FAQ: Food for reptiles

Signs of dehydration are sunken eyes, wrinkled, inelastic skin, thick urates and lethargy. A warm soak, a larger water dish and juicier food help, and if it does not improve, see a vet.

Vitamins in water are unreliable, because you cannot tell how much the reptile drinks, and the water spoils faster. Vitamins are usually given by dusting food, following the label and your vet's advice.

Base the quantity on how many the reptile eats in a week or two, because crickets and locusts do not survive long. Long-lived insects such as dubia roaches or mealworms can be bought in larger amounts.

Keep greens in the fridge's vegetable drawer, wrapped in a damp paper towel or in a sealed box. Let them warm to room temperature before giving them to the reptile.

After expiry, vitamins in particular may no longer work, so it is better to replace the supplement. Buy a pack size you will use up before it expires.

Pelleted food is kept tightly closed in a cool, dry, dark place, because moisture and light speed up vitamin loss. An opened pack is best used within a few months or as the manufacturer says.

A bigger pack is often cheaper per kilogram, but reptiles eat little, so the food may go stale or lose vitamins before it is used up. Larger packs make sense for long-lasting food or when feeding several animals.

Insects are sold in different quantities and sizes – by count, by tub or by weight – so prices are hard to compare at a glance. Work out the price per insect or per gram and factor in delivery terms.

Yes, zoogidas.lt compares prices across Lithuanian online pet shops, and products can be sorted by price per kilogram. You buy on the shop's own website.

Prices are collected roughly daily, and each product shows when its price was last checked. The product page also shows its price history.

Adult reptiles can usually go a few days without food safely, but they always need water. Herbivores can be left extra greens, and for juveniles or longer trips ask someone else to feed them.

Leave the sitter a clear feeding plan, ready portions such as weighed frozen rodents or chopped greens, and the supplements. Buy enough live insects to survive until you return.

Reptiles are usually not fed during travel, because stress and movement interfere with digestion and snakes may regurgitate. Water or a humid setting is enough, and feeding can resume once the reptile settles in.

Females carrying or about to lay eggs often need more calcium and food, as forming eggs uses up a lot of minerals. It is worth discussing calcium and feeding with a vet during this time.

Hatchlings are fed very small insects – tiny crickets and small larvae – or newborn mice if they are snakes. The first feed is often offered only after the first shed, once the hatchling has used up its yolk reserves.

Very small gecko hatchlings do well on flightless fruit flies, springtails and tiny crickets. They are easy to culture at home and are the right size when bigger insects are still too large.

Older reptiles often eat less and more slowly, so they get slightly smaller, easier-to-eat portions and are weighed more often. Major diet changes and supplements should be agreed with a vet.

Recovery formulas and assisted feeding are used only after talking to a vet, because done wrongly they can injure the reptile and mask the real cause of illness. First find out why the reptile is not eating.

Before brumation or hibernation many reptiles are not fed for a few weeks so the gut empties, because undigested food can rot at low temperatures. The exact timing depends on species and size, so ask a vet the first time.

Once the reptile wakes, let it warm up and drink first, then offer food a few days later when it becomes active. If its appetite does not return for a long time, see a vet.