| If you’re thinking about getting a leopard | | | | You can even make a gel comprised of agar and |
| gecko as a pet, then one of the most important | | | | cactus powder that works both as water and as |
| leopard gecko care concepts you must learn about is | | | | food. |
| ‘gut loading.’ In a nutshell, gut loading is | | | | If you’ve read this far you might be |
| the practice of giving the insects that you intend to | | | | wondering how leopard geckos are able to get the |
| feed to your leopard gecko nutritious food before | | | | nutrients they need in the wild without anyone to |
| feeding them to your leo, effectively using them as | | | | carefully gut load their food. The answer is firstly |
| shells to transport that food into your leo’s | | | | that in the wild a leopard gecko’s diet is much |
| belly. Without gut loading, feeder insects such as | | | | more varied. In the wild leopard geckos eat pretty |
| crickets and mealworms are simply not nutritious | | | | much anything they can overpower, including all types |
| enough foods to keep your pet in good health. | | | | of insects and even small rodents. In captivity by |
| Note that ‘not nutritious enough’ a lot | | | | contrast, their diet is likely to be limited to just a few |
| of the time means ‘too high in phosphorous | | | | staples like the two big favorites, crickets and |
| and too low in calcium.’ Commonly used | | | | mealworms. |
| feeder insects usually have these characteristics, | | | | The other reason leopard geckos are able to get the |
| which is a problem, because calcium is essential if | | | | nutrients they need in the wild is that in the wild, the |
| leopard geckos are to avoid metabolic bone disease. | | | | insects and rodents that they eat will in turn have |
| Research show that gut loading is a very effective | | | | had a much more varied diet than those bred by |
| way of ensuring that feeder insects carry the | | | | humans as reptile food. |
| necessary amount of calcium into the bodies of | | | | If you own a leopard gecko, then learning about how |
| reptiles that they are fed to. | | | | to properly gut load feeder insects in order to |
| In terms of what to use as gut load, a calcium | | | | replace the much more varied diet that it would get |
| fortified chicken egg laying mash fed to the feeder | | | | in the wild is a really important responsibility that you |
| insects 24-48 hours prior to them going into your | | | | have. Establish a good routine for gut loading your |
| leo’s terrarium is effective. However if you | | | | leo’s feeder insects early on, and you’ll |
| are raising the feeder insects yourself, an even | | | | be doing the best you can to ensure that the leopard |
| better option is to raise them on high calcium food | | | | gecko care that you give leads a long and healthy life. |
| such as turnip greens, dandelions, or cactus powder. | | | | |