House geckos are insectivores, so their diet in captivity should consist almost entirely of live feeder insects. In the wild, these small nocturnal lizards hunt moths, cockroaches, and other bugs drawn to porch lights at night. Replicating that diet at home is straightforward once you know which insects to offer, how often to feed, and which supplements keep your gecko healthy long-term.
Best Feeder Insects for House Geckos
Crickets are the most widely available and affordable staple feeder for house geckos. They’re easy to find at pet stores, come in multiple sizes, and trigger a strong hunting response. Beyond crickets, you can rotate in several other insects to add nutritional variety:
- Dubia roaches: High in protein, low in fat, and less likely to escape than crickets. Many gecko keepers consider these the ideal staple feeder.
- Mealworms: A convenient option, though their hard outer shell makes them slightly harder to digest. Best offered occasionally rather than as the primary food.
- Waxworms: Very high in fat, so treat these as an occasional snack or a way to fatten up an underweight gecko. A couple per week at most.
- Black soldier fly larvae: Naturally high in calcium compared to other feeders, making them a useful addition to the rotation.
- Small moths and flies: These mimic what house geckos eat in the wild and can encourage natural hunting behavior.
Variety matters. Feeding only one type of insect can lead to nutritional gaps over time. Rotating between two or three feeder types each week gives your gecko a broader nutrient profile.
How Big Should the Insects Be?
The standard rule is that feeder insects should be no larger than the space between your gecko’s eyes. This prevents choking and digestive blockages, which are real risks for a lizard this small. House geckos typically max out around 5 inches in total length, so you’ll generally be buying the smallest size of crickets or roaches available, especially for younger animals. When in doubt, go smaller.
How Often to Feed
Baby and juvenile house geckos should eat once daily. Their rapid growth demands consistent calories, and skipping days can slow development. Adults should also eat daily, though some keepers find that healthy adults do fine with a brief skip here and there. A good starting point is offering 4 to 6 appropriately sized insects per feeding for an adult, adjusting based on whether your gecko cleans up everything or leaves food behind.
Because house geckos are nocturnal, feeding in the evening works best. This aligns with their natural instinct to hunt after dark. Drop insects into the enclosure as the lights dim, and your gecko will typically start hunting within minutes.
Gut Loading: Feeding the Food
The nutritional value of a feeder insect depends heavily on what that insect ate before your gecko eats it. This process, called gut loading, means feeding your crickets or roaches nutrient-dense foods for 24 to 48 hours before offering them to your gecko. Whatever is in the insect’s digestive tract becomes part of your gecko’s meal.
Good gut-loading foods include dark leafy greens like kale and collard greens, carrots, sweet potato, and squash. You can also use commercial gut-loading diets designed specifically for this purpose. Avoid feeding your insects anything with high levels of oxalates (like spinach in large amounts), which can interfere with calcium absorption. A well-gut-loaded cricket is a fundamentally different meal than one that’s been sitting in a pet store container eating nothing.
Calcium and Vitamin Supplements
Even with gut loading, captive insects don’t provide enough calcium or vitamin D3 on their own. Without supplementation, house geckos develop metabolic bone disease, a painful condition where their bones soften and deform. Preventing it is simple but non-negotiable.
The basic approach is to dust feeder insects with a calcium powder before dropping them into the enclosure. You do this by placing a few insects in a small bag or cup with a pinch of powder and giving it a gentle shake. The schedule depends on whether your gecko’s enclosure has a UVB light, which allows them to synthesize their own vitamin D3:
- Without UVB lighting: Dust with plain calcium every other feeding. Use calcium with added D3 on the alternate feedings. Add a multivitamin dust once a week in place of one calcium dusting.
- With UVB lighting: Use plain calcium at most feedings, since your gecko is producing its own D3. Dust with a multivitamin containing D3 once a week.
Some keepers simplify this by using an all-in-one supplement like Repashy Calcium Plus at every feeding, which combines calcium, D3, and vitamins in balanced ratios. This is a reasonable approach if you want to avoid juggling multiple powders.
What Not to Feed
House geckos are not the same as crested geckos or day geckos, which eat fruit and nectar mixes. Common house geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus) are strict insectivores and don’t need fruit, baby food, or sugar-based supplements. Offering these foods can cause digestive issues and doesn’t reflect what these geckos eat in nature.
Also avoid catching wild insects from your yard to feed your gecko. Wild-caught bugs may carry pesticides or parasites. Stick to feeder insects bred specifically for reptile consumption, which you can buy at pet stores or order online in bulk.
Fireflies and lightning bugs are actively toxic to geckos and can be fatal even in small amounts. Never offer them, even if your gecko seems interested.
Water and Hydration
House geckos drink water droplets off surfaces rather than from standing water dishes, though having a shallow dish available doesn’t hurt. Mist the walls of the enclosure lightly once or twice a day, especially in the evening when your gecko is becoming active. You’ll often see them lapping droplets off the glass or decor. Proper humidity (60 to 75 percent for most house gecko setups) also supports hydration and healthy shedding.