For crested gecko owners, knowing what to feed your pet is crucial for keeping them healthy and happy. If you’ve been wondering ‘can crested geckos eat bananas? ‘, you’ve come to the right place! In this comprehensive article, we’ll give you the quick answer upfront, then dive into the details on feeding bananas to crested geckos.
If you’re short on time, here’s the quick answer: Yes, crested geckos can eat bananas in moderation as an occasional treat. Bananas contain natural sugars that geckos enjoy, but too much can lead to obesity and other health issues. It’s best to feed bananas no more than once or twice a month.
An Overview of the Crested Gecko Diet
Insects as a Staple
In the wild, crested geckos are insectivores and eat a variety of insects like moths, crickets, roaches, and grasshoppers. Captive crested geckos should be fed a staple diet of nutritionally balanced powdered crested gecko food mixed with water or fruit puree.
Live insects can be offered 2-3 times per week as a treat. Good insect options include crickets, dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, and silkworms. Feeder insects should be gut loaded with nutritious food and lightly dusted with calcium and multivitamin supplements.
Overfeeding insects can lead to health issues in crested geckos.
Fruit Purees & Baby Foods
In addition to powdered crested gecko diet, fruit purees and baby foods can provide hydration and supplemental nutrition. Good options include pureed fruits like banana, mango, papaya, pear, and apricot. Vegetables like sweet potato, butternut squash, and carrots can also be pureed.
Avoid citrus fruits as they are too acidic for crested geckos. Only all-natural, unsweetened baby foods without added starch or preservatives should be fed. Fruit purees and baby foods should be provided in moderation as crested geckos still need their main powdered diet for complete nutrition.
Nectars & Juices
Some crested gecko owners provide diluted nectars or juices to add variety to the diet. These can include diluted fruit juices, aloe vera juice, and premade crested gecko nectars. If offering nectars, they should only be given sparingly, around 1-2 times per week at most.
Too much sugar from nectars can cause diarrhea, cramps, and other issues in crested geckos. Also be sure to carefully follow mixing directions and only use reptile-safe nectars. The best approach is sticking mainly to powdered diets with occasional treats like insects, purees, or small amounts of nectar.
Are Bananas Safe for Crested Geckos to Eat?
Benefits of Bananas
Bananas can be a nutritious treat for crested geckos in moderation. Here are some of the main benefits:
- Good source of potassium – Potassium helps with muscle function and nerve signaling. Since bananas are high in potassium, they can help maintain your gecko’s health.
- Contains vitamins and minerals – Bananas provide small amounts of vitamins like vitamin C, B6, and folate. They also have traces of magnesium and manganese.
- Easy to digest – Bananas are soft and easy for geckos to chew and digest. This makes them a good option if your gecko has dental issues.
- Provides natural sugars – Bananas contain natural sugars like sucrose, glucose, and fructose. In small amounts, these can provide a boost of energy.
Potential Drawbacks and Concerns
While nutritious, bananas do come with some drawbacks for crested geckos:
- High in sugar – Too much sugar can lead to obesity and other health issues in geckos. It’s best to only feed tiny pieces of banana once or twice a week.
- Low in nutrients – Compared to insects and calcium-dusted feeders, bananas don’t provide nearly as much nutrition. They should not be a staple food.
- May cause runny stool – The extra sugar and water content in bananas could potentially cause loose stool or diarrhea if fed too often.
- Easy to overfeed – Bananas taste sweet and most geckos love them! It can be tempting to offer too much. Stick to a treat-sized amount.
- Can harbor bacteria and mold – Freshness is key with banana pieces. Only prepare what your gecko will eat in one sitting.
How to Prepare and Feed Bananas
Serving Size and Frequency
When feeding bananas to crested geckos, it’s important to stick to small, infrequent servings. An appropriate serving size is a slice around 1/4 inch thick and 1/2 inch long, 1-2 times per week at most.
This little treat packs a lot of natural sugar, so more could lead to obesity or other health issues. Follow the motto: everything in moderation!
Adult geckos should get no more than 50% of their diet from fruit, according to advanced breeders at Pangea Reptiles. Babies under 1 year old can have slightly more as they need extra calories while growing.
But all life stages should focus on high-quality powdered diets and insects as staples for nutrition. Fruits like bananas make excellent supplemental feeds for their water content and natural sugars.
Food Preparation Tips
When preparing banana for your crested buddy, keep these tips in mind:
- Make sure bananas are ripe. Unripe fruits are tough for geckos to digest.
- Wash thoroughly before handling to remove any pesticides or chemicals from the skin.
- Cut off 1-2 slices at a time to prevent browning from oxidation before it’s eaten.
- Avoid adding any sugary toppings – fruits have enough natural sugars without extras that cause diarrhea in lizards.
If your crested gecko seems to ignore plain banana slices at first, here is a trick to prompt its appetite: Combine several drops of banana or other fruit baby food to its CGD diet for a few days. This flavor experience helps associate fruits with food in some picky eaters!
While banana and other fruits make a nice sporadic diet addition, always provide plenty of CGD and live insects as primary nutrition. Following these best practices in preparing banana treats ensures good health and proper growth.
Signs Your Gecko May Be Eating Too Many Bananas
Obesity
One of the most obvious signs that your crested gecko may be eating too many bananas is becoming visibly obese and overweight. Crested geckos who consume too many high sugar fruits like bananas on a regular basis can easily become obese over time.
An obese crested gecko will have noticeable fat deposits and may appear much bulkier in the stomach and tail regions than a healthy gecko.
Geckos store excess sugar from fruits like bananas as fat. Bananas, which are higher in sugar than many other recommended gecko fruits like figs or mangos, are more likely to lead to rapid weight gain and obesity if overfed.
Varying the diet, offering more insects, and feeding banana as an occasional treat can help curb obesity.
Diarrhea
Persistent loose stools or diarrhea is another red flag that your crested gecko may be getting too many bananas in its diet. Bananas are not highly digestible for crested geckos compared to insects and properly formulated crested gecko diets.
The excess sugar and nutrients in the fruit can upset the gecko’s gut flora and cause osmotic diarrhea if it cannot properly digest the fruit.
Additionally, the high phosphorus content of bananas can disrupt the calcium to phosphorus ratio needed for proper gecko digestive health over time, also contributing to loose stools. If your gecko has changed stools after eating bananas, reducing or stopping banana treats will usually resolve diarrhea issues.
Nutritional Imbalances
While bananas make a tasty snack, they lack complete and balanced nutrition for crested geckos by themselves. An all-banana diet would lead to severe nutritional deficiencies over time. However, even adding too many bananas as treats to a crested gecko’s diet can promote some mild nutritional imbalances long-term.
Common symptoms seen from nutritional imbalance due to too many bananas or fruits include:
- Poor appetite or disinterest in complete diets
- Lethargy, decreased activity levels
- Frequent shedding issues
- Abnormal bone/muscle development in young, growing geckos
Varying the fruits offered as treats, limiting high sugar fruits like bananas, and making sure the gecko still consumes an appropriate amount of complete crested gecko diet at most meals can prevent nutrional issues.
As we can see, allowing crested geckos to overindulge in banana treats over time can contribute to obesity, diarrhea, and nutritional problems. While the occasional small piece of banana can be a nice supplement for most geckos, banana should never make up a substantial portion of the long-term diet according to reptile care experts like Moon Valley Reptiles.
Following basic feeding guidelines for banana treats based on your gecko’s age, size, and overall health is important to prevent overfeeding issues.
Healthy Alternatives to Bananas
Other Fruits
Instead of feeding bananas, pet owners can offer their crested geckos a variety of other fruits as healthy treats. Some great options include:
- Papaya – This tropical fruit is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and E. Make sure to remove the seeds before feeding it.
- Mango – Mangoes contain vitamins A, B6, and C. Just a few small cubes make a nice treat.
- Berries – Raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries are packed with antioxidants. Only feed a few at a time.
- Melon – Small pieces of honeydew or cantaloupe offer vitamins A, C, and potassium.
When introducing new fruits, only offer a small amount at first to make sure the gecko tolerates it well. Overfeeding high-sugar fruits can cause digestive upset and obesity.
Vegetables
In addition to fruits, crested geckos enjoy munching on certain veggies too. Some nutritious options to try include:
- Sweet potato – An excellent source of vitamin A, beta carotene, and fiber.
- Squash – Rich in vitamins A and C as well as folate.
- Green beans – Packed with vitamin K, vitamin C, and manganese.
- Carrots – Contain vitamin A, biotin, potassium, and antioxidants.
When preparing veggies, cook them lightly to soften them up. Then cut into bite-sized pieces before serving. As with fruits, introduce new vegetables slowly.
Insect Variety
In the wild, crested geckos are insectivores meaning insects make up the bulk of their diet. In captivity, they should be offered feeder insects as a key protein source too. Great options include:
- Crickets – A staple feeder insect that is nutritious and easy to digest.
- Mealworms – Contain healthy fats and proteins. Prioritize smaller mealworms.
- Dubia roaches – An excellent feeder packed with protein. Cannot climb smooth surfaces or fly.
- Waxworms – Considered more of a treat due to their high fat content.
Aim to feed adult crested geckos insects 2-3 times per week. The number of insects offered per feeding depends on the gecko’s size and appetite. As a general rule, feed no more than the size of the gecko’s head per feeding.
By swapping out bananas for more healthful fruits, vegetables, and insects, pet owners can help ensure their crested geckos remain fit and thrive.
Conclusion
While bananas can be a tasty occasional treat, they should not make up a significant portion of your crested gecko’s diet due to their high sugar content. The healthiest crested gecko diet contains a variety of insects as the staple, with supplemental fruits, juices, and vegetables.
By following these guidelines, you can help ensure your gecko lives a long and healthy life!
When in doubt, consult your exotic vet on the ideal diet and feeding schedule for your pet. With the proper nutrition and care, crested geckos can thrive for up to 20 years in captivity. Providing a balanced, varied diet is one of the best ways to keep your gecko energetic and healthy.
