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Reptile and Exotic Animal Nutrition

Lizards, snakes, amphibians, spiders, scorpions and mini-beasts all have varying diets. This section of the website will provide you with some general advice about the main different foods available and how these are important for the animals. Whilst we refer to reptiles this advice is acceptable for other exotic animals unless otherwise stated.

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Crickets	Fruit and vegetables
Locusts or Hoppers	Mice and other vertebrates
Mealworms	Vitamins and diet formulas
Waxworms	Water
Silkworms	Donate

Reptiles have evolved to eat a wide range of foods and each species has its own specialist requirements. Whilst herbivores require various items of vegetation, carnivores feed on other animals. In between these extremes lay omnivores, both vegetation and animal consumers, and insectivores, species that only eat insects. These dietary variations often determine the frequency and portion size of each feed as well as the chosen food itself. The natural diet can also assist in identifying important yet absent nutrients essential for healthy growth and health.

Insectivores normally require feeding a small amount every day as this will prevent insects from attacking the reptile and prevent the reptile over eating. Common insects available to purchase from reputable reptile suppliers include Crickets, Locusts (sometimes called Hoppers), Mealworms, Waxworms and Silkworms.

It is also advisable to feed herbivores on a daily basis to prevent the high temperatures wilting and drying out fruit, leaves and other vegetation that needs to be kept fresh. The most economical way is to grow suitable plants - such as dandelions, collard, watercress and turnip greens - and then harvest a small amount when needed.

Carnivores, such as snakes and crocodilians, which consume pre-killed mice, pinkies, chicks and/or fresh meat as without proper handling the risk of food poisoning increases for both you and your reptile. It is advisable to use pre-killed animals for this reason as reputable companies will ensure that frozen food items do not thaw in transit but remain stored at suitable temperatures. Pre-killed animals also reduce the risk of the prey item attacking the reptile and the reptile’s aggression making them easier to handle. Most captive breed species adapt to eating these foods with ease, however, movement with tongs and warmth maybe needed to simulated natural hunting. Due to the high protein and energy levels of these items, resulting in slower digestion, these reptiles will need feeding less often.

With any reptile it is advised to keep to a regular feeding pattern as this will reduce stress and help determine the correct quantities and frequency of feeding. Overfeeding is as equally as unhealthy as malnutrition and so different aspects such as size, illness, hibernation and breeding should be considered when feeding and food adapted as appropriate.

Crickets

These come in a variety of sizes from as small as a pinhead - to use with baby or small Lizards - through to large crickets that measure about 2.5cm. A good way to judge the size suitable for your Reptile is to use crickets no larger then the size of their head. When you purchase your crickets it is important you take the same amount of care of them as you would your Reptile, after all you are what you eat. With this last point in mind buying or making a Cricket Home is highly recommended and carries three key benefits:

1. the crickets have more room to move, improving quality of life and notably increasing life expectancy and breeding rates if required.

2. the use of a tube allows easier transportation into the reptile enclosure.

3. allows you to put fresh food and water into their home, along with specially formulated cricket feed, making the crickets more nutritious for your Reptile.

For added nutrition crickets can be dusted with a commercial vitamin powder, such as Nutrobal, before being placed into the Reptiles enclosure.

Locusts or Hoppers

Locusts also come in a range of sizes from small to large and are an ideal food to keep your Reptile lively, living up to their name as hoppers. Whilst locusts are more nutritious then crickets it is a good idea to feed them with fresh fruit and vegetables and a commercial supplement. Large locusts can cause your reptile problems so care should be taken in choosing the correct size for your Reptile and do not add too many to the enclosure at once.

It is also important to take care of your Locusts for the duration of their lives once purchased. They should be fed, provided water and shelter.

For added nutrition locust can be dusted with a commercial vitamin powder, such as Nutrobal, before being placed into the Reptiles enclosure.

Mealworms & Mealworm Beetles (including Morioworms)

Mealworms are another popular food choice for Reptile owners and like the other live foods must be kept in adequate conditions and fed well with fresh fruit and vegetables. These worms have a thick skin that can cause digestive problem in small Lizards and are thus only recommended in limited amounts to allow time for complete digestion. After a few weeks the worms will turn into beetles that can be used to breed (20 beetles can produced around 100 mealworms) or used as food for larger Lizards. These beetles are again hard to digest and should be limited.

For added nutrition mealworms and beetles can be dipped into a commercial vitamin powder, such as Nutrobal, before being placed into the Reptiles enclosure.

Waxworms & Moths

Wax worms are the larvae of a small moth and are great to use to fatten up your lizard as they have a very high fat content. Yet, due to this reason should be fed in small numbers as a treat. These are ideal for any Lizard as they are very soft making chewing easy. After a few weeks, depending what temperature they are kept at, they will turn into small moths that can also be fed to your reptile.

For added nutrition waxworms can be dusted with a commercial vitamin powder, such as Nutrobal, before being placed into the Reptiles enclosure.

Silkworms

Silkworms are an ideal source of nutrients for you Lizard and as they contain an enzyme called serrapeptase making calcium absorption more efficient, can reduce inflammation, pain and can break down arterial plaque. They come in a number of different sizes and are great for all lizards as they are easy to digest. Silkworms are, however, much less common then the previous food sources described but are rated highly by reptile experts and a worth the effort of acquiring.

Fruit, Vegetables and other Plants

For those lizards that eat fruit, vegetables and other plant matter it is important to feed them a varied choice and experiment to find what they like and dislike. Squashes, dandelion leaves, turnip tops and mustard greens are all good source of nutrients.

Vegetation can also be dusted with a commercial vitamin powder, such as Nutrobal, before being placed into the Reptiles enclosure.

Vertebrates (Pinkies, Mice, Rats & Chicks), Meat and Fish

Some reptile such as snakes and larger lizards will eat vertebrates such as mice, rats & chicks instead of insects. These can be purchased frozen from most reptile retailers, care should be taken if using vertebrates caught from the wild to insure these are safe from parasites and have not been in contact with poisons. All frozen vertebrate should be thoroughly defrosted before offering them to your reptile, the best way of doing this leaving them out and covered up in a warm room to defrost naturally then offer it to your reptile when it feels warm to touch. When offering your vertebrate to your reptile you may need to wiggle it with some clean tweezers to draw attention that it is a food source, do not leave uneaten food in the enclosure for long periods of time as the heat will quickly cause it to be inedible or bad.

Carnivores and omnivores, like monitor lizards and blue-tongue skinks, will require some meat in their diet that can range from raw chicken, beef, pork, rabbit and lamb and can include some internal organs (offal) such as beef liver that is rich in vitamin D. All types of fish and correctly prepared shell fish can be offered but care to remove small bones should be made. Eggs can also be offered but will need to be boiled through to prevent any bacteria transferring across to your reptile. It is important not to feed herbivores meat products and ominvorous animals should be fed meat and fish as part of a varied diet.

Vitamin & Diet Formula

Once you have chosen your food source it is very important you dust food items, including live food and vegetation, with a multi-vitamin or high calcium supplement. If using a livefood home powder can be shaken down the tube before being emptied into the reptile enclosure. Food could also be picked up using tweezers and dunked into a small amount of powder in a separate bowl before being placed in the enclosure to avoid contamination across food types.

Small pieces of cuttlefish can also be offered to your reptile to boost calcium intake to prevent deficiency that can lead to Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), one of many potentially fatal diet related problems.

Water

Water is also a vital element for health and a clean, shallow bowl of water should be placed in the enclosure daily and a regular spray of water will benefit your Reptile, especially in the case of Anoles and Chameleons that will only lap water up from droplets on leaves and should thus be sprayed around 3-4 times per day. Researching and gathering advice will obtain the correct requirements for a particular species.

Research is essential before purchasing any Reptile to maintain the correct dietary requirements and quantities, remember over feeding can be as harmful as under feeding. Keeping to set feeding times will help your Reptile get in to a routine, reducing levels of stress, and basic hygiene, such as cleaning food bowls between feeds, will also maintain high levels of health.

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