Feeding guide

Best feeder insects for leopard geckos

By The Bug Cartel · 6 min read · Every fact cited

The best feeders for leopard geckos are live insects no longer than the gecko's head is wide, such as dubia roaches, crickets and black soldier fly larvae, gut loaded and dusted with calcium. Leopard geckos eat insects, not greens. Veterinary sources suggest feeding juveniles at least every day or two and adults anywhere from daily to two or three times a week.

What do leopard geckos eat?

Leopard geckos are insectivores. They feed mainly on live, moving insect prey.1 The Merck Veterinary Manual groups them with other insect-eating lizards such as anoles and chameleons.4

You do not need to offer your gecko vegetables or fruit. Greens still have a job. VCA suggests feeding fresh greens to the crickets and mealworms, so the nutrition passes on to the gecko.1

Best feeders for leopard geckos

VCA describes a suitable diet as commercially raised crickets with smaller numbers of silkworms, dubia roaches, mealworms, superworms, waxworms and other live insects.1 LafeberVet's leopard gecko sheet adds black soldier fly larvae and recommends a variety of insects of the right size.2

  • Dubia roaches are a solid everyday feeder. They cannot fly or climb smooth surfaces, which makes them easy to keep and to offer.5
  • Crickets are the base of the diet VCA describes.1 At 6.8% fat as fed, adult crickets are one of the leaner common feeders.7
  • Black soldier fly larvae carry more calcium than phosphorus, which is rare among feeder insects.8 Leopard geckos digested about 43% of the calcium in whole or pierced larvae, but a 2023 review judged the level still high enough for most insectivores.8 Our guide to black soldier fly larvae for reptiles has more detail.

Most insects carry far more phosphorus than calcium.8 That is why every staple feeder needs dusting or gut loading, covered below.

Can leopard geckos eat dubia roaches?

Yes. VCA lists dubia roaches among suitable feeders for leopard geckos.1 A few points make them easier to use.

  • Dubia cannot climb smooth glass or plastic and do not fly.5 Adult males have full wings, and adult females have strongly reduced wings.5
  • Roaches that are not eaten right away tend to hide. Keepers commonly report dubia tucking under decor or digging into loose substrate. No study has measured this in a gecko enclosure.
  • Movement triggers feeding, so you can let insects roam or put them in a bowl.3 A smooth-sided dish works well for dubia, since they cannot climb out.5
  • Count the insects you put in, and remove any left after 6 to 8 hours. Leftover insects can nibble on the gecko and groom off their supplement.3

What size feeders should a leopard gecko eat?

An insect should be no longer than the width of the lizard's head. About 75% of the head width is better.3 Measure across your gecko's head and pick the size below that. Our dubia sizes are:

  • Small, 1/4 to 1/2 in
  • Medium, 1/2 to 3/4 in
  • Large, 3/4 to 1 in
  • XL, 1 in and up

The dubia roach size chart matches the same sizes to bearded dragon ages, if you keep both.

How often should you feed a leopard gecko, and how many insects?

Veterinary sources disagree on frequency, so the chart below shows the range. Leopard geckos usually reach sexual maturity between 9 and 18 months, which is a rough line between juvenile and adult.2

Leopard gecko feeding chart by age, from veterinary sources
Age How often to feed How many insects
Juvenile Every 1 to 2 days (VCA)1. Two to three times a day for young lizards in general (LafeberVet)3 As many as it eats at one time3
Adult Two to three times a week (VCA)1. Once daily, in late afternoon (LafeberVet)2 As many as it eats at one time3

None of these sources gives a fixed insect count. The safer approach is to count what goes in, see what gets eaten, and adjust to your gecko's body condition. LafeberVet suggests late afternoon feeding because leopard geckos are mostly nocturnal.2

Waxworms as treats

Waxworms are about 24.9% fat as fed, more than three times the fat of adult crickets.7 A 2015 analysis found waxworms and superworms fell short on more nutrients than crickets or mealworms once their high fat was taken into account. It concluded that properly supplemented lower-fat insects should form the bulk of the diet for most insectivores.6

LafeberVet calls waxworms an occasional high-fat feeder.3 No veterinary source we found gives an exact schedule. Many keepers offer a few waxworms once a week or less, and cut back if the gecko's tail and belly start to look heavy.

Dusting and gut loading

Insects need extra calcium before your gecko eats them. The Merck Veterinary Manual says the inverse calcium to phosphorus ratio of insects must be corrected before they are fed to lizards.4

  • Dust insects lightly with a phosphorus-free calcium powder, and keep a shallow dish of calcium powder in the enclosure.1
  • How often varies by source. LafeberVet's general handout says to dust juveniles' insects daily and adults' once or twice weekly.3 Its leopard gecko sheet says once weekly for non-breeding adults, plus a vitamin and mineral supplement once weekly.2
  • Dust right before feeding. Crickets can groom off half the powder in about 150 seconds.8
  • More is not better. Too much calcium can block absorption of other minerals, and excess vitamins A and D can be toxic.8 Ask your vet for a supplement plan.

Gut loading means feeding the insects a nutritious diet before they are eaten. VCA recommends gut loading for at least 24 hours.1 Research shows similar results anywhere from 24 to 72 hours.8 For dubia, a high-calcium diet can turn the Ca:P ratio positive, but not every commercial gut-load diet does.9 See how to gut load feeder insects for diets and timing.

Can leopard geckos eat wild-caught bugs?

It is safer not to. Wild-caught insects carry a risk of parasites and may have been exposed to insecticides or pesticides.3 Never feed fireflies. They cause fatal heart toxicity in bearded dragons and other lizards.11 LafeberVet also lists spiders, wasps and Eastern tent caterpillars as potentially toxic.3

Signs your leopard gecko is overweight

A healthy leopard gecko stores a good amount of fat in the base of its tail.2 A plump tail is normal. Trouble starts when fat builds up beyond that. A body condition scale from a 2025 veterinary study describes the stages like this:10

  • Average. The tail is slightly plump, the spine is hard to see, and the belly is slightly rounded.
  • Fat. Fat deposits have clearly thickened the tail, and the belly is wide for the body.
  • Obese. The tail is very rounded and thick, and the belly is very wide for the body size.

If your gecko looks fat or obese on this scale, cut back on waxworms and other fatty treats and book a visit with a reptile vet. A vet can check for other causes of a swollen belly and help you cut back safely.

Also keep a bearded dragon? Its diet includes greens. See best feeder insects for bearded dragons.

Sources

  1. Rich G. Leopard geckos: care and feeding. VCA Animal Hospitals.
  2. Pollock C. 2016. Basic information sheet: leopard gecko. LafeberVet.
  3. LafeberVet. 2013. Feeding insect eating reptiles (client handout).
  4. Nijboer J, Fens A. 2025. Nutrition in lizards. Merck Veterinary Manual.
  5. Kulma M, Plachy V, Kourimska L, Vrabec V, Bubova T, Adamkova A, Hucko B. 2016. Nutritional value of three Blattodea species used as feed for animals. Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences 25(4), pages 354 to 360.
  6. Finke MD. 2015. Complete nutrient content of four species of commercially available feeder insects fed enhanced diets during growth. Zoo Biology 34(6), pages 554 to 564.
  7. Finke MD. 2014. Nutritional value of commercially raised insects. Gecko Time. The author's summary of his published analyses, including Finke MD 2002, Complete nutrient composition of commercially raised invertebrates used as food for insectivores, Zoo Biology 21(3).
  8. Finke MD, Oonincx DGAB. 2023. Insects as food for insectivores. In: Mass Production of Beneficial Organisms, 2nd edition, chapter 18. Elsevier.
  9. Barras E, Boykin KL, Aguilar MG, Lex Z, Bitter A, Mitchell MA. 2025. Effect of commercial diets on the nutritional value and mortality rates of dubia roaches (Blaptica dubia). Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery 35(3), pages 176 to 191.
  10. Nipithakul P, Yodpunya S, Prasitwiset W, Buranapim N, Tangtrongsup S, Tiwananthagorn S. 2025. Cryptosporidium varanii infection in captive leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) and its association with wasting syndrome in Thailand. Animals 16(1), 33.
  11. Cowan VE, Berg KJ. 2026. Dietary intoxications of the exotic animal patient. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice (abstract).

Feeders in this guide