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Crested geckos need a diverse set of insect proteins and fruits for a nutritious diet. It’s not ideal to offer your crested geckos any insect you can find, as these reptiles need nutrients to thrive. Several owners of crested geckos tend to offer their reptiles worms self-bred worms and other insects. But can crested geckos eat crickets?
Crested geckos can eat crickets as a regular part of their weekly diet. Crickets are rich in proteins crested geckos need to thrive at several stages of their life. Offering crested geckos crickets every 2–3 days per week along with other insects helps your reptiles get a varied diet.
Now that you’re sure crested geckos eat crickets, should you feed these insects exclusively to your reptiles?
Not really.
That’s why this article looks at everything your gecko needs to thrive apart from crickets. Also, you’ll get all the information on how to feed crickets to your crested gecko at different stages of its life.
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Best Feeder Crickets for Your Crested Gecko
There are two types of crickets used mainly as feeders for reptiles. These crickets are:
Banded cricket:
The banded cricket (scientific name: gryllodes sigillatus) is smaller than a regular house cricket. Banded crickets have a light-yellow color and two black bands across their abdominal area. These crickets tend to be more active during nighttime and live longer than many other species.
Banded crickets are preferred as feeder insects based on their low chitin content. The low chitin content in banded crickets makes them easily digestible.
Common brown cricket:
Also called the house cricket, the common brown (scientific name: acheta domesticus) is a light brown or gray insect. The common brown cricket has long antennae and wings.
Common brown crickets can jump to high points because of their hind legs. These crickets are regular feeder insects for several reptiles and are a staple for crested geckos.
Can Crested Geckos Eat Freeze Dried Crickets?
Crested geckos can eat freeze dried crickets, but not the same way they eat live insects. Freeze dried crickets should be fed to your geckos in a “smoothie” form – blended with fruits, veggies, and calcium supplements.
Can Baby Crested Geckos Eat Crickets?
Baby crested geckos can eat small-sized crickets. Insects you can feed your baby crested gecko should not be larger than the space between its eyes. Anything larger may result in choking or acute digestive trouble.
How Much Do Crickets Cost?
Crickets are inexpensive and can be sourced from several local pet stores or through online markets. However, you’ll have to make several orders per month if you’ve got lots of crested geckos to feed.
Most pet stores opt to sell their crickets on a per-insect basis. For example, sellers may opt to offer their crickets at a rate of $0.09 – $0.15 per cricket. Online stores may sell their crickets at the same rate or higher due to some factors.
What Determines the Price of Crickets?
Apart from being inexpensive, several factors could cause price changes in orders for live crickets. Here’s a look at what determines how much a box of crickets sell for:
How many crickets in a box
The number of crickets in one box determines its price tag. Generally, boxes with more crickets tend to be more affordable than small-sized boxes. For example, a box of 100 crickets may sell for $10, while a 1000-cricket box may be available for $30.
Quality of food they eat
Crickets that are regularly gut-loaded with correct foods will undoubtedly cost more than other insects. The price of gut-loaded crickets may have up to 30% difference from insects grown with regular feed.
Size of crickets
Bigger crickets cost more than smaller insects on average.
Shipping costs
Even if some pet stores advertise their crickets are delivered with “Free Shipping”, many sellers may subtly inflate prices. However, if the pet store is in your neighborhood, prices of crickets could be lesser than in other locations.
FAQs
How often should crested geckos eat crickets?
Crested geckos should eat crickets once every two days at most. However, some owners may feed their geckos crickets 3 – 4 times per week. It is important you feed your crested geckos other insects to give it a well-rounded, nutritious diet.
How do I feed my crested gecko crickets?
Steps to feed your crested gecko crickets
- Gut-load your live crickets with nutrients for at least 24hrs before mealtime
- Dust crickets in a bag of calcium supplements
- Add one or two crickets not larger than the space between your gecko’s eyes into its tank
- Put crickets within sight of your crested gecko
What insects can I feed my crested gecko?
Best insects to feed your crested geckos
- Waxworms (high fat content, feed as a treat)
- Crickets
- Mealworms
- Hornworms
- Reptiworms
- Dubia roaches
- Superworms (high fat content, feed as a treat)
Do crested geckos need crickets?
Crested geckos need crickets based on their high protein content. Infant and adolescent crested geckos need crickets as a part of their diet multiple times each week. However, it is not ideal to feed crested geckos only crickets.
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Final Thoughts: Can Crested Geckos Eat Crickets?
Can crested geckos eat crickets? Yes, they can – but at different sizes.
Crested geckos should have crickets as a mainstay in their weekly diet to get complete nutrition. If you’re keen on healthy crested geckos, add crickets to their diet every two days. Crickets provide more than the right set of nutrients for your gecko. Crested geckos relish crickets as a regular snack.
Make the health of your geckos a top priority. Get them the nutrition they need to thrive through crickets, worms, and other healthy foods. You don’t want to have a malnourished gecko on your hands at any time.