Gecko Diet Guide

Diet Overview

There is no single correct “gecko diet.” Geckos occupy several very different nutritional niches. Leopard geckos, African fat-tailed geckos, banded geckos, tokays, house geckos, Madagascar leaf-tailed geckos, knob-tailed geckos, and cave geckos are primarily insectivorous. Crested, gargoyle, chahoua, and other New Caledonian geckos naturally consume both animal prey and fruit or nectar-type foods. Day geckos commonly combine arthropods with nectar, pollen, and soft fruit. Mourning geckos also use both tiny invertebrates and fruit or nectar resources.

Successful feeding therefore depends on identifying the species first, then matching food type, prey size, feeding frequency, supplementation, and presentation to that species. Reptile nutrition cannot be separated from husbandry: temperature, humidity, UVB exposure, stress, reproductive status, and enclosure design all influence appetite, digestion, calcium metabolism, and body condition.

Exact nutrient requirements have not been established for most gecko species. The recommendations below combine veterinary nutrition principles, published reptile guidance, natural feeding ecology, zoological husbandry practice, and practical monitoring of growth and body condition.

Core Feeding Principles for All Geckos

• Feed the species, not the label “gecko.” Strict insectivores should not be maintained on fruit diets, while New Caledonian and day geckos need a broader nutritional plan.
• Use variety. Rotate several appropriate feeder insects rather than relying on crickets, mealworms, or any single prey item.
• Match prey size to the gecko. Prey should be easy to capture and swallow; for small and juvenile geckos, choose prey no wider than the space between the eyes or roughly the width of the head.
• Control calories. Waxworms, butterworms, and other very fatty larvae are best reserved for occasional use. Adult geckos commonly become overweight when offered unlimited high-energy foods.
• Feed at the correct time of day. Nocturnal and crepuscular species are usually best fed in late afternoon or evening. Day geckos should be fed during their normal daytime activity period.
• Use species-appropriate feeding stations. Arboreal New Caledonian and day geckos often feed more naturally from elevated dishes or ledges; terrestrial leopard and fat-tailed geckos can be fed from the enclosure floor or smooth feeding dishes.
• Remove leftovers. Uneaten live crickets can bite or stress geckos. Prepared fruit-based diets spoil rapidly and should usually be removed within about 24 hours, sooner in very warm enclosures.

Feeder Insects, Gut Loading, and Hand-Feeding

Most commonly cultured feeder insects contain substantially more phosphorus than calcium. Without correction, an insect-heavy diet can contribute to calcium deficiency and secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism. Two complementary techniques improve prey quality: gut loading (feeding the insect a nutrient-dense, calcium-rich ration before it is offered) and dusting (lightly coating the insect with an appropriate supplement immediately before feeding).

Do not assume insects are nutritionally ready when they arrive from a pet store or shipping container. Newly purchased prey may be dehydrated or poorly fed. Whenever practical, place them in a clean holding container, provide food and moisture, and complete the final gut-loading period before offering them to the gecko.

Supplies to keep on hand

• Escape-resistant, well-ventilated feeder containers sized for crickets, roaches, or larvae, with smooth sides where appropriate.
• Egg-carton sections, cardboard tubes, or other disposable hides for crickets and roaches so insects are not overcrowded.
• A commercial high-calcium gut-loading ration formulated for feeder insects. A normal maintenance insect food is not always the same as a short-term high-calcium gut load.
• A safe moisture source such as small amounts of fresh high-moisture vegetables or a commercial insect hydration product. Avoid open water dishes in cricket or roach bins because insects can drown.
• Shallow food lids or dishes that keep dry gut load away from wet foods and make spoiled food easy to remove.
• Reptile calcium and, when indicated, a reptile multivitamin selected as part of the animal's overall UVB and supplementation plan.
• A small dusting cup or clean plastic bag for coating insects immediately before feeding.
• Smooth, rounded or silicone-tipped feeding tongs for controlled prey presentation. Avoid sharp forceps that can injure the mouth if the gecko strikes the tool.
• Escape-resistant feeding dishes or elevated feeder cups for worms, larvae, and arboreal species.
• Paper towels, a small sieve or transfer cup, and dedicated cleaning tools for keeping feeder bins dry and removing dead insects, shed skins, frass, and moldy food.

Step-by-step gut loading

1. Choose healthy prey of the correct size. Discard dead, weak, mold-contaminated, or foul-smelling insects. The prey should be small enough for the gecko to capture and swallow safely.
2. Move the insects to a clean holding container. Provide adequate ventilation and enough surface area or hides to prevent crowding. Keep species that require different conditions in separate containers.
3. Feed and hydrate the colony. If the insects have just arrived, allow them to rehydrate and eat before the final gut-loading period. Replace wet or spoiled foods promptly.
4. Begin the final calcium-rich gut load. Use a nutritionally complete commercial gut-loading ration for approximately 24–48 hours before feeding; some veterinary protocols use up to about 72 hours. Follow the gut-load manufacturer's directions when they specify a particular interval.
5. Keep the gut load available continuously during that period. The goal is for the insect's gastrointestinal tract and, when possible, body nutrient content to be enriched when the gecko eats it. Do not let the insects become dehydrated while gut loading.
6. Transfer only the insects you intend to feed. Do not pour shipping substrate, frass, dead insects, or feeder-bin debris into the gecko enclosure.
7. Dust immediately before feeding when indicated. Place the selected insects in a small cup or bag with a small amount of supplement and gently swirl or shake until they have a light, even coating. They should look lightly powdered, not heavily caked.
8. Offer the prey promptly. Insects groom powder from their bodies and loose dust falls off, so dusted prey should be fed soon after preparation.
9. Remove leftovers. Collect uneaten crickets, roaches, superworms, or other mobile prey after the feeding period so they cannot bite or stress the gecko.

Important: gut loading and dusting are not interchangeable. Gut loading improves the insect from the inside; dusting supplies nutrients on the outside. Veterinary reptile-nutrition guidance commonly uses both techniques, with the exact supplement schedule adjusted for species, age, reproductive status, UVB exposure, feeder choice, and any nutritionally complete prepared diet being used.

Gut-loading and handling common feeder types

Crickets

• Keep in a ventilated container with substantial climbing surface such as egg-carton sections; crowding and damp conditions rapidly increase losses.
• Provide the calcium-rich gut load during the final feeding period plus a safe moisture source. Remove wet food before it molds.
• For tong feeding, pick up one cricket gently with rounded-tip tongs and present it a short distance in front of the gecko so the insect can move naturally. Do not push the insect against the gecko's lips.
• For geckos that prefer hunting, release only a few crickets at a time and watch the feeding session. Remove uneaten crickets afterward.

Dubia and other feeder roaches

• Use an escape-resistant container with ventilation and cardboard hides. Provide a complete gut load and moisture without making the enclosure wet.
• When using tongs, hold the roach gently along the rear of the body without crushing it and allow the legs to move; motion helps trigger a feeding response.
• Roaches can also be placed in a smooth-sided feeder dish so terrestrial geckos can hunt without the prey disappearing under enclosure furnishings.
• Use only legally permitted feeder species in your area and never release feeder roaches outdoors.

Mealworms and superworms

• Keep larvae in a dry, ventilated container with an appropriate nutritious feed substrate and a small fresh moisture source. They can be gut loaded, but hydration and cleanliness remain important.
• A smooth, shallow escape-resistant dish is usually the easiest presentation method. This also reduces accidental ingestion of loose enclosure substrate.
• For tong feeding, grasp the posterior portion of the worm lightly and let the front end move. Do not squeeze the insect.
• Superworms are larger and can bite; use tongs for controlled presentation and do not leave oversized or uneaten superworms loose with a small gecko.

Black soldier fly larvae

• These larvae naturally contain more calcium than many traditional feeder insects. Keep them according to the supplier's instructions and consider their calcium contribution when planning dusting.
• Because they are small and difficult to hold without injury, offer them in a shallow smooth-sided dish rather than individually with forceps.
• Their movement in the dish usually provides enough stimulation for leopard, banded, fat-tailed, and other terrestrial insectivorous geckos.

Silkworms

• Silkworms are specialist feeders and should receive fresh mulberry leaves or a properly prepared commercial mulberry-based silkworm chow rather than a generic cricket diet.
• Keep their food and enclosure clean and dry enough to prevent mold; replace contaminated chow promptly.
• Offer small silkworms in a feeding dish or hold the posterior third very gently with smooth tongs. Their soft bodies are easily crushed.

Hornworms

Wild hornworm warning: Feed only commercially raised hornworms intended for reptile feeding. Do not offer hornworms collected from tomato, tobacco, pepper, eggplant, potato, or other nightshade plants. Wild hornworms may contain plant-derived alkaloids and may also have been exposed to pesticides or other environmental contaminants. Commercial feeder hornworms raised on controlled hornworm chow are the safer choice.

• Maintain them on the commercial hornworm chow supplied or recommended for the culture. They grow extremely rapidly, so check their size before every feeding.
• Use hornworms mainly as a high-moisture rotation feeder rather than the sole diet.
• For tong presentation, support the worm gently near the rear portion of the body. Never squeeze the soft abdomen, and do not offer a hornworm that has grown too large for the gecko to swallow easily.

Locusts or cultured grasshoppers

• Use only commercially raised, pesticide-free cultures. Gut load and hydrate them in much the same manner as crickets, while providing adequate vertical space.
• Present with feeding tongs or release one at a time into a supervised feeding area. Their speed and jumping ability make controlled feeding especially useful in planted enclosures.

Flightless fruit flies, bean beetles, and other tiny prey

• Maintain these insects on their appropriate culture medium; the culture itself is part of their nutritional preparation.
• For tiny geckos and hatchlings, tap a small number into a feeding cup, leaf cluster, or controlled feeding area rather than attempting to grasp individual insects with tongs.
• If dusting is part of the supplementation plan, use only a very light coating so the tiny prey do not become immobilized.

Waxworms and other high-fat larvae

• Use as occasional treats or short-term appetite enticement, not as a staple regardless of whether they can be gut loaded.
• Offer from a shallow dish or with smooth feeding tongs so the number eaten can be controlled.

How to hand-feed or tong-feed safely

1. Feed during the species' normal activity period. For leopard, fat-tailed, banded, tokay, leaf-tailed, and most cave geckos, this is usually toward dusk or after lights begin to dim. Day geckos should be fed during daylight activity.
2. Use a calm approach. Bring the prey into the gecko's visual field from the front or side without touching the face. Allow a moment for the gecko to orient and stalk.
3. Keep the tongs still enough for an accurate strike but let the prey move. Gentle insect movement is usually more effective than repeatedly waving the tongs at the animal.
4. Release as soon as the gecko has a secure bite. Never pull against the gecko's mouth. If the gecko bites the tongs, keep the tool still and allow it to release rather than tugging.
5. Offer one prey item at a time. This makes intake easy to count and helps prevent multiple loose insects from hiding in the enclosure.
6. Stop when interest declines. Do not repeatedly touch the mouth or force prey between the jaws of a gecko that refuses food.
7. Preserve normal hunting behavior. Tong feeding is useful for monitoring intake, shy animals, complicated enclosures, or occasional individual feeding, but healthy geckos should still have opportunities to stalk and capture appropriate prey when it can be done safely.

Useful staple or rotation insects

• appropriately sized crickets;
• dubia or other appropriately sized feeder roaches where legal;
• black soldier fly larvae;
• silkworms;
• locusts or grasshoppers from controlled, pesticide-free commercial cultures;
• mealworms and superworms in rotation rather than as the sole diet;
• hornworms as an occasional high-moisture feeder;
• flightless fruit flies, bean beetles, small crickets, and other tiny cultured prey for very small species and hatchlings.

Waxworms and other very fatty larvae are useful as occasional treats or short-term appetite stimulants but are poor choices as staple foods. Wild-caught insects should generally be avoided because pesticide, parasite, and toxin exposure cannot be reliably controlled. Wash hands after handling feeder insects, feeder-bin debris, or reptile equipment, and keep feeder-preparation utensils separate from human food-preparation equipment.

Complete Gecko Diets, Fruit, and Nectar-Type Foods

Commercial powdered diets formulated specifically as complete diets for fruit- and insect-eating geckos are useful for crested, gargoyle, chahoua, leachianus, and many similar New Caledonian geckos. These products are mixed with water according to the manufacturer's directions and provide a more predictable calcium, vitamin, protein, and energy profile than plain fruit or baby food.

When a nutritionally complete gecko diet is used as the staple, do not routinely add extra calcium or multivitamin directly to the prepared food unless the manufacturer or veterinarian specifically recommends it. Excess supplementation can be as undesirable as deficiency.

Fresh soft fruit can be used as a small enrichment item for species that naturally consume fruit, but it should not replace a complete formulated diet. Useful occasional fruits include papaya, mango, fig, pear, berries, and melon. Plain fruit baby food, honey, jam, and sweetened fruit products are not balanced staple foods and can promote excessive sugar intake and selective feeding.

Calcium, Vitamins, and UVB Exposure

Calcium management is especially important for rapidly growing juveniles and egg-producing females. Insectivorous geckos require properly gut-loaded prey and usually benefit from light calcium dusting of feeder insects. A reptile multivitamin should be used according to the product label and the animal's overall diet rather than added indiscriminately to every meal.

• Juveniles and reproductive females: usually require more frequent calcium support than maintenance adults. Lightly dust appropriate insect meals with a phosphorus-free calcium supplement unless the feeder or a nutritionally complete prepared diet already supplies the intended calcium.
• Healthy nonbreeding adults: use lighter, less frequent supplementation than for growing or reproductive animals, adjusted to insect frequency, gut loading, UVB exposure, and any complete prepared diet being fed.
• Multivitamins: follow the product label and species-specific veterinary guidance rather than using a universal schedule. Avoid layering several products that contain the same fat-soluble vitamins or minerals.
• Vitamin D3: coordinate dietary D3 with UVB exposure. Do not assume that heavy oral D3 supplementation is a safer substitute for appropriate species-level UVB, and avoid unnecessary duplication between gut loads, dusting powders, and complete diets.

Low-level, appropriately controlled UVB can be useful even for many nocturnal and crepuscular geckos, while diurnal day geckos have a stronger expectation for UVB exposure. Lighting, basking opportunity, supplement choice, and diet should therefore be considered together.

Species-Specific Feeding Guidelines

The schedules below are practical starting points rather than fixed prescriptions. Use the individual species section for food type, timing, feeding location, and presentation, then adjust intake to age, body condition, reproduction, temperature, season, and veterinary assessment.

Water and Hydration

Provide clean fresh water in a shallow, stable dish for all pet geckos even when the species commonly laps droplets from foliage. Arboreal species such as crested, gargoyle, chahoua, leachianus, mourning, tokay, and day geckos may drink readily from leaves or enclosure surfaces after misting.

Misting should be used to create the species-appropriate humidity cycle, not simply to keep the enclosure continuously wet. Chronic excessive humidity with poor ventilation can be as harmful as dehydration. Prepared gecko diets should be mixed with clean water and discarded before they ferment or mold.

Foods and Practices to Avoid

• Fireflies: never feed them; they contain toxins that can be fatal to lizards.
• Wild-caught insects from treated areas: pesticide and contaminant exposure cannot be predicted.
• Fruit as the sole diet: plain fruit is deficient in protein and minerals and is not a complete diet for fruit-eating geckos.
• Baby food, honey, jam, or syrup as staples: these are high-sugar foods and do not provide balanced reptile nutrition.
• Dog food, cat food, or processed human foods: inappropriate for routine gecko nutrition.
• One-insect diets: feeding only mealworms or only crickets increases the risk of nutrient imbalance and selective feeding.
• Uncontrolled vitamin supplementation: do not combine multiple calcium/D3 and multivitamin products without accounting for ingredients already present in complete diets.
• Oversized prey: large insects increase the risk of regurgitation, oral injury, and gastrointestinal problems.
• Live prey left overnight: hungry crickets and other insects can injure resting geckos.

Weight and Body-Condition Monitoring

Feeding recommendations should always be adjusted to the individual. A small digital gram scale is one of the most useful tools for gecko husbandry. Record juvenile weights every 1–2 weeks during rapid growth and adult weights approximately monthly. Sudden or progressive weight loss deserves investigation even when the gecko appears to be eating.

Leopard and African fat-tailed geckos should have well-muscled bodies and substantial tail reserves without marked abdominal fat or an excessively bulbous tail. Arboreal geckos should maintain good muscle over the pelvis and tail base without heavy fat deposits around the abdomen or limbs.