What do crested geckos eat?
The short answer
Crested geckos are fed a commercial gecko diet, a powdered fruit-and-protein formula mixed with water and served in a shallow dish. That prepared diet is the staple, not a supplement. Live insects are offered alongside it, and fresh fruit is an occasional treat because it is too high in sugar and too low in calcium to be a staple.
Feeding schedule by age
| Life stage | Diet balance | How often | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hatchling / juvenile, 0-12 months | CGD | Daily, fresh dish | Insects 1-2x weekly |
| Adult, 12+ months | CGD | Every 2-3 days | Insects 0-1x weekly |
| All ages | Fresh fruit | 1-2x per month as a treat | Not a food group |
What to feed
| Food | Role | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pangea complete diet | Staple | Formulated, balanced Ca:P and D3 |
| Repashy complete diet | Staple | Formulated, balanced Ca:P and D3 |
| Crickets | Insect | Gut-load before offering |
| Dubia roaches | Insect | Clean, good nutrition |
| Black soldier fly larvae | Insect | Calcium-rich |
| Papaya, mango, berries | Treat | 1-2x per month only |
| Fresh water | Always | Plus misting; they drink droplets |
What never to feed
Items in this table are either outright toxic or cause predictable long-term harm. This is the part of the page worth reading twice.
| Do not feed | Why |
|---|---|
| Fruit as a staple diet | Too high in sugar, too low in protein and calcium. Causes MBD. |
| Human baby food as a diet | Outdated advice. Not nutritionally complete for a gecko. |
| Avocado | Toxic. |
| Citrus | Avoid. |
| Insects larger than the space between the eyes | Standard feeder-size rule. |
| Wild-caught insects | Pesticide and parasite risk. |
| Leopard gecko supplements as a substitute for CGD | Different species, different diet entirely. |
Where good sources disagree
Care sheets do not all say the same thing, and pretending otherwise helps nobody. These are the real points of difference between the sources cited at the foot of this page, and what we think the safe reading is.
Whether insects are required at all.
Sources that recommend a CGD containing insects say separate feeders are not strictly needed for survival. Sources recommending plain fruit-formula CGD treat weekly insects as necessary. Both agree that insects help juveniles grow and help put weight on a thin adult, and nobody recommends insects as the staple. Read your specific tub before deciding.
How often adults need feeding.
Published intervals for adult CGD range from every other day to every third day. The practical difference is small, and the reason for the range is that uneaten CGD spoils: the dish has to be refreshed regardless. Feed on a schedule you will actually keep, and remove the old dish.
What most crested gecko feeding advice gets wrong
Fruit is the food this species is most associated with and least able to live on.
Crested geckos are frugivorous in the loose sense, and that has produced years of advice to feed mashed fruit or human baby food. Fresh fruit is too high in sugar and too low in calcium and protein to sustain them, and geckos raised that way develop metabolic bone disease. The prepared powdered diets exist precisely because fruit alone does not work.
A crested gecko and a leopard gecko cannot share a food tub.
These are the two most popular beginner geckos and their diets have almost nothing in common. Crested geckos eat a prepared fruit-based powder; leopard geckos are obligate insectivores that cannot use one. Confusing the two is common in shops and online. Our side-by-side comparison covers the rest of the differences.
Dropped tails do not grow back.
Unlike leopard geckos, crested geckos do not regenerate a dropped tail, and an adult without one is normal and healthy but permanently changed. Husbandry stress, including a poor diet and the resulting weakness, raises the chance of a drop. See floppy tail syndrome for the related calcium issue.
Common questions
What do crested geckos eat?
Crested geckos eat a commercial gecko diet: a powdered fruit-and-protein formula mixed with water and served in a shallow dish. That is the staple food. Live insects such as crickets, dubia roaches and black soldier fly larvae are offered alongside it, and fresh fruit is an occasional treat.
Can crested geckos live on fruit alone?
No. Fresh fruit is too high in sugar and too low in protein and calcium to serve as a staple, and geckos fed fruit or baby food as a diet develop metabolic bone disease. Commercial gecko diets exist specifically because fruit alone is not nutritionally adequate for this species.
How often do crested geckos need to eat?
Juveniles under a year need fresh commercial gecko diet daily, with insects once or twice weekly. Adults need the prepared diet every two to three days, with insects up to once weekly. The dish should be refreshed each feeding regardless, because the mixed powder spoils.
Do crested geckos need calcium supplements?
Generally no, provided a quality commercial gecko diet is the staple, because those formulas already include balanced calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D3. Supplementation becomes relevant if you feed insects heavily, in which case the insects should be dusted. This is a key difference from leopard geckos.
What fruit can crested geckos eat?
Papaya, mango and soft berries are commonly offered as occasional treats, roughly once or twice a month. Citrus and avocado should be avoided entirely. Fruit should be treated as enrichment rather than nutrition, since the prepared diet is what meets the gecko's actual requirements.
Do crested geckos need insects if their diet has insects in it?
Not strictly for survival. If you feed a formula that already contains insect protein, separate feeders are optional. They remain useful as exercise and enrichment, and they help juveniles grow and help add weight to a thin adult, so most keepers offer them anyway.