If you’re the owner of a pet Leopard Gecko, then you’ll already be aware of their dietary needs while in captivity. But what about their eating habits in the wild? Are there any variations between the two? How do Leopard Geckos get all the nutrients they need in the wild to survive? And how do these fascinating lizards go about capturing their prey?
Although Leopard Geckos often dine on the same type of foods in the wild as in captivity, their natural habitat offers them substantially more insects and other creatures to enjoy.
The Leopard Gecko will eat mostly anything in the wild as long as it can be easily overpowered. This includes crickets, small spiders and rodents, and grasshoppers. Just as they do in captivity, these Geckos will also devour on locusts, mealworms, and wax moth larvae in the wild.
Vitamin D3 and Calcium in a Leopard Geckos Diet
Leopard Geckos need calcium supplements in captivity because of the high phosperous content in many of the common insects they are fed, such as mealworms and crickets. Unless you use a UVB light in your vivarium, vitamin D supplements will also be required.
Vitamin D3 is essential to a Leopard Gecko as it allows him to store and use calcium, which is an essential mineral for ensuring good bone density. So how do Leopard Geckos ensure they get enough of both vitamin D3 and calcium in the wild?
It has been suggested that Leopard Geckos in the wild get both calcium and vitamin D3 from the various insects, spiders, and ants that they consume. Although these lizards don’t particularly like the direct sunlight, they will benefit somewhat from the ultraviolet rays that can help them synthesize their own vitamin D3.
Because calcium is detrimental to a Leopard Geckos’ survival, any chance they get to fulfill their calcium needs in the wild is jumped upon with great gusto. This essential mineral can be obtained from eating hard-shelled insects, and if they do require an extra helping, they will use their long tongue to lick the minerals of the environment.
The Hunt
Leopard Geckos are nocturnal, so they will hunt their prey at night when they are less prone to attack from predators such as snakes, rats, larger reptiles, and birds of prey. And because they are carnivore insectivores, they are designed to eat and digest meat, which they primarily get from the many insects they eat.
During the night in the wild, these nocturnal lizards will stalk and eat many insects, including centipedes, giant spiders, crickets, small locusts, grasshoppers, mealworms, and even nesting mice and smaller lizards.
The vast majority of food that Leopard Geckos consume in the wild is live. If they come across a dead insect, they may not know that it’s food, so they are likely to leave it alone and move on.
The strong sense of smell and sight that a Leopard Gecko possesses in the wild allows them to detect and find food easier. Once they have found their prey, a somewhat peculiar yet fascinating ritual takes place.
Just like a cat hunts in the wild, the Leopard Gecko will begin to swish its tail back and forth, and if they’re satisfied with its find, it’ll strike and make a meal of its prey.
Eating To Survive
One of the stranger things that Leopard Geckos eat in the wild is their own skin. Although this may sound a little odd, the reasoning behind it plays a large part in the survival of the Gecko.
There are two reasons for a Leopard Gecko devouring its own shredded skin, although the second one is yet to be proven. Firstly, by consuming its skin, a Leopard Gecko won’t leave any tracks that a potential predator could follow. Secondly, it’s believed by some zoologists that the skin contains calcium and essential nutrients that Geckos would not otherwise get from their prey in the wild.
Round up
As a carnivore, a Leopard Gecko does not possess a functioning cecum, which is the part of the body that helps to digest cellulose, a substance found in fruit and vegetables. These lizards also have a short alkaline digestive tract, which is why they don’t eat fruit or vegetables. In the wild, these lizard species thrive on a diet of various insects obtained through their prowess as a nocturnal hunter.
