Gecko Supplements are an ideal way to ensure your pet gets the proper nutritional balance through food.
To remain healthy your prized gecko needs to be fed a balanced diet that takes care of all its nutritional demands. The best way to do this is keep a varied diet that is augmented by gecko supplements.
Proven gecko foods include crickets, silkworms, mealworms and wax worms. Mealworms and wax worms are best fed cautiously as they are high in fat and contain unfavorable calcium to phosphorous ratio. Especially wax worms should be reserved for treats. One thing is for certain, geckos are much more interested in food that is alive and moving. Any food should be smaller than the width of your pet’s head to ensure proper digestion and to prevent choking or impaction.
Ensuring Nutritional Balance in your Gecko
The process of gut loading your gecko’s food is a must if you want to have a strong, healthy pet. When you buy crickets or other insects from the pet store, they have most likely not been fed. This means that they are just empty shells that lack any real nutrition. This is where the process of gut loading comes into play. Gut load your gecko food at least 24 hours before feeding and use a home made food mix or high quality fish food will work too. You can also add fruits or vegetables to the mix in order to balance even further.
Using branded, high quality gecko supplements is the next step in balancing the nutritional diet of your pet. These gecko supplements come in the form of a powder and are dispensed by placing your food insects into a bag, adding the gecko supplement and shaking to coat the meal insects thoroughly. Follow the directions on the packing of the supplements and stick to what’s recommended for your type of reptile, as it is possible to overload on vitamins. The most common gecko supplements are calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D. Your gecko uses the calcium or reptile to maintain and enhance bone structure, meaning it is particularly important as your pet is growing. The calcium is balanced by vitamin D3 and phosphorous, which is why it is important not too feed one without the other. Your pet will use the phosphorous to extract energy from its meals and produce protein. Too much phosphorous will harm your geckos ability to absorb calcium though so maintain a balanced ratio. Vitamin D is the great regulator and balances out calcium absorption and phosphorous levels. Vitamin D3 is naturally produced as your pet is exposed to sunlight but you may wish to lightly supplement for it in the diet. Too much Vitamin D and you risk calcium intoxification so make sure you follow the recommended dosages for your particular pet.
There is not set rule that applies to all species of reptiles so do your research and ensure you feed your pet as natural a diet as is possible. Gecko supplements are required but in proper dosages so as to keep your pet healthy and not harm it.
For more information about gecko supplements check out Northern Gecko Specialty Pets & Pet Supplies online at: http://www.northerngecko.net/.
