What Worms are Good For a Leopard Gecko? (w/ Pics)
If you want to keep your Leopard Gecko Happy, not only do you need the best housing (Click here for my best Leopard Gecko enclosure & see the price on Amazon). You also need the best food. And, for Leos, we know they love worms, so what’s the best choice in worms?
What worms are good to feed leopard geckos? The best worms are Mealworms, Waxworms, Silkworms, and Hornworms. However, you need to make sure that you gut load these worms to insure that you Leopard Gecko gets as much nutrition as possible.
| Are these foods dangerous for your Beardie? | |
| Avacado? Click here to learn, from this guide, if this food is dangerous |  |
| Superworms? Click here to learn, from this guide, if this food is dangerous |  |
Now that you know the best worms for Leos, let me explain the correct sizing of these worms, the pros, and cons of each worm, how much they typically eat and more.
What worms are good to feed leopard geckos?
If you have a leopard gecko obviously you want to give them the best food. For Leos that will come down to insects & worms as they are insectivores. With that being said, you need to choose the right ones.
The best food for leopard geckos is crickets or mealworms. However, there is a great selection of worms that you can also consider giving to your leopard gecko.
In this article, I’ll be giving you the pros and cons of each one of these. The other worms that you can consider are:
- Waxworms
- Superworms
- Pheonix Worms
- Silkworms
- Hornworms
- etc.
What size worms (or other food) should you give two leopard geckos?
Before you feed your Leo, it’s important you consider what size food that you should be feeding him. This is important to get right.
But, why is this so important?
It’s simple if you feed your Leo food which is too big, especially if he is young, this can lead to choking or other food-related problems.
A general rule
A general rule to follow, to make sure that this doesn’t happen, is to never ever give your Leo, or any lizard for that matter, any food item bigger than the distance between each of their eyes.
What about Crickets?
Regarding crickets, I’m going to give you some sizes that you can use as a guide. This depends on what age he is.
For baby leopard geckos, the ideal cricket size is 3/8 of an inch. However, if they are bigger than this, for example, juveniles, then you can increase the size to approximately a quarter of an inch.
For adult size leopard geckos, you can provide them with crickets which are small to adult size crickets and they should be fine.
How much do leopard geckos typically eat?
To understand how much leopard geckos eat, as a general rule, you can expect an adult gecko to consume as much food as they can consume within a 10 to 15-minute eating session.
Greedy Leos
However, from time to time, you may have an overweight or slightly more greedy leopard gecko. In this situation, it is a good idea to try and reduce the amount of food they are eating to make sure that they don’t overdo it.
Understand this, this is just a guideline. Therefore, your leopard gecko needs to be fed based on their activity and their body condition.
If you notice that your leopard gecko has a habit of overeating, it is advisable to limit the amount of food he eats and do not allow him to exceed that. Even if they seem that they are asking for more.
The reality is they won’t stop eating until you stop giving them the food. So, watch out for this, you do not want to encourage overeating and obesity.
The pros and cons of different worms for Leopard Geckos.
In this section, my objective is to share with with you a selection of worms that are good for leopard geckos. In addition to this, I will explain the pros and cons of each worm to help you make an educated choice.
Mealworm Pros
Mealworms are a classic worm for the leopard geckos. They are one of the more popular worm choices.
The pros of mealworms is there are cheap, easy to find, and they are quite easy to look after. You can also keep them alive for a long time.
In addition to this, you’ll find that these mealworms have a good life span. It is also possible to extend their lifespan by using simple refrigeration. You can also consider growing your own colony of mealworms. Another great benefit is they do not smell very much.
Mealworm Cons
Although mealworms are cheap and easy to find. They do have some negatives. You will find that they have quite a high-fat content. Therefore, you need to keep an eye on how much you give to your Leo to make sure that they are not overeating and putting on excessive weight.
In addition to this, they’ve got quite a high calcium to phosphorus ratio, which is not ideal. Another important factor is gut loading. They have a small digestive tract which makes it quite difficult to gut load.
Further on in this article, I will explain the importance of gut loading when you are feeding your leopard gecko these worms.
Lastly, another issue, which may cause you problems with getting your leopard gecko to consume these worms is their lack of movement.
I don’t mean they do not move at all, they do not move. It’s just that they do not always move enough to stimulate your leopard gecko to eat them. And, as you may know, Leopard Geckos enjoy live food.
Superworm Pros
The Superworms are a great choice. They are a great source of protein, which is a must for your Leo. They are also easy to care for without having to worry about them smelling out the house.
They also last quite long, even without having to refrigerate them. They are also quite easy to breed as well.
Superworm Cons
The Supreworms have a few negatives to consider. Firstly they are not ideal for smaller Geckos and have quite a high-fat content. This just means that you need to monitor how much your Leo is consuming.
They are also known for biting. So, you need to be cautious with them, they are little nippers! Also, similar to the Mealworms, they are not ideal for Gut loading.
Waxworm Pros
You will find that Waxworms will be devoured by your Leo. If you want to treat him, this is the one to buy, they love them. Another great thing is they are still quite cheap and quite easy to find them.
Waxworm Cons
Now onto the cons. If you think Superworms and Mealworms have high-fat content, then you ain’t seen nothing yet. These worms are really fatty!
In fact, you really need to reserve these as treats only. Even though your Leo will love them, you need to limit their consumption. They have quite a short lifespan as well, which is unfortunate. And, did I mention the smell? They are real stinkers!
Finally, they cannot be gut loaded, so you can rule that out. Which is a big issue for maintaining your Leo’s nutrition.
Pheonix Worms Pros
These worms are not as well known as mealworms. They are the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly. The great thing about these worms is the fat content. It is quite low, making them a more viable worm for your Leo to consume in quantity.
They can last quite a while as well. You can expect up to a few weeks for these bad boys. They also have a good amount of protein as well. One thing I like about them is their movement. Their move will motivate your Leo to lap them up, assuming he likes their taste (more on this later).
Pheonix Worms Cons
While they are low in fat and it sounds good on paper, you will find its hit and miss if your Leo will like these worms. They are quite messy as well. When it comes to gut loading, forget it. They can’t be gut loaded, unfortunately. Which, is quite a big negative.
