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Zilla Feeding Guide

What should your reptile eat to stay healthy? Whether your reptile is primarily carnivorous, omnivorous, herbivorous or insectivorous, there are essential feeding tips you should know. Before you get a pet reptile, you should do extensive research on their diet so you can be sure you are able to provide for them properly.

Every specific reptile has unique needs, but we have developed a quick reference to get you started!

General Reptile Feeding Tips

Feeding frequency will depend on the age, size, and overall health of your animal.
Feeder insects should be gut-loaded and sprayed with calcium so that your pets can get the maximum nutritional value.
Reptiles require calcium, vitamin D3, and other supplements to stay their healthiest.
When it comes to picking feeder insects for lizards and geckos, insects should be no larger than the animal’s snout to eye.
For arboreal species, which rarely come to the enclosure floor, provide a small dish mounted off of the enclosure’s floor where you can easily place their food.
When choosing fruits and vegetables for your pet, make sure they are chemical, pesticide and herbicide free.
Always provide humanely pre-killed feeder rodents. Feeding live rodents may create a risk of injury to your pet.
Certain reptiles eat feeder fish, avoid goldfish. Goldfish contain thiaminase which stops the body from absorbing vitamin B and eventually can cause death.
As you select prey for your snake, provide items that are approximately the same width as the snake’s widest point.
- Additional Note: Snakes may refuse food over several weeks or months. Often this occurs in the fall and winter months or if several other husbandry conditions are not being met.

Reptile	Diet	Specifics
Aquatic Turtles
Painted Turtle	Omnivorous to Carnivorous	Feeders: Crickets, roaches, mealworms, waxworms, superworms, or other invertebrates. They can also eat small rodents of appropriate size, but offer these sparingly, if at all. Small feeder fish of appropriate nutritional value (avoid goldfish), earthworms, redworms, freeze dried shrimp or krill, or some other meats. They can also be fed some chopped greens, fruits, and vegetable material as well. Turtle pellets make a great all in one diet that can be supplemented with all of the above foods.
Chameleons
Veiled Chameleon / Panther Chameleon / Jackson's Chameleon	Insectivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets and roaches. Sparingly feed mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat.
Frogs & Toads
Fire bellied Toad	Insectivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets, roaches, earthworms, and redworms. Sparingly feed mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat.
Horned (Pacman) Frogs	Insectivorous to Carnivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets, roaches, earthworms, redworms, bloodworms, or mealworms. Other: Feeder fish (except goldfish) and occasionally pre-killed rodents of appropriate size, although these prey items should be given only sparingly.
White's Tree Frog	Insectivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets and roaches. Sparingly feed mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat.
Geckos
Crested Gecko	Omnivorous and Frugivorous	Crested Gecko Diet: Commercial Crested Gecko Diets are perfect all-in-one diets that allow for easy feeding and nutrition for your crested gecko Feeder Insects: Crickets or feeder roaches, but crested geckos will sometimes eat waxworms.
Leopard Gecko	Insectivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets and, roaches. Sparingly feed, mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat.
Lizards
Bearded Dragon	Omnivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets and roaches. Sparingly feed mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat. Mixed Chopped Vegetables: Carrots, peas, collard, mustard, dandelion greens, and beans.
Blue Tongued Skink	Omnivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets, roaches Sparingly feed mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat. Chopped Vegetables: Carrots, peas, collard, mustard, and dandelion greens, and beans.
Chinese Water Dragon	Omnivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets and roaches. Sparingly feed mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat. Chopped Vegetables: Carrots, peas, collard, mustard, dandelion greens, and beans.
Green & Bahamian Anole	Insectivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets, and roaches. Sparingly feed, mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat.
Green Iguana	Primarily Herbivorous	Chopped Vegetables: Mustard greens, collard and turnip greens, green beans, kale, squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. AVOID: Diets high in protein. This can lead to gout, renal disease, and other disorders seen in iguanas.
Uromastyx	Primarily Herbivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets, and roaches. Sparingly feed, mealworms, superworms, and waxworms as a treat. Chopped Vegetables: Carrots, peas, kale, corn, mustard greens, beans, collard and dandelion greens. Feed green leaf lettuce sparingly if at all.
Newts & Salamanders
Firebelly Newts	Insectivorous to Carnivorous	Feeders: Chopped nightcrawlers, worms, isopods, feeder crickets, and roaches. Sparingly Feed waxworms and mealworms as a treat.
Tiger Salamanders	Insectivorous to Carnivorous	Feeder Insects: Earthworms, crickets, and roaches. Sparingly feed waxworms or silkworms as a treat..
Snakes
Ball Pythons	Carnivorous	Feeder Rodents: Rats, mice, and chicks.
Boas	Carnivorous	Feeder Rodents: Rats, mice, and chicks.
King Snakes	Carnivorous	Feeder Rodents: Rats, mice, and chicks.
Milk Snakes	Carnivorous	Feeder Rodents: Rats, mice, and chicks.
Garter Snakes	Carnivorous	Feeders: Earthworms, minnows, and mice
Turtles & Land Tortoises
Asian Box Turtles	Omnivorous	Feeder Insects: Crickets, roaches, redworms and earthworms. Sparingly feed, mealworms, waxworms, and superworms as a treat.. Chopped Fruits & Vegetables: Berries, turnip, bananas, tomatoes, watermelon, and collard greens. Other: Freeze-dried shrimp, krill, and small feeder fish (except goldfish).
Tortoises	Primarily Herbivorous	Chopped Greens & Vegetables: Some flowers, dandelions, hibiscus, turnip, kale, mustard, and collard greens. AVOID: Spinach, citric fruits, Iceberg lettuce, most grain products, dog and cat foods, and other acidic food items.

For additional pellet food options as well as veggie and insect mixes, check out Zilla’s Fortified Foods and Reptile Munchies.

Zilla is committed to helping you build the best life for your reptiles. From creating the perfect habitat to providing resources for animal happiness and well-being. We want to be sure you have all the tools you need. Join the conversation and stay in the loop by liking us on Facebook or signing up for our monthly newsletter, the Zilla ZooLetter.

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