Is It Safe to Feed Your Crested Geckos Papaya?
Last Updated: January 25, 2023
Being a good pet lizard person includes feeding your pet a nutritious diet, including fresh fruit. There are a lot of fruits that are healthy for a crested gecko to eat, but some are dangerous.
What about papaya? Are they a good choice, or should you avoid them?
Yes, crested geckos can eat papaya! Papayas are one of the healthiest fruits a gecko can eat. They can safely enjoy it weekly as part of a balanced diet.
You probably have other questions. How do you prepare papaya? Is the skin edible? When do you know it is ripe?
These are vital questions to ask before feeding your pet something new.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know before serving papaya to your pet lizard!
Do Crested Geckos Eat Papaya in The Wild?
We pay attention to what an animal eats in the wild so we can give them a healthy diet in captivity.
Papayas are native to Central America and Mexico. Colonial explorers took the fruit with them as they sailed across the world. Today, it is grown in most tropical countries. The US is the largest consumer of papaya in the world.
This fruit goes by many different names. Depending on where you are from, it might be called the pawpaw, the papaye, or the mamao.
The most popular variety is the Solo, which is typically six inches long and weighs one pound. It is shaped like a pear and changes from green to yellow as it ripens.
The flesh of the fruit tastes sweet and is soft like butter. It has many black, round seeds that are also edible.
But what about cresties?
Crested geckos live in New Caledonia, islands some 750 miles (or 1,2000 kilometers) off the coast of Australia. While there are many native fruits on these islands, the papayas in our stores are not among them.
Even though it is unlikely that a wild crested gecko has ever tasted the fruit we can buy year-round, it doesn’t necessarily mean those papayas are not safe for them to eat.
Let’s look more closely at papayas and learn more.
Nutritional Value
Papayas have many helpful nutrients that may benefit health.
The nutrients in raw papaya, calculated by a standard serving of 3.5 ounces (or 100 grams), are:
- Calories: 43
- Water: 88%
- Protein: 0.47 grams
- Carbohydrates: 10.8 grams
- Sugar: 7.82 grams
- Fat: 0.26 grams
- Calcium (Ca): 20 milligrams
- Phosphorous (P): 10 milligrams
- Iron (Fe): 0.25 milligrams
- Magnesium (Mg): 21 milligrams
- Potassium (K): 182 milligrams
- Sodium (Na): 8 milligrams
- Zinc (Zn): 0.08 milligrams
- Copper (Cu): 0.045 milligrams
- Manganese (Mn): 0.04 milligrams
- Vitamin C (total ascorbic acid): 60.9 milligrams
Papayas are a great source of vitamin C and a good source of vitamin B9.
They are also a good source of antioxidants, which may help fight off disease.
Research into the health benefits of papayas shows many encouraging signs. Eating this tropical fruit may reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and dementia. One study showed how papaya helped with digestive issues. There is still a lot to learn, but it is a good start.
In moderation, papayas are a healthy addition to a diet.
Are Papaya Good or Bad for Crested Geckos?
Unlike most other fruits, there are studies on feeding crested geckos papayas, and the results are good!
One study fed juvenile crested geckos either fresh papaya and calcium-dusted dubia roaches or a commercial gecko diet. After five weeks, the fruit-fed babies had gained more weight and grown longer than those on CGD.
Wait, aren’t most fruits only good as treats? Yes, most fruits. Papaya is one of the exceptions. Why? What makes this one different?
To understand that we need to look at calcium and phosphorous in fruit.
What Is the Calcium-Phosphorous Ratio?
All reptiles, including crested geckos, need calcium (Ca).
Calcium is critical for healthy bones and helps the heart, nerves, and blood function.
A body gets calcium either from its food or by removing it from its bones. In this way, bones serve as a “savings account.” Frequent withdrawals will leave the body without enough calcium to function.
Many pet reptiles do not get enough calcium from their diet, which can cause Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD).
Another factor for MBD is phosphorous. Phosphorous (P) stops the body from absorbing calcium. When the body can’t get all the calcium in the food, it only has one other source.
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.
Papaya has 20 milligrams of calcium and 10 milligrams of phosphorous.
That’s it! Based on this formula, papaya is a healthy food for crested geckos.
Calcium-to-Phosphorous Ratio in Papaya
Papaya has a 2:1 Ca:P ratio, which is perfect.
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! Papayas are very low in oxalate, with only 1 milligram per medium-sized piece of fruit.
So, Are They Good or Bad?
Papayas are good for cresties. They are the best fruit of those we looked at.
Papaya can be fed to a crested gecko multiple times a week as part of a balanced diet.
Papaya In Crested Gecko Diet
Many commercially prepared crested gecko diet blends use papaya.
Some, like Pangea’s CGD Fruit Mix with Insects or Zoo Med’s Tropical Fruit Flavor Crested Gecko Food as one of the top ingredients.
What does that tell us?
First, we can say confidently that crested geckos can safely eat papaya.
Second, it may help you guess whether your crested gecko will like fresh papaya. Check the ingredient list for your current CGD. Is dried papaya on there? If so, the taste may be familiar to your pet.
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. Notice which teaspoon is the same size or a bit smaller. That teaspoon is the best guide to serving size for that animal.
In the study noted above, each crestie got 1 gram of papaya four times a week. That amount of fruit is a lot less than a 1/8 teaspoon. When crested geckos are very young, they do not need much food.
How often can I serve papaya?
Papaya can be a meal or a treat.
Papaya breaks the mold for the typical guidance for fruits. If you prefer a commercially prepared gecko diet as your primary meal source, fresh papaya can supplement that once a week.
If you prefer to offer live feeder insects and fresh papaya, you can serve it up to four days a week.
Variety is essential to supply all the nutrients your crested gecko needs. Look for other fresh fruit treats to give your crestie different vitamins and minerals they may not be getting.
How do I prepare and offer a papaya?
Crested geckos use their tongues, not their teeth, to eat their food.
Any solid food provided to a crestie should be offered in small enough pieces to be easily swallowed and digested. Any food they can lick up works well, too.
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.
Ripe papaya is soft, so not a problem for cresties to eat, if it is in small enough pieces or mashed.
Preparation
First, wash the fruit to remove any pesticides or bacteria. You can use a fruit and vegetable wash to break down the chemicals, wax, and residue covering them. Rub it with the produce cleaner under cold water and then pat it dry.
Once washed, cut the papaya in half. Then, use a spoon to scoop out the black seeds. Discard them.
Next, use a sharp knife to cut the soft, juicy part away from the skin. Get rid of the skin. Cut the flesh into small pieces.
At this point, you have two options: pureeing the fruit or slicing it into pieces. Both are easy to prepare, but the mashed version is better if you want to mix papaya with something else.
If you prefer a knife, slice the fruit into tiny pieces. Each piece should be smaller than the space between the crested gecko’s eyes.
Should I serve the seeds?
No. Humans can eat papaya seeds, but they are dangerous for cresties. Remove them before serving papaya to your pet.
Can I mix the papaya with something else?
Yes! Papayas are one of the best fruits for crested geckos. Unfortunately, most other fruits aren’t nearly as healthy. Mixing the two can reduce the problems.
Buying and Storing Papaya
What is the best month to buy them?
Papayas grow all year round. Their peak season is the beginning of summer through the fall.
How do I pick a good one?
Papayas continue to ripen after being picked.
The best way to tell if one is ripe is by its scent. When it is ready, papaya smells slightly musky and rich. Color is also a good indicator. The skin of papaya will slowly change from green to yellow as it ripens. Once it is yellow from nearly top to bottom and a little soft to the touch, the fruit is ready to eat.
Avoid fruit with dark spots or mold across the skin.
How long do they keep?
Once ripe, papaya stays edible for 2-3 days at room temperature or a week refrigerated.
Once cut, the fruit loses its flavor. It will only be tasty for a few hours on the countertop or 2-3 days if kept cold in an airtight container.
Do I need to buy organic papayas?
Most conventionally grown papayas tested had no pesticides.
While buying organic produce always reduces the risk of exposing your pet to harmful chemicals, buying fruit grown with conventional practices isn’t likely to be as risky in this case as it is in many others.
Do All Crested Geckos Like Fresh Papaya?
Just like with humans, each crested gecko has preferences. Not every person likes the taste of papaya, nor does every crestie.
Can you think back to 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 papaya to your pet and they didn’t devour every 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
Papaya is one of the best foods for cresties. Crested geckos can eat papaya multiple times a week if they couple the fruit with a protein source like live feeder insects.
Papaya has the ideal calcium-to-phosphorous ratio of 2:1.
Many crested geckos love the taste and will be thrilled for dinner!
A diet that includes papaya can help your pet live a long, healthy life.
What about other fruits? Can Crested Geckos Eat Pears?