Do you know that eye lash geckos depend on bugs and fruits in the wild? Unfortunately, things are a bit different in captivity. You can’t go about feeding every type of fruit to your pet crested gecko. This brings us to the question of whether crested geckos can eat bananas.
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Can Crested Geckos Eat Bananas?
Ripe bananas are good for crested geckos as long as they are given in small amounts. Bananas should be given as a treat because of the unbalanced calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Feeding bananas twice a month should be fine!
New crested gecko owners, will always lean toward giving commercial food and a few bugs. However, supplementing their diet with fruits such as bananas will do your crestie good.
Are Bananas Healthy For Your Crested Gecko?
As much as we support the idea of feeding bananas to your gecko, does it have any nutritional benefits? Definitely, bananas are a great source of:
- Potassium
- Fiber
- Vitamin B6
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Vitamin C
- Carbohydrate
If you plan on introducing bananas to your gecko’s diet, make sure you feed him or her in small quantities. Bananas are considered a treat and thus should be given in moderation.
There are a couple of health benefits associated with bananas and they include weight control, digestive health, and cardiovascular health as well.
Related Crested Gecko Diet: What To Feed Your Crested Gecko
Dangers Of Feeding Bananas To A Crested Gecko
As you’ve seen, bananas have plenty of nutritional benefits. Unfortunately, things can go wrong if you give too many bananas to your gecko pet.
Most of the health problems that come about from feeding too many bananas can be attributed to the bad Ca:P ratio. Bananas have a Ca:P ratio of 1:4.4 which is very far from the recommended calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of 2:1.
High quantities of phosphorus in bananas might inhibit the absorption of calcium thus causing various health problems.
Related Best Fruits for Crested Geckos
How Much Banana Should You Give A Crestie?
Now that we’ve given you the green light to feed bananas, you are probably asking what amount is ideal for your crestie. Honesty, cresties do not feed so often. You just need to prepare a small piece of banana and discard the rest.
As you well know, ripe bananas darken quickly which means you should prepare an amount that your crestie will finish quickly.
Step-by-step Process On How To Prepare Bananas
Ripe bananas tend to be soft, but that does not mean your crested gecko can bite off small chunks comfortably. In most cases, you’ll find your gecko licking the banana instead of biting.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to prepare bananas for your crestie:
- Clean the banana with running water to ensure that you get rid of pesticides, dirt, and bacteria.
- Peel off the hard skin and cut the banana in small pieces. Your gecko can only manage to eat a small slice, so don’t waste the whole banana.
- Depending on how your crestie likes his fruits, you can mash it up to allow for easier consumption.
- The mashed banana is now ready and all you have to do is empty it in your crested gecko’s food bowl.
Related Can Crested Geckos Eat Mealworms?
Can You Mix Bananas With Other Fruits?
Yes, you can! In fact, most gecko owners prefer to take this approach in order to limit the number of times you are feeding fruits.
You can decide to blend bananas, papayas, pears, strawberries, and apples as well. Mixing different fruits help you strike an ideal mix of nutrients.
Since bananas lack adequate calcium, you should consider adding some yogurt to make up for the low calcium levels.
Related Do’s And Don’t’s With Crested Geckos
Wrapping Up – Can Crested Geckos Eat Bananas?
From the above information, it is quite clear that it’s healthy to feed bananas to a crested gecko. The bad calcium-to-phosphorus ratio should not worry you as long as you are using bananas as a treat.
In case you are worried about the low calcium levels, you can add a bit of Repti Calcium powder or yogurt as we mentioned earlier.
