Gecko Health & Diet: Complete Guides for a Healthy Gecko
Keeping a gecko healthy comes down to two things more than anything else: what you feed them and how well you support their body with the right nutrients. Get those two things right and you give your gecko the foundation for a long, active life. Get them wrong and you'll spend a lot of time and money at the vet dealing with problems that were entirely preventable.
This section covers everything you need to know about gecko health and diet — from building the right feeding plan for your specific species, to understanding which supplements are essential and how to use them correctly. Whether you've just brought home your first gecko or you're an experienced keeper looking to sharpen your husbandry, you'll find practical, detailed guides here.
Feeding Your Gecko
Most pet geckos are insectivores, meaning live insects make up the core of their diet. A small number of commonly kept species, like crested geckos and day geckos, are omnivores that eat both insects and fruit-based foods. Understanding which category your gecko falls into is the starting point for building a proper feeding plan.
Beyond just choosing the right food type, feeding geckos well involves rotating between different feeder insects for nutritional variety, gut loading those insects before feeding, offering the right portion sizes, and knowing how often to feed based on your gecko's age and species.
The most common feeder insects for geckos are crickets and Dubia roaches, which serve as excellent staple feeders for most insectivorous species. Mealworms make a useful supplementary feeder, while waxworms work well as an occasional treat. Black soldier fly larvae, hornworms, and silkworms are worth rotating in for variety and additional nutrition.
Omnivorous species like crested geckos can be fed commercial Crested Gecko Diet (CGD) products as their primary food, alongside regular insect feedings. Brands like Repashy and Pangea produce CGD meal replacement powders that are formulated to provide complete nutrition when mixed with water.
For a full breakdown of feeding geckos including portion sizes, feeding frequency by age, gut loading techniques, species-specific diets, and foods to avoid, read our complete guide: What Do Geckos Eat? A Complete Diet Guide for Healthy Geckos
Vitamins and Supplements
Even a perfectly planned diet needs supplementation in captivity. Feeder insects alone cannot replicate the nutritional variety of a wild gecko's diet, and most have a poor calcium-to-phosphorus ratio that works against calcium absorption rather than supporting it.
The three core supplements every gecko keeper needs are calcium without D3, calcium with D3, and a reptile multivitamin. Knowing when to use each one, and how often, is where most keepers run into confusion.
Calcium is the most critical supplement. Without adequate calcium, geckos develop metabolic bone disease (MBD), a progressive condition that causes soft bones, tremors, skeletal deformities, and in severe cases death. MBD is one of the most common health problems in captive reptiles and almost entirely preventable with consistent supplementation.
Vitamin D3 is what allows calcium to actually be absorbed and used by the body. Geckos kept without UVB lighting cannot produce their own D3 and must get it through supplements. Because D3 is fat-soluble and accumulates in the body, it needs to be given on a schedule rather than at every feeding.
A reptile multivitamin rounds out the supplementation routine by providing vitamin A, vitamin E, B vitamins, and trace minerals that feeder insects don't reliably supply. Like D3, multivitamins contain fat-soluble vitamins and should be used on a weekly basis rather than at every feeding.
For the complete guide to gecko supplementation including schedules for geckos with and without UVB lighting, how to dust insects correctly, signs of deficiency and overdose, and product recommendations, read: Gecko Vitamins and Supplements: What Your Gecko Actually Needs
Common Health Issues in Geckos
A well-fed, properly supplemented gecko kept in the right environment is a resilient animal. Most health problems in captive geckos trace back to husbandry issues rather than infectious disease, which means prevention through good care is more effective than treatment.
Metabolic bone disease, as mentioned above, is the most common serious condition and is directly linked to inadequate calcium and D3 supplementation. Other frequently seen health issues include retained shed, respiratory infections, parasites, and impaction from substrate ingestion.
Retained shed occurs when a gecko fails to shed its skin completely, often leaving constricting bands around toes or the tail tip. It's usually caused by low humidity rather than any underlying illness, and is easily prevented by maintaining appropriate humidity levels for your species.
Respiratory infections typically present as wheezing, mucus around the nose or mouth, and labored breathing. They're often triggered by temperatures that are too cold or too damp, and require veterinary treatment with antibiotics.
Impaction happens when a gecko ingests substrate material that it cannot pass, causing a blockage. It's most commonly associated with loose particle substrates like sand and is more of a risk in younger animals. Choosing appropriate substrate for your enclosure greatly reduces this risk.
Knowing what normal gecko behavior looks like makes it much easier to spot when something is wrong. A healthy gecko should be alert and responsive when active, have clear eyes, a well-rounded tail (in fat-storing species), shed cleanly, and maintain a consistent appetite. Any significant change from that baseline is worth investigating.
Finding a Reptile Vet
One of the most important things you can do before you need one is to find a reptile-experienced vet in your area. Not all vets treat reptiles, and those that do vary significantly in their experience with specific species. Locating a good reptile vet before your gecko gets sick means you're not scrambling to find one during an emergency.
Look for a vet who lists exotic animals or reptiles as a specialty rather than a general small animal practice that occasionally sees reptiles. Herpetological societies and reptile keeping communities in your area are often the best source of recommendations for vets with genuine reptile expertise.
What's Coming to This Section
This section will continue to grow with in-depth guides covering specific health topics including respiratory infections, shedding problems, parasite treatment, and species-specific health considerations. Check back for new guides, and use the navigation above to explore the full range of articles currently available.