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One of the first challenges many people face when they first get into the world of microgeckos isn’t about the geckos themselves.
It’s about food!
Many species are, in fact, too small to feed on the insects commonly used for leopard geckos or crested geckos, especially during their first few months of life. For this reason, learning how to choose the right prey is probably one of the most important skills for anyone who wants to successfully care for microgeckos.
Over the years, I’ve tried various solutions, and while I know that every breeder develops their own preferences, there are certain foods that have proven to be clearly superior to others.
The best prey for micro geckos
Micro roaches
If I had to choose just one prey species for raising micro geckos, I would choose micro cockroaches without hesitation.
Specifically:
Paraplecta minutissima
Micro lateralis
They are probably the best balance of size, nutritional value, and ease of rearing and use. Many microgeckos hunt them enthusiastically, and the results in terms of growth are excellent. In my breeding program, they form the basis of the diet for many species.
Pro:
Excellent nutritional value
Very appreciated by geckos
Ideal for babies and adults
Cons:
"Ew" effect
Paraplecta minutissima is not largely available on the market so you have to buy some and grow it yourself if you want to use it regularly as a meal
2. Newborn dubia roaches
Newly hatched dubia are another excellent option, but the problem is that they have to be really tiny.
Very often, the dubia roaches sold as “babies” are already too large for many species of microgeckos. To achieve the ideal size, you need to maintain a breeding colony of adults, monitor it frequently, and collect the newborns on a regular basis.
It’s a time-consuming process, but the result is absolutely worth it.
Pro:
Excellent nutritional value
Geckos grow very strong
Cons:
There has to be a certain organization to have truly micro specimens available to feed to the geckos
3. Micro crickets
Micro crickets remain one of the most commonly used food sources among breeders. They are readily accepted by most species and are a good food source, fairly nutritionally balanced.
Personally, I use them, but not too often, and I much prefer to buy them rather than hatch them myself. Anyone who has tried raising them on a large scale knows how challenging they can be to manage!
Pro:
Very appreciated
Super easy to find on the market
Relatively cheap to buy
Cons:
Trying to breed crickets is frustrating
They tend to die pretty quickly
As soon as the room gets warm they start growing rapidly. On week one you have micro crickets, on week three they're already small
What about mealworms?
Here we enter into a frequently discussed topic. Mealworms are often discouraged in the care of larger geckos, especially when used as a primary food source, because they are high in fat and can very easily lead to hepatic steatosis.
In the case of microgeckos, however, the situation is slightly different.
Newly hatched mealworms are extremely small, very easy to breed, and can be a valuable resource, especially for growing babies, females laying eggs, or animals recovering from particularly stressful periods. I don’t consider them a complete food source and would never base an entire diet on them, but I find that they can be a very useful supplement.
Pro:
Super easy to breed
Great energy source
Perfect to integrate fats
Cons:
Limited nutritional value
Bean beetles
One of the least known but most practical food sources.
These small beetles are extremely easy to raise and can be useful when you need a quick source of food. I don’t consider them a particularly nutrient-rich food source, but they can work very well as a supplement or temporary solution.
Pro:
SUPER easy to breed
They produce offspring continuously
Cons:
Limited nutritional value
Rich in chitin
Can climb smooth surfaces so they can't be used in rack systems and are prone to escaping from small openings
Let's talk Drosophila
Drosophila are probably the insect most often recommended when it comes to microgeckos, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the best. All the contrary!
Personally, I consider them one of the least interesting prey options from a nutritional standpoint—so much so that I haven’t used them at all for years.
They’re very useful in certain situations—for example, to stimulate the hunting instinct, to feed extremely small babies, or when there are no alternatives—but I’ve observed on multiple occasions that geckos raised primarily on fruit flies tend to grow much more slowly than those fed more nutritious prey. Testimonials from other breeders confirm this, and friends who have purchased microgeckos raised primarily on Drosophila have found them to be very tiny, weak, and in some cases, they died shortly after being moved.
For these reasons, I prefer to consider them an emergency resource rather than a viable insect to include in a weekly rotation.
Variety is key
Even when you find a particularly good prey item, it’s rarely a good idea to base the entire diet on a single insect because, as is the case in nature, variety remains one of the best ways to ensure balanced growth and good overall health in the animals.
For this reason, I prefer to combine different types of prey from week to week, tailoring them to the species, age, and physiological stage of the animal.
The variety I use
Every species is obviously different, as are the physiological needs of each animal, but this is the hierarchy on which I base my weekly and monthly rotations—and which, based on what I’ve observed over the years, I would recommend using.
Micro cockroaches (P. minutissima and P. lateralis micro)
Newly hatched Dubia roaches
Micro crickets
Micro mealworms
Bean beetles
And, in a real emergency, Drosophila.
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