Tokay Geckos are the second-largest geckos in the world and they are definitely not “gentle giants” like other big geckos are known as. These beautiful creatures are as wild as they can be and it can take years to form a trustworthy bond between them and their keeper. This is why it’s highly recommended to only own one if you have a bit of experience.
When it comes to food, these geckos are known to be ferocious eaters and great hunters. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the foods a gecko should eat and what it won’t touch.
Can Tokay Geckos Eat Strawberries?
Reptiles are known to only eat fruits in the wild if they are very hungry. This is why about 90% of them will refuse fruit in captivity. But it doesn’t hurt to try your Tokay Gecko with a bit of strawberry-flavored baby food and see if it like it. If not, try to change to tropical fruits, such as mango, banana, etc. Don’t give a Tokay Gecko an actual strawberry as it will either ignore it or choke on it.
Tokay Geckos are insectivores and only lick a little bit of fruit for the sake of the sugar in it. So don’t expect this gecko to actually eat the fruit as an omnivore gecko would. Although they might taste the smallest slice from time to time. They love licking the fruits, which is why baby food is a favorite.
One thing you should keep in mind about feeding a Tokay Gecko fruits is that it’s incredibly important to pay attention to the type of fruit it eats. If you’re only using fruits as a very rare treat, it shouldn’t make much of a difference. But if your Tokay Gecko loves banana-flavored baby food and thin slices of banana, you should avoid feeding it this mix more than once a month or so.
This is because bananas have potassium, which stops the Tokay Gecko from absorbing the needed calcium from other insects. A little bit from time to time is OK, but anything more than that can be harmful. And strawberries should only be offered as a paste and very rarely as well.
Foods That Are OK For Tokay Geckos
Tokay Geckos are insectivores, which means that they need a varied diet of insects to thrive. More than that, they need their insects to be alive during feeding. Otherwise, they will see it the way you see a spoiled meal and the gecko won’t even touch the dead insect. Most geckos are like this and very few accept eating them dead.
As daily staples, you can use crickets, dubia roaches, hornworms, black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, superworms, and other roaches such as discoid, turkestan, and orange head. When it comes to treats, you should feed them up to three times a week waxworms, mealworms, and butterworms.
Pinkie mice are another type of food that geckos absolutely love. But make sure the mouse is not bigger than the space between the gecko’s eyes.
