feeding
• Decent shelf life

Cons:

• Difficult to find
• Might be large for other geckos

8. Butterworms

At first glance, these worms look like waxworms. However, they are completely different worm species. Butterworms are the larval version of a Chilean moth and are low in fat but high in calcium and protein. These butter worms can be stored in refrigerators for several months and feed to your leopard gecko.

Pros:

• Low fat
• High calcium
• High protein
• Decent shelf life

Cons:

• Hard to find
• Cannot be gut loaded
• Slow movement may not stimulate feeding

9. Superworms

Superworms are the larval stage of the Zophobas beetles. These worms are also known as King worms and are popular live food for geckos since they are softer and are easier to digest than mealworms. Superworms are high in protein and low in fat making them a good diet for your leopard geckos.

Pros:

• Easy to breed
• Long lifespan
• Decent protein source
• Cheap
• Easy to find

Cons:

• May not be suitable for smaller geckos
• Can Bite
• Does not gut load well
• Low protein
• High-fat content

10. Hornworms

Hornworms have low fat and high levels of calcium so they make an excellent nutritional supplement for leopard geckos which needs regular vitamin dusting. Plus they lack exoskeleton which makes them easier to digest. Moreover, hornworms are also great for finicky eaters. These worms are good for enticing geckos on a “hunger strike” and make your picky gecko eat once more.

Pros:

• Large and filling
• Low fat
• High moisture

Cons:

• Difficult to find
• Low protein
• Expensive

Insects to Avoid

While leopard geckos are known to be insectivores, not all insects include their diet. Never feed your leopard gecko with the following insects:

1. Fireflies, Lightning Bugs Or Other Insects That Glow

Insects which have the ability to light up or glow in the dark should not be fed to your leopard gecko. The chemicals that make these insects glow are highly toxic to leopard geckos and just a single glowing bug contains a lethal amount of toxin. There is no known treatment for this kind of situation since there has been no evidence of a gecko that survived long enough to reach a vet.

2. Insects Caught Inside Your Home Or Outside

Never feed a leopard gecko any bugs or insects that you have caught yourself. This is because wild insects that you caught might have parasites which can infect your leopard gecko. In addition, most bugs and insects might have trace amounts of pesticides that can be highly toxic for your leopard geckos.

The Best Supplements for Your Leopard Gecko

We, humans, need extra supplements daily to keep our mind and body working smoothly. Similarly, adding a few supplements to your leopard gecko’s diet is a good way to keep them healthy and reduce the risk of diseases.

1. Calcium

Calcium is highly recommended for leopard geckos. This is because calcium plays a significant role in keeping your leopard gecko’s bones healthy and strong. Calcium supplements for reptiles often come in a variety of doses which is helpful since you can customize the serving based on the status and age of your leopard gecko. Remember that giving too much calcium to leopard geckos can lead to unwanted side effects.

2. Vitamin D3

If your gecko is not that fond of bathing in sunlight, then this vitamin in small quantities can be helpful in making your gecko feeling well. If you do not have any idea about the proper amount of vitamin D3 to give, then you can consult your veterinarian for advice.

3. Multivitamin Supplement

Combined supplements or multivitamins is a good way to simplify the feeding process of your leopard gecko. You should powder your leopard gecko’s food with a multivitamin powder from time to time to ensure that it is getting enough minerals and vitamins. However, you need to watch out for the dosage, since too much is never good.

What is Dusting?

Dusting is a process where an insect is dusted with dusting powder like calcium and vitamin supplements before you can feed it to your pet. By dusting the insects, you can provide additional nutrition to your leopard gecko.

To dust a live bug, just put a tiny amount of supplement powder and the insects in a glass jar or a resealable plastic bag. Shake it until the bugs are lightly dusted. Make sure to feed the dusted insects to your leopard gecko immediately.

What is Gut Loading?

It is a process where you “load” or feed healthy and nutritious food into the insects before you can feed them to your gecko as food. You can find several commercial crickets or insect feeds available in your local pet store or online.

Gut load these insects 12 hours before you feed them to your leopard gecko in order to help your gecko retain all the nutrition in their body. In case you are using mealworm for food, you can gut load with a small piece of carrot 24 hours before you feed it to your leopard gecko. Much better, you can leave small pieces of carrots in a dish with mealworms in it for your gecko to feed on.

Feeding Leopard Geckos

Leopard geckos are notoriously known for eating anything that wiggles or move in front of them. Because most leopard geckos do not like dead preys, you should always feed them live insects.

Dust or gut load the insects before you feed them to your leopard gecko. Then, just place the insects in your leopard gecko’s habitat. In case you are feeding your gecko some worms, then you need to place them in a food bowl and this will allow your gecko to easily access the worms. Otherwise, these worms will simply burrow under the bedding of the tank and your leopard gecko may not be able to find its food.

Overfeeding a leopard gecko is not common since they are known to stop when they are not hungry anymore, however, it is possible. So if you think that your leopard gecko is gaining an unnecessary weight, then you might want to cut down on their feedings and remove fatty insects from their everyday diet.

Also, make sure to give your leopard gecko enough water. Always replace the water and the dish is cleaned on a regular basis.

Feeding Schedule

The feeding schedule of leopard geckos depend mostly on its health:

• Young and growing geckos should eat every day with at least 4 to 8 insects.
• Adult geckos around 1 to 2 years old can eat on alternate days with at least 5 to 10 insects.
• Weak or unwell geckos should be fed every day until they become healthy.
• For picky eaters, you can feed them normally; however, you can leave a food dish with worms available in their tanks so they can eat if they get hungry.

The best time to feed your leopard gecko should be early in the evening or late in the day (7-9 pm) when it becomes active after a daytime sleep and it is that time when they start hunting in nature. Feeding usually takes 10 to 20 minutes.

Conclusion

Keeping a leopard gecko is not that hard; however, you will need to conduct a thorough research before taking one home. If you did make your research then you most probably will have no problem in feeding your beautiful leopard gecko.