The complete feeding guide for crested geckos — from powdered CGD to live insects, fruits, and a schedule that actually works.
Crested gecko diet is one of the few genuinely simple things in reptile keeping. These geckos eat powdered meal replacement diet mixed with water, a few insects per week, and the occasional fruit treat. They thrive on it. But "simple" doesn't mean "anything goes" — the wrong diet choices cause slow deficiencies that show up months later.
This guide covers everything: what CGD is, which brand to choose, how often to feed at each life stage, what insects work, what fruits are safe, and the foods that can actually hurt your gecko.
Powdered Crested Gecko Diet — usually abbreviated CGD — is a complete meal replacement developed specifically for crested geckos. Mix it with water to a smoothie-like consistency, put it in a small shallow dish on a raised ledge, and your gecko can survive its entire life eating only this. That's not hyperbole. It's nutritionally complete.
Two brands dominate the hobby:
Both work. Buy one, try it. If your gecko refuses, try the other brand or a different Pangea flavor. Rotate occasionally to prevent flavor fixation — a gecko that only accepts one flavor is a gecko that will eventually refuse food when that product changes formula.
Standard mixing ratio: 1 part powder to 2 parts water by weight, or mix until it reaches a smoothie consistency. Not too watery (it'll separate and spoil faster), not too thick (geckos may refuse it). Remove uneaten CGD after 24-48 hours — it ferments in the heat and humidity of the enclosure.
| Age / Stage | CGD Frequency | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Hatchling (0–4 months) | Every evening | ~1 teaspoon mixed |
| Juvenile (4–12 months) | Every other evening | 1–2 teaspoons |
| Adult (12+ months) | 2–3× per week | 2 teaspoons |
Always offer food at night. Crested geckos are nocturnal — they eat after lights out. Food offered during the day often sits ignored, then gets tossed. Time your offering to when they're actually active.
CGD provides complete nutrition on its own. Insects add enrichment, extra protein, and make juveniles grow faster. They're especially important during the growth phase (0–12 months). Adults can go without insects entirely.
No insect wider than the space between your gecko's eyes. This is the universal rule. Oversized feeders cause impaction and stress. For hatchlings, this means 1/4-inch crickets or the smallest Dubias. For adults, large crickets work fine.
1–2 times per week for hatchlings and juveniles. Once per week or less for adults. Never feed more insects than your gecko can eat in 15–20 minutes. Remove any escaped insects from the enclosure — loose crickets stress geckos and can bite sleeping animals.
Crested geckos eat fruit in the wild. Small amounts of certain fruits can be offered as occasional enrichment — no more than once per week, never as a staple.
Fruits high in oxalic acid (spinach, beets, kiwi) bind calcium and can contribute to metabolic bone disease over time. Avoid them even in small amounts.
If you're feeding Pangea or Repashy CGD as the staple, you're already covered. These diets are calcium-fortified. You don't need additional calcium supplementation for CGD-fed geckos unless insects make up a significant portion of the diet.
For insect dusting: use a calcium + D3 powder (Repti Calcium with D3, or Zoo Med ReptiVite). Dust at every insect feeding. Plain calcium without D3 works if you're providing UVB lighting; calcium + D3 works with or without UVB.
The most common dietary deficiency in crested geckos isn't calcium — it's variety. A gecko that eats the same single flavor of CGD every day for years is at nutritional risk if that formula ever becomes unavailable. Rotate flavors.
CGD ferments. In a warm, humid enclosure, mixed CGD goes bad within 24–48 hours. If it smells sour or has visible mold, it's been out too long. Remove it and clean the dish with hot water before the next feeding.
More insects = faster growth, but also more phosphorus. Without enough calcium to balance it, you're setting up MBD. Stick to the 1–2× per week schedule and always dust. Never skip dusting because you "forgot this one time" — that becomes a habit.
Crested geckos are nocturnal. Food offered during the day often goes ignored. Then you check in the morning, see the dish is full, assume your gecko isn't eating, and panic. Offer food in the evening and check the dish the following morning.
Rotate flavors every bag or two. A gecko that accepts multiple flavors is a gecko that will keep eating if your preferred product is ever out of stock, reformulated, or discontinued. Flavor variety also provides broader nutritional coverage.
Fruits are treats. Feeding mango every day is like a child eating candy for every meal — they'll eat it happily and be nutritionally worse off for it. Once per week maximum, in small amounts.
Many crested geckos go through food strikes — refusing food for 1–3 weeks — especially after a move, during breeding season, or when temperatures shift. As long as the gecko maintains body weight and remains hydrated, brief food strikes are not emergencies. Monitor, don't panic.
For a complete feeding rotation schedule, species-specific supplement protocols, and printable feeding logs, see the full ExoGuide Crested Gecko Care Handbook. More detail on crested gecko care setup is available on this site.
Last updated: March 2026.
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