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Should Crested Geckos Eat Strawberries?

Can crested geckos eat strawberries?Most (or maybe all!) of us humans love strawberries – strawberries and cream anyone?

But does that hold true in case of crested geckos too?

This post intends to definitively address whether or not it is OK for your crested gecko to eat strawberries and if so in what form and how often.

Can Crested Geckos Eat Strawberries? It is definitely OK for your crested gecko to eat strawberries. In fact, that is a fruit particularly adored by crested geckos. Whether you offer standalone strawberries to your crested gecko or mix and mash them up with other (suitable) fruits, your crested gecko is very likely to relish what is served to it.

Continue to read on as we will provide pointers on all aspects related to strawberries and crested geckos.

At the end of the post, not only will you have a very good idea of all the nuances related to feeding strawberries to your crested gecko, you will be able to guide fellow crestie owners on this too.

Not a Bad Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio

While the ideal calcium to phosphorus ratio when it comes to foods for crested geckos is 2:1, strawberries have a nearly equal ratio of both these minerals.

Taking this particular aspect as a benchmark, it is really OK to feed strawberries to your crested gecko.

A suitable contrast would be tomatoes that have an inverse, i.e. 1:2 ratio of calcium and phosphorus that particularly renders them NOT OK. But in this case, strawberries are just fine.

Strawberries are not Citric Fruits

As you might be aware, citric fruits like limes, lemons, and oranges are a no-go territory for crested geckos.

But since strawberries are not citric fruits, on this front too, strawberries do make the cut. Yes, some strawberries do tend to be sour, lending an acidic aftertaste, yet since they are not citric, they are perfectly fine for your crested gecko.

Personal Choice is, of course, a factor!

While most of us do tend to like strawberries (a lot!), some of us don’t. This kind of personal taste and preference extends to crested geckos as well.

While most are likely to enjoy strawberries that you give to them, some may not. At your end, you could try serving it a few times to see how well it takes to strawberries.

We mention this because some owners notice their crested gecko not taking to strawberries the first time they serve them to it and then never try doing so again.

This is not a good approach; just as we humans warm up to new things slowly, so do cresties!

An alternative option you have is to mix strawberries with other fruits and then serve the blend to your crestie. Say you blend strawberries and mangoes, and then serve the mixture to your crested gecko.

Or you could try mixing with other suitable fruits such as figs, papayas, apples, or apricots. More likely than not, your crested gecko would enjoy the mix you give to it.

We explain why apples are okay for Cresties here!

are strawberries okay for crested geckos?

Serving Strawberries to your Crested Gecko

The best way to serve strawberries to your crested gecko is to puree them well and then serve the soft output to them in small quantities.

You can observe how well your crested gecko takes to this pureed strawberry form that you serve to it; based on whether it laps it up (likely!), you can serve this same pureed strawberry to your crestie more often.

Another option is to let strawberries remain in the open and then serve them finely cut to your crested gecko.

Remember that in their natural setting, crested geckos eat fruits this way. It is completely fine if the fruit ends up being overripe or perhaps even slightly spoiled. Cresties do tend to eat fruits this way and will have no problem ingesting strawberries in this state.

Yet another option that you have is to freeze strawberries in an ice tray and then serve these ‘strawberry cubes’ to your crestie. You can especially consider doing so in the hot summer months.

As the ‘strawberry cube’ melts, your crestie will enjoy licking it even more.

Finally, there is the choice of mixing strawberries with other fruits as we mentioned in the previous section.

Consider mixing with various suitable fruits like the ones we spoke about to get a sense of what it really likes. As you notice it taking to a particular fruit mix, you can consider serving that mix more often to your crested gecko.

Seedless or with the seeds?

Another question on the minds of crested gecko owners all too often is whether to serve strawberries to their beloved reptiles, with their seeds intact or after removing them.

Again, it is really a matter of personal taste. Some cresties enjoy strawberries with the seeds intact while others don’t.

Moreover, when you puree strawberries, the seeds are hardly felt since they get mashed up too; strawberry seeds are unlike those of many other fruits – they are not so big or hard.

Therefore if you are mashing strawberries, it is fine to leave their seeds intact. This remains true even if you are blending strawberries with other fruits in the mix.

Other Items you can add

While serving strawberries to your crestie, you can consider adding other items as well. For instance, you can add CGD powder – maybe sprinkle it on top of the strawberries you serve to it.

The advantage here is that it will get an additional dose of calcium and vitamins which it could be missing out on otherwise.

Some crestie owners do serve strawberries with baby food to their pets but we really do not recommend doing so; baby food tends to have high quantities of sugar which is not good for your crestie.

It also contains citric acid which is, of course, a complete no-no.

Conclusion

Strawberries are indeed very good for your crested gecko. In fact, when it comes to fruits that are a resounding ‘yes’ for crested geckos, strawberries are top of the line, along with fruits such as figs, apples, papayas, and mangoes.

Yet, we recommend feeding strawberries to your crested gecko occasionally and not every day. This is a regimen that we recommend with all fruits – including ones that are good for it and it relishes eating, and not just strawberries.

Our experience tells us that the best approach is always to mix and mash things up.

For instance, you can serve strawberries to your crested gecko twice a week, while other times you could serve different fruits such as apples or mangoes.

Even while you are blending two or more fruits together, you can opt for a different mix of fruits each time.

The idea here is that of variety – just as you wouldn’t like the same dish being served to you every day, no matter how good it is or how much you like it, so wouldn’t your crestie.

Further, it is also about offering a healthy nutritional mix to your crested gecko.

With a splatter of different fruits served to it from time to time, occasionally topped with CGD or crickets, you will offer your crested gecko a healthy, well-balanced diet that will really be good for its long term health and wellbeing.

Pierre And The ReptileCraze Team
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