Is It Safe to Feed Your Crested Gecko Blueberries?
Last Updated: January 25, 2023
Taking good care of your pet requires feeding them a nutritious diet, which may include fresh fruit. There are a lot of fruits crested geckos can eat, but some are dangerous.
What about blueberries? Are they a good choice, or should you avoid them?
Crested geckos can eat blueberries as an occasional treat. Blueberries have good nutrients but can disrupt their calcium levels. Blueberries are a safe part of a balanced diet when fed in moderation.
You probably have other questions. What is the ideal serving size? How often is too much? Anything special I need to do to prepare them?
These are vital questions to ask when you start feeding your pet something new.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know before serving peaches to your pet lizard!
Do Crested Geckos Eat Blueberries in The Wild?
We study what an animal eats in their natural habitat so we can give them a healthy, proper diet in captivity.
Humans have cultivated blueberries for a long time. Today, nearly 1 billion pounds are grown in the US each year!
The blueberries most of us are familiar with (Vaccinium Section Cyanococcus) have been bred to provide peak sweetness and hardiness.
Blueberries are not native to the islands of New Caledonia, where crested geckos call home. The blueberry bush grows best on hot days with cool nights and wouldn’t do well in the tropics.
Since it is not naturally occurring here, chances are a wild crested gecko has never tasted a blueberry.
That alone does not make a fruit safe or unsafe for crested geckos. Let’s look at the pros and cons of blueberries to learn more.
Nutritional Value
The blueberry is a nutrient powerhouse.
The nutrients in raw blueberries, calculated by a standing serving of 3.5 ounces (or 100 grams), are:
- Calories: 57
- Water: 84%
- Protein: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.5 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Fat: 0.3 g
- Calcium (Ca): 12 mg
- Phosphorous (P): 13 mg
- Iron (Fe): 0.34 mg
- Magnesium (Mg): 6.2 mg
- Potassium (K): 86 mg
- Sodium (Na): <2 mg
- Zinc (Zn): 0.09 mg
- Copper (Cu): 0.046 mg
- Manganese (Mn): 0.423 mg
- Vitamin C (total ascorbic acid): 8.1 mg
Blueberries are low in calories and fat and are a good source of manganese and vitamins C and K1, which help promote healthy bones, skin, and immune systems.
Blueberries have one of the highest antioxidants of all popular fruits and vegetables. The main antioxidant compound is a flavonoid which studies show may benefit the brain, heart, and blood sugar.
In moderation, blueberries are a very healthy addition to a diet.
Are Blueberries Good or Bad for Crested Geckos?
Unfortunately, there aren’t lots of studies on the health impact of feeding blueberries to crested geckos.
So how do we answer the question? First, we need to look at the amount of calcium and phosphorous in the fruit.
What Is the Calcium-Phosphorous Ratio?
All reptiles, including crested geckos, need calcium (Ca).
Calcium is essential for healthy bones and helps the heart, nerves, and blood function.
A body tries to get calcium from food but will take it from its bones if it doesn’t have enough. Doing this too often will leave the body without enough calcium to function.
Phosphorous (P) stops the body from using calcium, which makes matters worse.
Unfortunately, both Ca and P are present in many fruits and vegetables. Getting the right amounts of each isn’t easy.
The ideal calcium-to-phosphorous ratio for reptiles is 2:1. This means there should be twice as much Ca as P in every bite.
Blueberries have 12 milligrams of calcium and 13 milligrams of phosphorous.
Calcium-to-Phosphorous Ratio
Blueberries have a 1:1 Ca:P ratio, which is fine. It is not the best but not the worst for crested geckos.
(It happens to be one of the better Ca-to-P ratios for fruits for lizards.)
Oxalic Acid Content
Oxalic acid is another compound that also interferes with calcium. Unfortunately, there is no ideal ratio for oxalic acid. We want to keep the oxalic acid content as low as possible.
Good news! Blueberries are low in oxalate, with only 2 milligrams of oxalic acid per half cup.
So, Are They Good or Bad?
Blueberries are pretty good for cresties when compared to other fruit.
We can consider blueberries slightly better than a treat for cresties and feeding this fruit to them more than once a month shouldn’t be a problem.
For many keepers, it is helpful to compare this to ‘desserts’ for humans. If desserts made up a large portion of what you ate instead of a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins, it would make you ill. An every-once-in-a-while treat isn’t a problem.
Blueberries In Crested Gecko Diet
Blueberries aren’t common in the commercially prepared crested gecko diet powder, but they aren’t unknown either.
Fluker’s Premium Fruit & Insect Diet includes dried blueberry as the fifth ingredient. Dried bananas and mangoes are both more common by weight.
What does that tell us?
First, this supports the conclusion that crested geckos can safely eat blueberries.
Second, this product may help you introduce this flavor to your pet. Because this blend has a mixture of fruits, it gets a taste without making it all about one thing. If you are trying to get your crestie to eat fresh blueberries, this product may help get them started.
Feeding Instructions
What Is the right portion size?
The amount of food to give to a crested gecko is relative to the size of the lizard.
Compare a 1/8 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon, and a 1/2 teaspoon to the space between the crested geckos’ eyes. Whichever teaspoon is about the same size or a bit smaller than the width is the correct amount of fruit as a serving.
How often can I serve blueberries?
Blueberries are a treat.
Ideally, your pet should primarily eat powdered gecko food with some live feeder insects and occasional fruit. Together, this will provide all the vitamins and minerals your pet needs.
Following this approach, you can feed your crested gecko blueberries once or twice a month.
Too many blueberries can lead to digestive problems and diarrhea. In addition, these tasty treats are so sweet that your pet might choose these berries over other foods. Don’t give in.
They need a variety of fruits to get all the nutrients they need and to keep them from getting addicted and refusing everything else.
Remember, offering a variety of fruits is essential to providing all of the nutrients your crested gecko needs, even if they like blueberries the best!
How do I prepare and offer blueberries?
Crested geckos use their tongues to manage their food instead of their teeth to bite and chew it.
Any solid food provided to a crestie should be made into small enough pieces to be easily swallowed and digested.
Softer, overripe – even slightly spoiled – is ok. In the wild, crested geckos eat fruit that has fallen to the ground after ripening. Overripe fruit is natural for them.
Preparation
First, wash the blueberries to remove pesticides or bacteria from the surface. You can use a fruit and vegetable wash to break down the chemicals, wax, and residue covering them. Rub them with the wash under cold water and then pat them dry.
Serving whole blueberries can create a choking hazard. Instead, puree the fruits to a semi-liquid or mash them with a fork.
You can also slice the berries into tiny bits. Cut each piece shorter than the space between the crested gecko’s eyes.
If your pet doesn’t like the taste, sprinkle some CGD powder or mix it with more familiar food.
Be sure to remove any uneaten leftovers after a few hours. The sweet juices are more likely to attract insects that could inhabit the tank.
Can I mix blueberries with something else?
Yes! Blueberries are healthy but aren’t a ‘perfect food’ for crested geckos. Mixing them with something else can improve the situation.
CRG and papaya are solid choices because they are higher in calcium than phosphorous, which helps balance out the downside of peaches.
You can blend blueberries with insects, like crickets or dubia roaches, or another fruit, like strawberries, but these mixtures will continue to have high phosphorous content. Only do this once a month and not multiple months in a row.
Buying and Storing Blueberries
What is the best month to buy them?
The best time to buy blueberries is when they are in season. In the US, that varies a bit across by state. Harvesting begins in April in the South and ends in September in the northern states like Maine and Idaho.
Blueberries are available year-round but tend to taste best and be less expensive in season.
How do I pick a good berries?
Blueberries give several signs when they are just right.
First, look for berries that are even in size with smooth skin. For color, look for deep blue to purple to nearly black. Skip any reddish or white berries.
Choose dry, plump, and firm blueberries.
If you notice a slivery coating, that is normal. This “bloom” is not a warning sign.
Interestingly, blueberries can range in taste from sweet to tart. When choosing between freshly picked berries, try one or two from different packs to find what suits you.
How long do they keep?
Ripe blueberries will stay good for 5-10 days in the fridge.
Should I buy organic or conventionally grown blueberries?
Studies of nutrient quantities of organically-grown blueberries show that organically-grown ones have a higher antioxidant and sugar content than conventionally-grown berries.
Lizards are sensitive to chemicals and pesticides. Eating contaminated fruits can make them sick.
Offering organic blueberries to your crested gecko reduces their exposure to dangerous chemicals, which is good for their health.
Do All Crested Geckos Like Blueberries?
Just like with humans, each crested gecko has preferences. Not every person likes the taste of blueberries, nor does every crestie.
Do you remember a time you tried a new food? Maybe you took only a little taste and then stopped and tried again later. Just like humans, crested geckos need to warm up to new things.
If you’ve offered blueberries to your pet and they didn’t devour every last bite the first time, don’t worry. Try offering them a few times, maybe blended with other fruits your pet regularly eats to help them adjust to the taste.
Conclusion
Crested geckos can eat blueberries periodically, up to a few times a month.
They have a good Ca:P ratio and lots of antioxidants and vitamins.
Many cresties love these sweet berries! Don’t get tricked, though. Even if they would pick them over other fruit, they still need a variety.
Also, be sure to wash them to remove any pesticides and bacteria.
If they are something your crested gecko enjoys, blueberries can be part of a diet that helps them live a long, healthy life.
What about other fruits? Can Crested Geckos Eat Grapes?