We’ve had no problems feeding them to several of our pets, and they have all lived long lives. We recommend mealworms for most people because they are quiet, long-lasting, and nutritious. Most Leopard geckos will eat about two crickets per inch of body size. To dust your feeder insects, you will need to purchase a commercial calcium powder, often also containing vitamin D3, and place it on the insects before each feeding. Image Credit: Svetlanistaya, Shutterstock It can leave your pet with soft and broken bones, reducing its ability to move. Too little calcium can result in Metabolic Bone Disease, which is life-threatening and challenging to reverse. Calcium is an essential nutrient that your pet cannot get enough of without supplementation. You will also need to coat the insects with calcium dusting a few minutes before feeding. Caterpillars are another bug to avoid because they often contain toxic chemicals. However, if it’s an emergency or a child wants to feed the gecko a bug, make sure you don’t collect the bugs from an area where there are pesticides, like most gardens, and only feed one or two at a time to make sure your pet doesn’t have an adverse reaction from parasites.Īvoid spiders when feeding yard bugs because they can deliver a painful and even poisonous bite that can cause your pet serious health problems. Wild bugs often contain parasites that can be harmful to your pet’s health, so it’s best to avoid feeding them to your pet. Though it may be tempting to catch crickets, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects in the yard around your home, doing so can be dangerous. Many of these insects contain too much fat to feed daily, but the Black Soldier Fly Larvae is one of the most popular exotic food because it has the correct calcium to phosphorus ratio, and you can often find it for sale online. Hornworms, silkworms, super worms, and butterworms are all good for your leopard gecko to eat on occasion, and we recommend using them to offer your pet a varied diet if you see them for sale. There are other feeder insects available, but they are much harder to find and often quite costly.

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