What's the best food for my leopard gecko: dried or live insects?

It is always recommended to gut load all prey to maximize nutritional value. Crickets, mealworms and other prey typically arrive from suppliers with a piece of fruit or gel for moisture and cardboard or simple oats for food. When you get them home, offer a high quality baby cereal mix, tropical fish flakes and fresh greens and veggies. The nutrition they receive will then be passed on to Rio. Crickets are more nutritious than mealworms, especially adequately gut loaded crickets. Less chitin as well unless they are freshly molted mealworms. If you feed a diet such as Repashy, Rio shouldn't need additional calcium unless he has a deficiency. This would need to be diagnosed by your herp veterinarian. Since you feed other foods as well, he may not be getting enough calcium, so dusting any live prey would be recommended.

You can use a piece of fruit temporarily but that may attract fruit flies or other undesirable insects. Water can be provided using a very shallow bowl or a commercial insect gel. Be sure to "gut load" them with healthy foods and supplements for 24 hours prior to feeding Lucky Man. This will maximize nutritional value. Crickets can eat cereals, dry oatmeal, nuts ad seeds. If you feed fruit and vegetables, remove them frequently to prevent rotting.

Black Soldier Fly larvae are a healthy, nutritious feeder insect for your gecko. High in calcium, low in phosphorus, black soldier fly larvae make a great staple food or treat. Dubia roaches are a healthy protein-rich food for geckos. It is best to have a variety of food for your gecko and not just stick to one type of insect.

Mealworms aren't as nutritious as crickets or even dubia roaches. The increased amount of chitin also makes digestion and issue in juveniles and small reptiles. you can feed freshly molted mealworms, they are "softer". Another option would be calciworms (aka Phoenix worms). Whatever prey you decide to feed Lyra, be sure to gut load them for 24 hours prior to offering. Offer the greens or commercial gecko diet in the morning, about an hour after the lights and heat lamp turn on. You can offer prey later in the day.

Offer appropriately sized prey, no bigger than the space between the eyes. Confirm proper temperature as well. Low temps can affect appetite and digestion in reptiles. Be sure to dust prey at every feeding with a multivitamin and calcium supplements. Gutloading prey for 24 hours will also maximize nutritional value. Do not be concerned if she refuses food for one day.

Thanks for reaching out about Norman. Geckos should be offered food every other day at least. Mealworms are not a complete meal. A wider variety of insects need to be offered and they need to be gut-loaded. Heat needs to be in the POTZ (Preferred Optimal Temperature Zone) for the species. UVB exposure is necessary for vitamin D synthesis and calcium metabolism. Good luck.

Hello. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Great question! Yes, bearded dragons should be fed live prey. They will not usually eat something that is already dead. Hope this answers your question. Best wishes.