Is It Safe to Feed Your Crested Gecko Strawberries?
Last Updated: January 25, 2023
Taking great care of your pet lizard requires feeding them a healthy diet, which may include fresh fruit. There are a lot of fruits crested geckos can eat, but some are dangerous. What about strawberries? Can crested geckos eat strawberries safely, or should you stay away from them?
Crested geckos can eat strawberries on occasion. Strawberries have lots of great vitamins but can disrupt their calcium levels. They can safely be part of a balanced diet.
You likely have some questions. What is a good serving size? How often is too often? Do I need to worry about the seeds?
These are great questions to ask when you start feeding your pet something new.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about serving strawberries to become an even better pet lizard person!
Do Crested Geckos Eat Strawberries in The Wild?
We study what an animal eats in their natural habitat so we can better give them a proper diet in captivity.
People have raised and enjoyed strawberries for a long time. These heart-shaped berries are native to the Americas and were taken to Europe by early colonists.
Hundreds of years of plant breeding for specific traits have changed these berries into the plump, delicious versions we know and love today.
Crested geckos are native to southern New Caledonia, a collection of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean. While there have many native fruits there, strawberries are not one of them.
But just because a wild crested gecko has ever tasted a strawberry, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are not safe for it to eat.
Let’s learn how strawberries might impact a crested gecko to see if they are a good fit.
Nutritional Value
Strawberries taste great and have many helpful nutrients.
The nutrients in raw strawberries, calculated by a standing serving of 3.5 ounces (or 100 grams), are:
- Calories: 32
- Water: 91%
- Protein: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.7 g
- Sugar: 4.9 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Fat: 0.3 g
- Calcium (Ca): 16 mg
- Phosphorous (P): 24 mg
- Iron (Fe): 0.41 mg
- Magnesium (Mg): 13 mg
- Potassium (K): 153 mg
- Sodium (Na): 1 mg
- Zinc (Zn): 0.14 mg
- Copper (Cu): 0.048 mg
- Manganese (Mn): 0.386 mg
- Vitamin C (total ascorbic acid): 58.8 mg
Bright red, juicy, and sweet, these berries are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. They are sodium-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free, and low-calorie!
Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C and plant compounds which may aid heart health and blood sugar control.
Eating these delightful treats may also reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
Overall, strawberries are an excellent addition to a healthy diet.
Are Strawberries Good or Bad for Crested Geckos?
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of studies on the health impact of feeding strawberries to crested geckos.
So, how do we answer the question? First, we need to look at the amount of calcium and phosphorous present.
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 prefers to get calcium from food but will take it from its bones if it can’t get enough. Doing this too often will leave the body without enough calcium to function.
Phosphorous (P) inhibits the body from using calcium, which makes matters worse.
Unfortunately, many fruits and vegetables have both Ca and P. Getting the proper 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.
Strawberries have 16 mg of calcium and 24 mg of phosphorous.
Based on this, strawberries are not healthy for crested geckos. They are likely harmful in large quantities.
Calcium-to-Phosphorous Ratio
Strawberries have a 0.7:1 Ca:P ratio, which is moderate.
Oxalic Acid Content
Oxalic acid is another thing that also interferes with calcium. Unfortunately, there is no ideal ratio for oxalic acid. We want to keep the oxalates as low as possible.
Good news! Strawberries are very low in oxalate, with 2 mg of oxalic acid per half cup.
So, Are They Good or Bad?
Strawberries are pretty good for cresties.
It has a moderate Ca-P ratio and is low in oxalates. We can consider it slightly better than a treat for cresties. Feeding it to them more than once a month shouldn’t be problematic.
For many keepers, it is helpful to compare this to ‘desserts’ for people. 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 sick. An every-once-in-a-while treat isn’t a problem.
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 type of spoon is about the same size as the width is the proper amount of fruit as a serving.
How often can I serve strawberries?
Strawberries are a treat.
Ideally, your pet should mostly eat powdered gecko food with some live feeder insects and infrequent fruit. This combination will provide them with the vitamins and minerals they need. It also won’t disrupt their calcium levels.
Following this approach, you can feed your crested gecko strawberries once a month.
Remember that strawberries shouldn’t be the only fresh fruit you feed your pet. Variety is essential to supply all the nutrients your crested gecko needs. Fruit is always a treat!
How do I prepare and offer strawberries?
Crested geckos use their tongues to manage their food! They don’t use their teeth to chew or bite it.
Any solid food provided to a crestie should be small enough pieces to be easily swallowed and digested.
Softer, overripe, and even slightly spoiled is ok. In the wild, crested geckos eat fruit that has fallen to the ground once it ripened. Overripe fruit is natural for them.
Preparation
First, wash the strawberry 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 it with the produce cleaner under cold water and then pat it dry. Then, trim the green parts off the top just before serving.
Pureeing the fruit to a liquid form or mashing them well with a fork makes them easy to eat. Both ways are easy, but the mashed version is better if you want to mix the berries with something else.
You can slice a strawberry into tiny pieces. Keep each piece shorter than the space between the crested gecko’s eyes.
Do you need to remove the seeds?
The seeds aren’t a health problem for crested geckos, but they might not like the texture.
You can try preparing them differently, such as in a mash or puree, and see if that changes how they react to the seeds.
Can I mix strawberries with something else?
Yes! Strawberries are healthy but aren’t a ‘perfect food’ for crested geckos. Mixing them with something else can improve the situation.
CRG and papaya are great choices because they are higher in Ca than P, which helps balance out the downside of strawberries.
You can blend a pear with insects, like crickets or dubia roaches, or another fruit, like banana, 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 Strawberries
What is the best month to buy them?
The best time to buy strawberries is when they are in season. In the US, that is from mid-April through the end of June.
While strawberries are available year-round, they taste best and are less expensive in season.
How do I pick a good berries?
Strawberries give several signs when they are just right.
When they are ripe, a strawberry is bright red and has a natural shine. Its green leaves (or cap) are fresh, not wilted.
Unripe strawberries start green and turn white before changing to red.
If you have a choice, opt for smaller berries. Larger berries often contain more water, which dilutes the taste. Smaller strawberries tend to have more flavor.
How long do they keep?
Ripe strawberries will keep for around seven days in the refrigerator.
They stay fresh longer if kept on a single layer covered with a lid or plastic wrap.
If you notice one of the berries turning moldy or rotting, immediately remove it and discard it.
Should I buy organic or conventionally grown strawberries?
Studies of fruit and soil quality for growing organic strawberry plants show that organic strawberries taste better, are more nutritious, and are better for the soil than their conventionally-grown counterparts.
Crested geckos are sensitive to chemicals and pesticides on food. Eating contaminated foods can make them sick.
Offering organic strawberries to your crested gecko reduces their exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, which is good for their health.
Do All Crested Geckos Like Strawberries?
Just like with humans, individual crested geckos have things they like and things they don’t. Not every person likes the taste of strawberries, 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 a strawberry to your pet and they didn’t devour every bite the first time, don’t worry. Try again, maybe blended with other fruits your pet regularly eats to help them adjust to the taste.
Conclusion
Crested geckos can eat strawberries as a treat up to once a month.
While they have a less-than-ideal Ca-to-P ratio, strawberries have a lot of vitamins and antioxidants.
Many crested geckos love the juicy, sweet taste when this fruit is fresh and love their treat!
Puree or mash one and mix it with other fruits or CGD for a delicious surprise.
When combined in a diet with other fruits, strawberries can help give your crested gecko a long, healthy life.
What about other fruits? Can Crested Geckos Eat Watermelon?