Best Crested Gecko Food: What To Feed Crested Geckos

Any new pet owner’s biggest concern is that their pet is receiving the best care. Providing great care includes providing the Best Crested Gecko Food. Reptiles can be tricky because they need so much specialized care. Luckily, reptile companies have made this easy for us. Commercially made crested gecko diets are available and used by most owners.

These meal replacements provide all the nutrients and vitamins a crested gecko needs. But which meal replacement is best? There’s so many to choose from. Keep reading and we’ll help you find the best product for your new lizard.

What Is The Best Crested Gecko Diet?

When getting a new pet, everyone wants to make sure they’re feeding their pet the best. Crested geckos, like many reptiles, need a specific, but varied diet. If they don’t receive enough variety, they can fall ill and develop disease.

To keep your geckos happy, it’s best to feed them a meal replacement powder rich in vitamins and nutrients. Besides that, they should receive supplements, fresh fruits, and insects. This article will mainly focus on meal replacement powders. To learn more about feeding your crested gecko fruits, check out our other articles here and here.

Can Crested Geckos Eat Mealworms?

Crested geckos can eat mealworms, but you shouldn’t feed them often. Even though they have a lot of protein, they have even more fat. Too much fat isn’t good for your gecko, so you should only give mealworms as a treat.

Can Crested Geckos Eat Baby Food?

It is okay for your crested gecko to eat baby food, but it shouldn’t be given often. Usually, baby food will be used when lizards won’t eat fresh fruit. The baby food helps entice them to eat, and they will begin to eat fresh fruit in the future.

If you need to feed your crested gecko baby food, there are some better than others. You should only use high-quality baby food made of fruit.

They should be sugar free, and there should be no preservatives. Never feed baby foods high in phosphorus.

Here are some safe baby food flavors:

• Apricots
• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Mangos
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Strawberries

NEVER feed citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, pineapples, or passionfruit.

Does Your Crested Gecko Need Supplements?

It is important that your gecko get additional supplements. Any insects you’re feeding should first be dusted with calcium powder. This should be done about 2-3 times a week.

Multivitamins are also available. These are usually only given at the direction of a veterinarian. It’s possible to overdose your gecko on multivitamins. They should only be given once a week.

Best Crested Gecko Food

Everyone has heard that crested geckos are supposed to be so easy to care for. Why then, does their diet seem so complicated? What can a crested gecko eat? What can I feed my crested gecko?

A gecko’s diet is very important to their health. They need lots of vitamins and minerals to stay healthy.

Luckily, meal replacement powders are available. These make it super easy to give our geckos the best diet. They’re designed to have all the vitamins and nutrients crested geckos need to live a full life.

Watch this video: Best Crested Gecko Food

Best Commercial Crested Gecko Food

Every crested gecko should be given commercially-made meal replacements. Including insects, fruits, and supplements in their diet is great. But, they’re not enough on their own.

Meal replacements ensure your gecko receives the nutrition they need to stay healthy.

Using meal replacement powder isn’t hard because there are instructions on the bottle. Some brands offer powders that can be fed dry, but most need to be mixed with water.

Each meal replacement will vary. However, usually you will mix one part powder to two parts water. After mixing, the meal replacement should resemble a thick sauce that your gecko can lap up.

When looking for a meal replacement powder, there are a few things to keep in mind. You’ll want a powder that is nutritionally sound, covering all the needs of your gecko. High protein content, along with fruits and vitamins are a must.

You’ll also want to look for powders with good reviews. See whether most geckos are interested in the food or not. Some powders smell better than others. Picky geckos may likely reject some powders over others.

Choosing which food to feed your crested gecko can be nerve wracking. There’s so many options. Which one should you choose? Fortunately, we’ve don’t all the hard work for you.

Below is a list of the most popular brands and their products.

Best Crested Gecko Food	Image	Rating	Price
Pangea Crested Gecko Food		9	Click here
Zoo Med Crested Gecko Food		8	Click here
Repashy Crested Gecko Food		8	Click here
Fluker’s Crested Gecko Food		7	Click here
Exo Terra Crested Gecko Food		6	Click here

Pangea Crested Gecko Food

Pangea crested gecko diet has seven total options for foods. Six of these can be used as a complete meal replacement. Many crested gecko keepers use these as the sole source of their gecko’s diet.

Pangea is considered one of the best brands in the industry. They produce a wide range of formulas and flavors for geckos. The formulators of these diets strive to provide the most nutritious foods possible.

Many crested gecko owners have found that their pets have a better response to Pangea foods than other brands.

The only option that cannot be used as a meal replacement is the Fruit Mix Gecko Treat. This is for obvious reasons (it’s a treat). These treats only have a small amount of fats and proteins, so it’s not suitable for solitary use.

Truthfully, the Fruit Mix Gecko Treat isn’t best suited for crested geckos, anyway. It was designed for New Caledonian gecko diets. Still, crested geckos can have it sometimes.

Pangea Crested Gecko Food With Insects

We’ve included this diet first because it is one of the most popular. This diet is high in fats and proteins from natural sources. Insects like crickets and black solider fly larvae are included for maximum nutrition.

Besides insects, the diet also consists of bananas, apricots, and papaya.

This is one of the best diets if you plan to feed your gecko a commercial-food only diet. It also makes a good supplement for those of you that feed live insects.

Gecko owners have reported that even the pickiest of eaters are drawn to this diet.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Pangea Gecko Diet Growth & Breeding Formula

This is one of the newest diets Pangea has come out with. As the name suggests, it is best used when breeding your geckos. It is nutritionally ideal for any breeding adults, but particularly egg laying females.

Breeding females need more nutrition than your average gecko. Eggs can quickly drain a gecko’s nutrition if they’re not getting proper supplements. This diet includes a higher dose of protein, fat, and calcium.

This formula is thicker than others. Gecko owners have noticed it sticking to their gecko’s tails and toes. If you find this to be an issue, you can always mix it with more water.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Watermelon Mango Pangea Gecko Diet

Feed your gecko a variety of meal replacements, fruits, and insects. Do that, and your new friend will be around for years.

Richer in fruits, it smells very sweet. A mix of watermelon, banana, and mango go into this mix, and crested geckos will go crazy for it.

Besides fruits, the diet contains a good amount of proteins from eggs, whey, and casein.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Apricot Pangea Gecko Diet

This is another gecko diet that is rich in fruits and likely tastes as good as it smells. Like the watermelon diet, geckos go crazy over this food.

The main ingredients are apricot and banana. The protein comes from casein, eggs, and whey.

This is one of the best diets for picky eaters.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Papaya Pangea Gecko Diet

Another fruity option, this diet is more likely to resemble the wild diets of geckos. Bananas and papayas are native fruits in New Caledonia, the native lands of many wild geckos.

Like the others, protein is sourced from eggs, whey, and casein.

Like the other fruit-based diets, this one is a huge hit among geckos.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Pangea Gecko Diet With Fig & Insects

This is one of the newest diets from Pangea; it came out in October 2018. This is similar to the other insect diet, but is fruitier and more enticing to geckos.

Insects in your gecko’s diet is a must-have because they are incredibly nutritious. They are high in fats and proteins, both nutrients important to your gecko.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Zoo Med Crested Gecko Food

Zoo Med is one of the most reputable brands when it comes to all things reptile. It makes sense then that they provide a nutritionally-rich crested gecko food.

There are three flavors of Zoo Med’s crested gecko food — tropical, plum, and watermelon. Besides the difference in flavor, the diets are all but identical in nutrition.

Zoo Med created their crested gecko diet and had it tested by an animal nutritionist. The diets meet all crested gecko dietary needs and can be fed at all life stages.

One of the great things about this food is that it can be fed wet or dry. If you want to feed it wet, you’ll just add a bit of water. Feeding it wet can sometimes entice picky eaters to feed.

The ingredients included in Zoo Med’s crested gecko diets are nutritionally sound. They are made with organic fruits like banana, mango, and papaya.

Every diet includes high levels of protein, crude fat, crude fiber, calcium, and phosphorous. Proteins are provided by black solider fly larvae and pea protein.

The diets also include helpful probiotics. They help with the digestive health of your crested gecko. It even includes paprika which helps with color enhancement.

82% of reviewers on Amazon give Zoo Med crested gecko food 5-stars. Most say that the food smells sweet and their crested geckos go crazy for it.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Repashy Crested Gecko Diet

Repashy is another trusted brand for crested gecko food. Repashy powders can be used as a full replacement to other foods. Most of the supplements are similar, but they come in different flavors.

The difference between Repashy and other brands is that Repashy avoids the use of insects. The founder states that he’s allergic to crickets. So, he set out to create a gecko food rich in other proteins. Still, some of their products do contain insects if you want to provide that.

Unlike Zoo Med foods, you don’t have the option to feed wet or dry. All Repashy foods must be fed wet.

Overall, reviewers seem very happy with Repashy foods. The original products has received an 83% 5-star rating on Amazon at time of publishing. Reviewers have said that geckos are addicted to the diet. They also notice their gecko’s colors become brighter.

Repashy Crested Gecko MRP Diet

This is a fruit-based diet that is rich in proteins, crude fats, crude fiber, and calcium. Fruits include banana, dates, fig, mango, and watermelon. Protein comes from pea and rice protein.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Repashy Grubs ‘N’ Fruit Crested Gecko Diet

For those of you that want your geckos to have insects in their diet, this may be a good option. In total, the formula contains 30% insects and 50% fruit.

Fruits in this diet include banana, dates, mango, coconut, and watermelon.

Proteins come from black solider fly larvae, but also from pea and rice protein.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Repashy Crested Gecko MRP ‘Mango’ Superblend

This blend is similar to the original MRP diet, but it includes more of a mango flavoring. Besides mango, it also contains banana, dates, and watermelon.

Unlike the original diet, it includes a wider range of proteins. Proteins come from whey, insect meal, eggs, and pea protein.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Repashy Crested Gecko MRP Classic

This diet is another take on the original MRP diet. This diet focuses on bananas, dates, and figs for its food sources. Its protein sources come from whey and dried egg.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Repashy Banana Cream Pie

Rather than a meal replacement, this is a yummy treat. It is a treat you can feel good about giving your gecko because it contains healthy vitamins and minerals. It also contains some protein from whey.

Containing 70% fruit, this treat is great for even the pickiest of geckos. It can be fed several ways, as a gel, paste, or a smoothie. Just follow the directions.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Fluker’s Crested Gecko Food

Fluker’s is another leading brand in the reptile food market. Still, it doesn’t seem to be as popular as some of the other brands. This may be because they only have one option available.

On Amazon, only 68% of the total reviews were 5-stars at the time of publishing. Some say that the food has an unpleasant odor and their geckos aren’t drawn to it. Still, others seem to have had much success.

Crested Gecko Premium Fruit And Insect Diet

One of the great things about this food is that it is a complete meal replacement good for all ages.

It consists of fruits like banana, mango, and blueberry. Protein sources come from mealworms and whey. It also contains vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids essential to your gecko’s health.

This is considered a full replacement powder. But, the manufacturers do recommend feeding live insects twice a week for stimulation.

Like other brands, this replacement powder needs to be mixed with water before feeding.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Exo Terra Crested Gecko Food

Like Fluker’s, Exo Terra only has a single crested gecko food. For their benefit, the company made feeding simpler for customers. Still, it is the least favorite option on Amazon.

Only 59% of the Amazon reviews are 5-stars at time of punlishing. Some customers complained that it was too expensive and dried up too fast. Others said their geckos were not interested in the food.

Unlike the other brands that require the diet to be mixed, Exo Terra’s food comes pre-mixed in individual cups. The single serve cups prevents mess and waste.

The smell and taste of Exo Terra’s food is fruity, enticing geckos to eat. The diet is also rich in calcium and magnesium which is perfect for geckos that are laying eggs.

It is a great food for breeding, but it’s also great food for geckos of all life stages. It supports growth and bone health throughout their lifetime.

Sources of protein come from peas, lima beans, whey, eggs, and soy. Fruits include apple, pineapple, and mango.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Best Insects For A Crested Gecko Food List

Not all geckos will be interested in eating live insects, but it’s still a good idea to try and provide them. They are a great source of protein. Even if you feed your geckos a strictly commercial diet, insects are a great supplement.

Insects and worms are classified as either “staple” foods or “treat” foods. Staples are nutritious and can be fed to your gecko regularly.

Just because an insect is labeled a “staple” food doesn’t mean it should be their only source of food, though. It shouldn’t even be the only insect provided.

If you only give your gecko only one type of insect, it can cause some problems:

• Obesity
• Loss of appetite
• Vitamin Toxicity or Deficiency
• Organ Disease
• Metabollic Bone Disease

To prevent these issues, make sure to feed your gecko a variety of insects and worms. Each insect and worm has its own kinds of vitamins, so a variety of insects is important.

Treat foods should only be fed occasionally. If given too often, they may cause excessive weight gain, organ disease, or other problems.

Here are some of the best insects to feed your crested gecko:

Dubia Roaches

Dubia roaches are one of the most popular feeder roaches. They come in all kinds of sizes for any sized lizard. They are very rich in nutrients, and they’re easier to take care of than crickets.

Nutrition:

• Moisture: 66%
• Protein: 23%
• Fat: 7%
• Fiber: 3%
• Ash: 1%
• Calcium:Phosphorus ratio: 1:3

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Black Solider Fly Larvae

These are the larval form of the black solider fly, Hermetia illucens. In stores, they will sometimes go by the name “NutriGrubs”.

These are one of the best insects to give your gecko because they’re easy to store and are low maintenance. Better yet, they’re great nutritionally. They are best known for their extremely high content of calcium.

Nutrition:

• Moisture: 61%
• Protein: 18%
• Fat: 14%
• Ash: 4%
• Fiber: 3%
• Calcium:Phosphorus ratio: 3:1

>> Click here for the latest prices.

Crickets

Crickets have been the most popular feeder insect for years. They have a great balance of nutrition, containing lots of protein and amino acids. They’re also low in fat.

One downside to crickets is that they’re low in fat. You’ll have to dust them in calcium or gut-load them before they can be fed to your gecko.

Nutrition:

• Moisture: 77.1%
• Protein: 15.4%
• Fat: 3.3%
• Fiber: 2.2%
• Ash: 1.1%
• Calcium:Phosphorus ratio: 1:9

Feed your gecko a variety of meal replacements, fruits, and insects. Do this and your new friend will be around for years.

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Best Worms For A Crested Gecko Food Dish

Just like you’ll want to feed your geckos insects, you’ll also want to feed them worms. Some worms are better than others, however. Some are too fatty, and should only be fed as treats.

Worms that are okay with every feeding…

Silkworms

Silkworms are a worm that is highly nutritious. They have lots of protein and calcium. They are also low in fat. They also last a long time because they’re so easy to care for.

Nutrition:

• Moisture: 79%
• Protein: 13%
• Fiber: 3%
• Fat: 2%
• Ash: 1%
• Calcium:Phosphorous ratio: 1:2

Only to be used as treats…

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Butterworms

Unfortunately, butterworms are very high in fat and should only be used as treats. Butterworms are good for picky eaters. They have a sweet scent that some researchers believe entices most reptiles.

Nutrition:

• Moisture: 60.2%
• Protein: 15.5%
• Fat: 29.4%
• Fiber: 1.4%
• Ash: 0.8%
• Calcium:Phosphorus ratio: 1:18

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Hornworms

Hornworms are very nutritious, so some people argue that they can be used as a staple feeder. However, their moisture content is very high. They will cause diarrhea if fed too often.

Nutrition:

• Moisture: 85%
• Protein: 9%
• Calcium:Phosphorus ratio: 1:3

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Superworms

These worms are a popular feeder insect, but they should only be fed as treats. They have a high content of fat and phosphorous.

Nutrition:

• Moisture: 57.9%
• Protein: 19.7%
• Fat: 17.7%
• Fiber: 2.7%
• Ash: 1%
• Calcium:Phosphorus ratio: 1:18

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Waxworms

Waxworms are the larvae of lesser or greater wax moths. They have a decent amount of protein. Still, they are only suitable for treats because of their high fat content.

Nutrition:

• Moisture: 58.5%
• Fat: 24.9%
• Protein: 14.1%
• Fiber: 3.4%
• Ash: 0.6%
• Calcium:Phosphorous ratio: 1:6

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Mealworms

Although mealworms are high in protein, they are also high in fat, and should only be used as treats.

Nutrients:

• Moisture: 62%
• Protein: 20%
• Fat: 13%
• Fiber: 2%
• Calcium:Phosphorous ratio: 1:7

>> Click here to see the latest prices.

Can You Make Homemade Crested Gecko Food?

While you can make homemade crested gecko food, it is only good as a treat. It won’t have the same nutrients that meal replacements have. They still need meal replacements as their staple diet.

If you would like to make your gecko a homemade treat, you can make smoothies. Making smoothies is quite simple, just follow the recipe below:

Ingredients:

• 1 can (28oz) of unsweetened mango pulp
• 1 small to medium ripe banana
• 1 to 2 soft pears
• 3 to 4 figs
• One or two other in-season fruits
• One can of low fat, unsweetened yogurt (strawberry, peach, or mixed berries)

Instructions:

1. Put all fruits into a blender and blend until smooth
2. Pour puree in to mixing bowl
3. Add yogurt and mix
4. Scoop into ice trays and freeze

What’s The Best Baby Crested Gecko Food?

A baby crested gecko diet is similar to an adult diet. They usually won’t eat for the first week after they’re born. Instead, they survive off the energy of their yolk sack. Still, you should provide food 24-48 hours after hatching in case they want to eat.

They should be given a crested gecko meal replacement every other day. They should also be given gut-loaded insects around one month of age.

How Much Do Crested Geckos Eat?

To know how much to feed your crested geckos, read the instructions on the meal replacement package. Generally, though, they will get about two tablespoons with each meal.

How Often To Feed A Crested Gecko

Crested geckos are best fed in the evening because they’re nocturnal. Juveniles should be fed once a day, while adults can be fed every three days.

How To Feed A Crested Gecko

Feeding crested geckos is pretty easy. Most people feed replacement powder. These simply need to be placed in a small dish so the lizard can lap it up.

If you’re feeding fruit, you’ll want to mince the pieces small enough that they can easily swallow them.

You’ll want to remove any uneaten food within 24 hours before it begins to rot.

Do Crested Geckos Need Water?

Of course, just like any animal, geckos need plenty of water. Not only do they need to drink it, but their tank needs to have a humidity between 60-80%.

You should provide a shallow dish of water in your geckos tank for them to drink from. You should also frequently mist the sides of the tank. Misting will keep the humidity up and provide water for your gecko to drink.

Conclusion

We know that finding the best food for your new crested gecko can be a nerve-wracking process. Fortunately, there are many great products available to keep your gecko happy and healthy.

Although meal replacements are great, your gecko will be heathier if you also feed them fresh fruits and insects.

Feed your gecko a variety of meal replacements, fruits, and insects. Do that and your new friend will be around for years.

Find all our guides to crested geckos here or learn how often they eat here. You can also find out how big they get here.