FAQ: Food for reptiles

No. Turtles, lizards and snakes eat very differently. The pack says which species a food is for.

Reptile food packs are often small and vary a lot in size, so a higher price per pack does not necessarily mean pricier food. The price per kilogram shows the real cost.

Insectivores such as leopard geckos need live insects with calcium supplements, herbivores such as tortoises and iguanas need greens and fibre, and omnivores such as bearded dragons need a mix of both. Carnivorous reptiles such as snakes need whole prey.

For bearded dragons you buy live insects such as crickets, locusts or roaches, plus fresh greens and vegetables, with the insects dusted in calcium. As they age, the plant share of their diet grows.

Young bearded dragons grow fast, so they need more protein from insects. Too many insects can make adults obese, so their diet is usually mostly greens, with insects given less often.

Leopard geckos eat only live insects: crickets, roaches, locusts, mealworms and others. The insects are dusted with calcium and sometimes vitamins, and geckos do not eat fruit or vegetables.

Leopard geckos usually respond to moving prey, so they generally do not eat dead or dried insects. Some can be coaxed by offering them on tongs with movement, but live insects should remain the staple.

Corn snakes eat rodents, so you buy frozen mice of the right size: newborn mice for hatchlings and adult mice for adults. Whole prey provides all the nutrients they need, so supplements are usually unnecessary.

Royal pythons eat rodents: juveniles usually mice and adults rats or other larger rodents. Frozen rodents are bought, sized to match the thickest part of the snake's body.

For tortoises you buy or gather greens and weeds, dried herbs and hay, and sometimes a dedicated pelleted tortoise food as an extra. Calcium is given as powder or a cuttlebone.

Aquatic turtles are often fed a dedicated floating pellet as a staple, topped up with frozen or live food such as bloodworms, shrimp or small fish, and aquatic plants. The plant share grows with age.

Green iguanas are herbivores, so they need lots of leafy greens, vegetables, a little fruit and, if you like, a dedicated pelleted iguana food. Animal protein is not recommended for them.

Blue-tongued skinks are omnivores: their diet often combines vegetables and greens, insects, snails and a dedicated protein food. Variety matters, and fruit is given only in small amounts.

Crickets, locusts, dubia roaches and black soldier fly larvae are often treated as staples because they have good nutritional value without too much fat. Fattier larvae such as waxworms are better as treats.

Different insects contain different amounts of protein, fat and minerals, so a variety helps balance the diet. The reptile is also less likely to get fixated on one kind and start refusing other food.

Crickets move actively, so they encourage the reptile to hunt, are high in protein and are easy to get in various sizes. Their downsides are noise, smell and the fact that uneaten crickets can nibble a sleeping reptile.

Crickets left overnight can bite a resting or shedding reptile and injure its skin or eyes. So give as many as the reptile eats in a few minutes and remove the rest.

Black crickets are usually bigger and noisier, while brown house crickets are smaller, faster and chirp less. Nutritionally they are similar, so the choice comes down to size and which are easier to keep.

Crickets are sold by size or life stage, from tiny nymphs to adults. A common rule is that the insect should be no longer than the space between the reptile's eyes, so juveniles get small ones and adults bigger ones.

Locusts are large, meaty and slower than crickets, so they are easy to feed to bigger lizards such as bearded dragons. They do not chirp or bite the reptile, but they need warmth and fresh grass to survive.