When it comes to pets, any animal that requires live feed is quite obviously more complex than your usual dog-food-in-bowl routine. Thankfully, taking care of this creature is so rewarding, many consider them worth the effort.

Originally desert dwellers, these lizards are insectivores. It is important to note that what is good for us is not good for them (and vice versa, obviously). This means you should not feed them fruits and vegetables, in the same way insects should not be part of our diet. These creatures mainly consume crickets and mealworms. Crickets make great live feed. They move around during feeding time and stimulate your leopard gecko. This makes them feel they are in the hunting environment. Crickets are also readily available and are highly nutritious. They are also much easier to digest than mealworms since their outer covering is softer. As with all good things, these things do not come without detriments. The top of mind problem with critters is the ruckus they cause. They are incredibly annoying and noisy. Note that feeding your gecko life crickets means you will need to house them. Do not feed your gecko more than four crickets, as these insects are known to bite your gecko when they are not eaten.It is much simpler to feed your gecko mealworms. While they have a very high fat content, many breeders swear by these squirmers. They aren’t as stimulating as your gecko might like, though. You can solve this teensy problem by sprinkling their pan with the cricket food you use for gutloading. For some reason, they do not like the stuff and it makes them move around quite a bit, hence making them stimulating food. Mealworms are usually seen as treats given sparingly. Some new schools of thought, however, entertain the idea of mealworms as a part of a gecko’s balanced diet. Overall, it is mostly a matter of figuring out what makes your lizard tick. There are no hard and fast rules, since no two leopard geckos are exactly the same anyway. Here’s to finding your pet’s best menu option!