What do I feed my reptiles?

What do I feed my reptiles? #

We get a lot of customers who want the best for their pet reptiles and one of the most frequently asked questions is “What do I feed my reptile? in In this article, we will outline the natural diet – and the captive equivalents, to give your lizard, snake, amphibian or invertebrate the optimum amount of nutrition to keep the animal happy and healthy. We will also describe the reason for additional calcium and other supplements and their benefit to the animal.

Diet Variety

In a natural setting, lizards, snakes, amphibians and invertebrates are opportunistic in their diets and will tackle anything they can identify as food and overpower. You will find some family favourite reptiles eating some strange things in the wild! Leopard geckos eating nests of baby mice, bearded dragons feasting on scorpions and venomous spiders, corn snakes wrestling with fence lizards, monitor lizards raiding crocodile nests for eggs and hatchlings and boa constrictors swallowing toucans. It may not be possible to replicate such a wide and varied diet in captivity, but it is better for the animal to experience different items of food when you can make it available.

Nutritional value

Not all food is created equally and sometimes it can be difficult what to feed your specific reptile. Different foods have varying levels of nutrition, from insects and other invertebrates to rodents and birds. All will have different levels of fats, proteins, calcium, vitamins, minerals and phosphates. Snakes and larger lizards will eat whole prey items, the nutritional value of which you can find below.
Prey Item Fat% Protein%
Rat – pup 23 58
Rat – weaner 27 56
Rat – adult 32 61
Mouse – pinkie 17 64
Mouse – crawler 30 44
Mouse – adult 23 55
Guinea pigs – neonatal 34 51
Guinea pig – adult 46 51
Rabbit – neonatal 13 72
Rabbit – adult 15 65
Chicken – chick 22 64
Chicken – adult 37 42
Multimammate – adult 27 58
Gerbil – adult 25 56
Quail – adult 31 69

As snakes and larger lizards eat the whole prey animal (internal organs, skin, fur, bone and tail included) it has been documented that a varied diet of size appropriate whole prey items will negate the need for any additional supplements and will help to keep a healthy weight and maintain a steady growth rate in younger animals. This being said, we do recommend that you rump dip a prey item once a month to ensure that trace vitamins and minerals are present in the diet.

Why do we use calcium powders with reptiles?

Calcium supplements have been used in reptile collections for as long as reptiles have been housed in captivity, but why do we use calcium supplements?
(Sciency bit disclaimer) Calcium is used to balance the calcium/phosphorous ratio present in the reptiles’ foods. Phosphorus (P) is found in high concentrations in vegetation and insects. In order to properly metabolise the phosphorus in a meal a reptile needs to have enough calcium (Ca) in its system. This is approximately double the amount of phosphorus present making the ratio of Ca:P as 2:1. When there is less calcium present, to counterbalance the phosphorus, the reptile will begin to draw calcium from other sources, for example, the bones of the animal itself. This can quickly lead to diseases such as metabolic bone disease (MBD), muscular problems and growth abnormalities. Please click here to learn more about metabolic bone disease What is MBD.docx. Live insect prey and vegetation should be dusted with a high-quality calcium powder to ensure that there is enough available for the reptile to metabolise their food effectively. Calcium is particularly important in younger or gravid animals as the growth rate in young animals is much faster than adults and gravid oviparous reptiles need additional calcium to build shells around the eggs. Below is a nutritional breakdown of some of the more common commercially produced insects:
Insect Protein Fat Ca:P Chitin
Locust 22% 9% 1:6 12%
Cricket 17% 5.5% 0.33:1 9.6%
Morioworm 22% 17% 0.3:1 3.6%
Dubia roach 21% 9% 1:3 3.5%
Mealworm 18% 10% 1:7 5.7%
Waxworm 14% 18% 1:7 0.1%
Earthworm 11% 3% 1.5:1 0%

Why do we use vitamin / mineral supplements to feed reptiles?

Supplementation is often talked about in the reptile hobby, but why do we use vitamin/mineral supplements with reptiles? During the late 1960’s when tortoises became the must-have garden accessories, supplements, or indeed any additional dietary requirements were rarely, if ever, given. This (and other husbandry problems) resulted in a 1% survival rate over the first 12 months. Between 1969-1972 of an estimated 240,000 tortoises imported, only 2,400 survived their first year. Other reptiles have been subject to a serious lack of supplements in their diet from leopard geckos and bearded dragons to green iguanas and bosc monitors. Here we will discuss what and when to supplement and why we should.
When grazing or hunting in a wild setting, vitamins and minerals will be consumed naturally. In a captive setting, trace vitamins and minerals may be missing from commercially produced insects and vegetation. This is why supplementation is used.
• Vitamin A is used by the reptile to maintain the health of eyes, respiratory and gastro-intestinal systems.
• Vitamin B is needed for metabolism and function of the nervous system.
• Vitamin C for healthy teeth, gums and the formation of collagen.
• Vitamin E protects red blood cells and aids in the absorption of vitamins A and C.
There are several trace minerals vital to the animal’s health, iodine (I), copper (CU), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and magnesium (Mg). These help in supporting the immune system, enzyme function, energy production, bone development and health, thyroid hormone production and even skin health and metabolism.
Deficiencies in trace minerals can lead to stunted growth, poor immune functions and developmental issues.
One of the most important vitamins to a reptile is vitamin D3. This can be supplemented manually by the keeper, but the most effective method is to allow the animal to synthesis vitamin D3 itself. This is done by exposing the animal to UV lighting (within its species-specific Fergusson zone – which we will discuss in a later article). Vitamin D3 is synthesised in the animal’s skin (or shell) using UV radiation and heat in a process called thermal isomerisation. Thermal isomerisation (last sciency bit, I promise) of vitamin D3 involves a reversible conversion between vitamin D3 and its precursor, previtamin D3, driven by heat, which can affect the accurate quantification of vitamin D3 in foods and tissues.

So what do I feed my reptile? A Conclusion…
There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet and within the hobby regarding the “best” captive diet. In our opinion, a varied diet with calcium and vitamin/mineral supplementation will allow your animal to grow well and maintain its health. We have pioneered new foods and complete diets for several different species of captive reptile, we have tried new foods with the animals, combinations of supplements and several forms of edible enrichment. Please feel free to contact us for any help or advice.
0121 744 1300

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