Feeding & Watering

There are quite a few brands advertising "complete nutrition" crested gecko diets. Here, at Katamaran Reptile Ranch, we use mostly Repashy Grubs N' Fruit. We highly recommend getting this as your first diet to make sure your new buddy settles in well! Other appropriate brands include Pangea (all flavors) and other flavors of Repashy (please make sure it's the complete diet and not the treat flavors! The treat flavors are great to mix in with the complete diet to increase appetite but do not contain the necessary nutrients as a long-term food source). We do not have experience with other brands, but these two have worked wonderfully for us!

These diets should be mixed to a consistency like applesauce or ketchup so the gecko can easily lick it up. It will not provide enough nutrients if it is mixed very watery! If you are mixing a bulk amount, please note that it only keeps for around 5-7 days in the fridge so plan accordingly. Under no circumstances should the diet be fed to your gecko without any water added. This will most likely lead to the gecko dying from choking or dehydration.

We feed everyone every other day (babies under 8 grams get fed daily). Silicone bottle caps hold the perfect amount of food for most cresties (some of our XL individuals get 2 or 1.5) and are extremely easy to clean. We linked them in the General Store!

There is NOT a dupe or replacement for a high-quality complete diet! This diet should make up at least 75% of your baby's calories so it is very important to not cut any corners here! Please do not be fooled by social media posts telling you to feed your crestie baby food, mashed fruits, only live insects, or anything else! 

Cresties definitely benefit from having live insects in their diet! It has been proven time and time again that cresties that get live insects in their diet grow quicker, are generally healthier, and take in more calcium than geckos who do not get live insects. I know they're not everyone's favorite but your gecko definitely benefits from having them! 

If live insects are difficult for you to obtain, there are several sources online that will ship them to your door! We have a few of our favorites linked in the General Store. You may also use Repashy Grub Pie, a complete diet with a high protein content, or add some powdered black soldier fly larvae to your complete diet. These are great in a pinch but there is no substitute for live insects! Hunting the insects provides great mental stimulation and some vitamins & minerals that are very difficult to replicate in the complete diet. We feed giant mealworms or banded crickets to cresties over 20 grams and small mealworms to cresties under 20 grams about once a week. Please make sure that the feeders are properly dusted & gut-loaded! 

Insects may be fed to the geckos using soft-tipped tongs, a small smooth-sided bowl, or free-range. Please be careful when free-range feeding mealworms, as they may morph into beetles that can eat your plants, chew up your decorations, or even bite your gecko! 

Gut-Loading & Dusting

Gut-loading is when you feed your feeders. You get out what you put in so having fat and healthy feeder insects will ensure that your gecko gets all the benefits possible from the live insects. We recommend fresh vegetables or Repashy Bug Burger. See the infographics below for more info!

Your gecko also needs a significant source of calcium which can be achieved by "dusting" the feeder insects. I like taking a large ziplock bag, dumping the insects (only the insects you're going to feed immediately), a little bit of calcium powder, and then treating it like shake n' bake chicken. The insects should have a fine layer of calcium powder coating them. Feed them to the gecko immediately! *If you are providing UVB lighting, use calcium WITHOUT D3. If you are not using UVB lighting, use calcium WITH D3. 

Cresties prefer to lick their water from leaves or other décor, very few will drink water from a bowl. It's a little bit of a balancing game between hydrating your gecko and keeping good humidity levels. Go ahead and get a high-quality hygrometer to monitor your humidity levels, many of them are less than $20. Your gecko should get misted at least every 2 days so if it's taking longer than that for your humidity to drop down to 50% after misting, think about adding more ventilation or possibly even a small PC fan to dry things out quicker. If you're getting to 50% within 24 hours, think about changing your substrate to one that holds more humidity.