| If you've read information about keeping one of | | | | Dusting with calcium powder |
| these lovely creatures as a pet, then there's no | | | | Dusting feeder insects with calcium powder has the |
| doubt you would have encountered material | | | | advantage of being easy to do: just put some |
| discussing how important calcium supplements for | | | | calcium powder in a small bag, add the feeder |
| leopard geckos are. Without sufficient calcium in their | | | | insects, shake, and immediately feed the insects to |
| diets, leopard geckos will develop metabolic bone | | | | your leopard gecko. Dusting does add calcium to the |
| disease, a painful and potentially fatal condition. | | | | nutrition profile of the feeder insects, but |
| There are three common ways of providing your leo | | | | unfortunately not all that much usually ends up |
| with a calcium supplement: 1) by gut loading feeder | | | | sticking to them, and even that will fall off or get |
| insects with calcium powder or high-calcium food; 2) | | | | cleaned off by the insects if they aren't eaten |
| by dusting feed insects with calcium powder just | | | | immediately by your leo. |
| prior to giving them to your leo to eat, and 3) by | | | | Supplying a bowl of calcium powder |
| simply putting a bowl of calcium powder in the leo's | | | | There really isn't much to say about this method of |
| tank along with its water and food bowls. | | | | providing your leo with a calcium supplement. There's |
| Here are the pros and cons of each of these three | | | | certainly no harm in putting a little bowl of calcium |
| ways of getting more calcium into your leo's diet: | | | | powder in your gecko's tank, but there's no way to |
| Gut loading | | | | be sure it'll actually eat it. Still, you may as well |
| Leopard gecko owners typically gut load feeder | | | | provide one and perhaps your leo will take advantage |
| insects with fruits and vegetables, dry dog food, fish | | | | of it. |
| flakes and corn meal. None of these are bad things | | | | Along with the three calcium supplement methods |
| to feed to feeder insects, but they aren't necessarily | | | | mentioned above, there's also a fourth option: pick a |
| high in calcium. A high-calcium cricket feed (there are | | | | feeder insect with a higher calcium content than the |
| plenty of commercially made options) is one way to | | | | usual staples. Silkworms and butterworms both have |
| go, or alternatively you can use things that are | | | | much higher calcium contents than other common |
| naturally high in calcium such as turnip greens, | | | | feeder insects, so they're worthy of serious |
| dandelion greens, watercress, collard greens, mustard | | | | consideration for incorporation into your leopard |
| greens and endive. If you go with the latter option, | | | | gecko's diet. |
| the easiest way to use these greens is to put them | | | | Remember calcium supplements for leopard geckos is |
| in a blender first. This results in a wet 'gloop' that's | | | | extremely important. |
| really easy to feed to your feeder insects. | | | | |