Feeding a crested gecko. What should it eat?
A complete, balanced diet — fruit-insect mashes, live insects, feeding frequency and supplementation. A complete feeding guide based on our own breeding experience.
The basis of the diet — balanced fruit-insect mashes
Crested geckos are omnivores, and their diet in captivity should be balanced, complete and rich in all the necessary nutrients. In our breeding, the foundation of feeding is ready-made, balanced powdered mashes created specifically with the particular needs of crested geckos in mind.
Our top pick and absolute favorite in the daily menu is Bio Gecko Food — a Polish, complete, top-quality food, tailored to the nutritional requirements of these reptiles.
Diluted with water to a puree-like consistency, the mash contains everything the gecko needs in one bowl:
- Protein and amino acids
- Fats and carbohydrates
- Vitamins and minerals
- Natural ingredients of fruit and insect origin
This makes a good food a genuine, complete meal — not just a "fruity addition," but a fully sufficient daily diet. In our breeding we mainly offer:
- Bio Gecko Food — a Polish, complete and excellently digestible food, available in practical 30 g packs (ideal for a single gecko or to try out) and 100 g packs (a great, economical choice for more animals or for regular use).
- Gecko Nutrition High Insect — an alternative food with a high content of insect protein, a great flavor variation.
Insects — natural hunting and dietary variety
Besides ready-made mashes, our geckos also receive live insects — mainly banana crickets, which we always dust with calcium without vitamin D3 right before feeding. We usually offer insects about once a week, treating them as a variation and an environmental enrichment element, not as the sole basis of the diet.
Live insects serve a purpose beyond pure nutritional value. The crested gecko is naturally a nocturnal predator, and releasing live insects into a well-furnished terrarium lets it:
- Act on its natural hunting instincts
- Increase physical activity and move around the terrarium
- Experience environmental enrichment beyond eating from a bowl
Insects are a great supplement to the staple mashes. A gecko fed exclusively on insects (without proper supplementation and foods such as Bio Gecko Food) would be at risk of serious deficiencies in key nutrients.
How often should you feed a crested gecko?
Feeding frequency depends on the gecko's age, size and overall condition. There is no single universal rule — the best approach is constant observation of the animal and adjusting the rhythm to its individual needs.
Juveniles have higher energy requirements due to intensive growth. We feed young geckos fresh mash every day or every other day, and many of them eagerly hunt insects at every opportunity. At this stage, regularity and monitoring proper weight gain are key.
Adult geckos can be fed less often. In our breeding, adult individuals receive mash 2–3 times a week, plus live insects once a week. Many adult geckos lose interest in chasing insects over time and choose only the easily available mash from the bowl — this is a completely natural behavior.
Supplementation — when to give calcium and vitamins?
When the basis of the diet is a complete, balanced food (e.g. Bio Gecko Food), intensive additional vitamin supplementation is not necessary — high-quality formulas already have the right profile of minerals and vitamins. Overdosing on vitamins can do the animal more harm than good.
Our supplementation rules:
- Calcium without D3 — used to thoroughly dust insects before every feeding.
- Vitamin preparations — used occasionally (e.g. once every 2–3 weeks) or only in situations of increased demand (e.g. for females during the egg-laying period).
If you base feeding on proven foods, you don't need to add synthetic vitamins to every portion.
Every gecko is different
Appetite, growth rate and enthusiasm for food vary significantly between individuals. Two healthy geckos of the same age can develop at a different pace and prefer different flavors — this is completely normal.
Instead of comparing your pet to others, watch its individual development:
- Does it maintain a correct, stable weight?
- Is it active after dark?
- Does it defecate and eat regularly?
- Does its skin and behavior give no cause for concern?
If the gecko is active, keeps good condition and sheds properly, occasionally eating a smaller amount of food shouldn't be a cause for concern. Temporary drops in appetite — especially in colder winter months or right after a terrarium change — happen very often.