Can Crested Geckos Eat Bananas? Everything You Need To Know

When planning out your Crested gecko diet you might wonder – can Crested geckos eat bananas? The short answer is yes, as an occasional treat.

In the wild, Crested geckos eat a lot of fruit. However, not all fruits are safe to feed your gecko and bananas are in a neutral zone.

Bananas have many benefits, especially for us humans. However, does the same go for animals and Crested geckos in particular? And are bananas the best fruit choice for your gecko?

In this article, we will be looking at:

• Can Crested geckos eat bananas
• What are the benefits and negatives of feeding your Crested gecko bananas
• We will also discuss how to serve the bananas and how often to feed them to your gecko

Crested Gecko Diet – In The Wild vs In Captivity

Before discussing can Crested geckos eat bananas, it’s important to look at what is their diet in the wild.

Native to the island of New Caledonia, the Crested geckos are known for eating the following diet:

• Insects 49.6%
• Fruits 11.7%
• Fruit nectars 7.52%
• Seeds 1.8%
• Pollen 10.3%

In the wild, Crested geckos tend to eat a lot of fruit and fruit nectars.

On the other hand, when kept as pets most owners choose a commercial diet for their Crested geckos.

Learn more about Crested gecko care by clicking here Crested Gecko Care: The Ultimate Step By Step Guide

Can Crested Geckos Eat Bananas

If your gecko is on a commercial diet, they won’t need any fruits added from a nutritional point of view as they will be getting everything they need from the pre formulated food.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t feed your Crested gecko fruits as an occasional treat. One of the fruits that Crested geckos can eat are bananas.

Before feeding this fruit to your gecko, it’s important that you understand what are the benefits and negatives.

Benefits Of Feeding Your Crested Gecko Bananas

• Bananas are a fruit that’s rich minerals such as magnesium (40 milligrams+) and potassium. In addition to that, they are also full of vitamins such as vitamin B6, vitamin C, Vitamin E, along with Folate and trace amounts of Niacin.

• Another benefit worth mentioning is that bananas are low in oxalic levels. This is a positive because high levels of oxalic acids in fruits can cause health issues for Crested geckos.
  Therefore, as bananas are low in oxalic levels, they are safe to feed from that point of view.

• Another positive is that most Crested geckos really enjoy eating bananas. Therefore, it makes for a delicious treat!

• Not only that but if you have a poorly gecko on your hands, you can always give them a little bit of banana to get them back into eating.

Negatives Of Feeding Your Crested Gecko Bananas

Unfortunately, there are some negatives in terms of feeding your Crested gecko bananas.

• The main negative comes from the calcium to phosphorus ratio (Ca:P) in bananas which is 1:4.4. Crested geckos are recommended to eat fruits that have a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 2:1 or better. Therefore, bananas are not the best choice due to their low Ca:P ratio.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t ever feed them bananas. It just needs to rarely as monthly treat.

• Another negative worth mentioning is that overfeeding your Crested gecko bananas can result in frequent pooping and calcium binding.

Can Crested Geckos Eat Bananas – Conclusion

After looking at the benefits and negatives of can Crested geckos eat bananas, we have concluded that Crested geckos can eat bananas. However, due to the poor calcium to phosphorus ratio, this fruit should only be given as an occasional treat and in small quantities.

Although, bananas are low in oxalic acid, feeding them large quantities and too often won’t provide your gecko with much nutrient and the overwhelming amount of calcium can have a negative effect to their health in the long run.

This doesn’t mean that bananas are bad, but it means that you should be careful how often you feed them to your Crested gecko.

How To Feed Banana To Crested Gecko

Although, bananas are a soft fruit, it still might be a challenge for your Crested gecko to bite on with their little teeth.

These are the recommended forms that you can serve bananas to your Crested gecko:

• By mashing it in a puree-type of meal
• Another way to serve it to your little friend is by mashing it with other fruits, CGD, insects and more
• By giving your gecko almost rotten bananas. This is a good way for geckos to eat bananas as in the wild the geckos often eat fruit fallen on the ground that’s been rotting overnight

The following is a step by step on how to feed your Crested gecko a banana:

1.Wash the bananas

As the peel of the banana can contain bacteria and pesticides, it’s important that you first wash the bananas. This must be done so the gecko doesn’t ingest bad bacteria or pesticides

2. Peel the banana

Second step is to remove the peel off the banan

3. Mash it up in a fruit puree

The next step is to slice or mas the banana. You can serve this either in tiny cube pieces or as a mash. If you decide to go with the mash, you can add more fruits to it such as papaya and other

4. Serve them a small amount

As it’s very important to not overfeed your Crested gecko, serve them the same amount as you would of a meal replacement powder. Important to note is that the easiest way for your gecko to eat bananas is in a mash form

5. Save the rest

If you don’t want to throw away the rest of the banana, you can always freeze it for next time or eat it yourself!

How Many Bananas Can I Feed To My Crested Gecko?

Feeding your Crested gecko too often and too much banana is not recommended because of the calcium-phosphorus ratio being low.

Therefore, you should stick to feeding them the same amount you’d give them in commercial powder food.

How Often Can I Feed Bananas To My Crested Gecko?

As bananas are not one of the most nutritious foods for Crested gecko, you should stick to only feeding it as an occasional treat once a month.

Feeding them anything more than that can have a negative effect on your gecko’s nutrition and health. You might not see the effects straight away but they will start to creep in later on.

It might be very tempting to feed your gecko some of these natural and delicious fruits that you have in your house, fruits that we all know have many benefits such as the banana.

However, if you’re new to caring for a Crested gecko and don’t have much experience in creating a balanced diet, you should stick to a meal replacement powder that has a high nutritional value and can add fruits such as bananas as a treat once a month.

Is There A Substitute For Banana

If you are worried feeding your Crested gecko bananas, there are commercial substitutes that have the right balance and nutrients for your gecko and taste like bananas.

One of these brands is The Banana and Apricot PFM (Pangea Fruit Mix). This Crested gecko diet has a high fat content as well. It’s great for geckos that won’t or don’t eat any insects.

The vitamin and mineral content is top notch to keep your geckos healthy, and produces excellent growth, reproduction, and stunning egg quality.

Furthermore, they also offer a few ‘fruit only’ based mixes such as Watermelon, and the Papaya.

What Other Fruits Are Safe To Feed Crested Gecko

As Crested gecko’s diet in the wild include fruits and fruit nectars, it makes sense to include fruit into their diet when kept as a pet.

However, it’s important to know that some fruits are safe, some are not as nutritious and some are even dangerous to feed to Crested gecko.

What it’s used to determine if a fruit is suitable for Crested geckos is the calcium to potassium ratio (Ca:P). Fruits that have moderate to high Ca:P are healthier option for your gecko and can be fed safely, more often than once a month.

On the other hand fruits with a low Ca:P are the less healthier option and should only be given as an occasional treat once a month or mix it with fruits that have high Ca:P.

Fruits With A High Ca:P Ratio

There aren’t many fruits with a high Ca:P ratio.

However, the following fruits have high to moderato ratio and are safe to feed to your Crested gecko:

• Papaya
• Fig
• Prickly pear also known as tuna (fruit), sabra, nopal
• Raspberries
• Mango

Fruits With A Low Ca:P Ratio

The following fruits have a low Ca:P ratio. Therefore, they should only be fed to your Crested gecko as an occasional treat once a month.

• Watermelon
• Grapes
• Cranberries
• Apricots
• Kiwi
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Peach
• Plum
• Banana

What Fruits You Should Never Feed To Your Crested Gecko

As mentioned earlier not all fruit are a healthy choice for your Crested gecko. Some are even dangerous and should never be fed.

These dangerous fruits are in the citrus family. The reason they can be so harmful is the high concentration of:

• Vitamin C – too much of this vitamin can lead to diarrhoea and intestine problems
• Oxalic Acid – this type of acid in high amounts can interfere with the absorption of calcium by the body

The following citrus fruits should not be fed to your Crested gecko:

• Lemon
• Orange
• Kiwi
• Pineapple
• Grapefruit

Other foods other than the citrus that should never be fed to a Crested gecko include:

• Rhubarb – high concentration of oxalic acid
• Avocado – this fruit contains low amounts of person. This is a natural occurring chemical that can be harmful to pets and can lead to death

Final Thoughts

Crested gecko’s diet in the wild is made up of insects, plants and fruits.

Normally, when kept as pets, Crested geckos are put on a commercial powder diet. This type of diet contains all the nutrients that your gecko needs to thrive and be healthy. But can Crested geckos eat bananas and other fruits?

Bananas can be fed to Crested geckos. However, some fruits are healthier than others. This is determined by the Ca:P ratio in the fruit. High to moderate Ca:P is a better and healthier choice than fruits with low Ca:P.

Fruits such as bananas have a low Ca:P. Therefore, they should only be fed to your Crested gecko as an occasion treat once a month.

The amount of bananas you should feed your gecko is the same amount you feed them of powdered food.

In terms of how you should feed a banana to a Crested gecko, these are the most recommended ways:

• As a mash on its own or mixed with other fruits that have a higher Ca:P ratio
• Another option is to serve it in tiny slices