Feeding Your Reptile: Insects, Greens and Supplements
Gut-loading, dusting and getting the calcium balance right for insect and plant eaters.
Reptile nutrition is less about the food itself and more about what is in it when it reaches your animal. Two habits do most of the work: gut-loading and dusting.
Gut-load your insects
A cricket straight from the tub is mostly water and chitin. Feed insects on leafy greens, carrot, squash and a commercial gut-load for 24–48 hours before offering them, and they become a genuine meal.
Dust with calcium
- Calcium without D3 at most feedings for animals with good UVB.
- Calcium with D3 once or twice a week if UVB is limited.
- A reptile multivitamin once a week.
- Shake insects in a bag with a light coating — caked white insects are over-dusted.
Greens for omnivores and herbivores
Bearded dragons, iguanas and tortoises need a daily salad. Build it from collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion and squash. Avoid spinach and kale as staples — they bind calcium. Fruit is a garnish, not a food group.
Portion and frequency
Juveniles eat daily and lean heavily on protein; adults of most species shift towards plants and eat less often. Offer insects no longer than the space between the animal's eyes to avoid impaction.
Fresh water daily
Even desert species drink. Change the bowl every day — many reptiles defecate in it.
