Is It Safe to Feed Your Crested Geckos Watermelon?
Last Updated: January 25, 2023
Taking great care of your pet lizard requires feeding them a nutritious diet, which may include fresh fruit. There are a lot of fruits that are safe for crested geckos can eat, but some are dangerous. What about watermelon? Can crested geckos eat watermelon? Is it a good choice, or should you avoid it?
Crested geckos can eat watermelon as an occasional treat. Watermelon is a healthy food, but high in sugar and has compounds that can disrupt calcium levels. It can be a safe part of a balanced diet.
You probably have other questions. What is a good serving size? Are the seeds edible? How should I prepare the watermelon to make it easy to eat?
It is critical to ask good questions before you start feeding your pet something new.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know as a pet lizard parent before serving watermelon to your crestie!
Do Crested Geckos Eat Watermelon in The Wild?
We study what animals eat in their natural habitat so we can better give them a proper diet in captivity.
Humans have eaten watermelon for a long time! The earliest records date back thousands of years to northeastern Africa. Because of their high water content, watermelons helped people stay hydrated in the hot, arid desert.
Today, there are more than 1,100 varieties of watermelon. They range in taste from sweet to bitter to bland and come in different colors.
Crested geckos are native to southern New Caledonia, tropical islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Watermelons do not grow there naturally.
Even though a wild crested gecko has not likely had watermelon, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are not safe for it to eat.
Let’s look at the nutrient breakdown for watermelons to understand their pros and cons.
Nutritional Value
Watermelon is not the most nutrient-dense fruit, but it does have benefits.
The nutrients in raw watermelon, calculated by a standing serving of 3.5 ounces (or 100 grams), are:
- Calories: 30
- Water: 91%
- Protein: 0.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.6 g
- Sugar: 6.2 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Fat: 0.2 g
- Calcium (Ca): 7 mg
- Phosphorous (P): 11 mg
- Iron (Fe): 0.24 mg
- Magnesium (Mg): 10 mg
- Potassium (K): 112 mg
- Sodium (Na): 1 mg
- Zinc (Zn): 0.1 mg
- Copper (Cu): 0.042 mg
- Manganese (Mn): 0.38 mg
- Vitamin C (total ascorbic acid): 8.1 mg
Watermelon is a good source of Vitamin C, which help with the growth and repair of body tissue. It is also one of the best sources of the amino acids citrulline and lycopene, which help regulate the body.
Watermelon is low in calories. That makes it a good choice for normal-weight and overweight crested geckos alike.
One of the most notable things about this fruit is how much of it is water – nearly 91%! That water content is what makes it so refreshing. It offsets dehydration, which is an issue for some crested geckos.
In moderation, watermelon is a healthy component of a diet.
Is Watermelon Good or Bad for Crested Geckos?
Unfortunately, there aren’t extensive studies on the health impact of feeding watermelon 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 doesn’t have enough. Doing this too often will leave the body without enough calcium to function.
Phosphorous (P) blocks 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.
Watermelon has 7 milligrams of calcium and 11 milligrams of phosphorous. Based on this, watermelon is not healthy for crested geckos.
Calcium-to-Phosphorous Ratio
Watermelon has a 0.7:1 Ca:P ratio, which is moderate.
Oxalic Acid Content
Oxalic acid is another thing that messes 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! Watermelon is very low in oxalate, with only 1 milligram per slice.
So, Are They Good or Bad?
Watermelon is 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 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. It is not a problem occasionally.
Watermelon in Crested Gecko Diet
Some commercially prepared crested gecko diet blends use watermelon.
Some, like Pangea’s Fruit Mix Watermelon Complete Gecko Diet, have dried watermelon as the first ingredient. Plenty of others include it in the mixture.
What does that tell us?
First, we can say confidently that crested geckos can safely eat watermelon.
Second, it may help you guess whether your crested gecko will like it fresh. Check the ingredient list for your current CGD. Is watermelon there? If so, the taste may be familiar to your pet.
Feeding Instructions
What Is the right portion size?
The portion of food to feed 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 watermelon?
Watermelon is a treat.
Ideally, your pet should mostly eat powdered gecko food with some live feeder insects and the occasional bit of fruit. This combo will provide them with all the vitamins and minerals they need. It also won’t disrupt their calcium levels.
Following this approach, you can feed your crested gecko watermelon once or twice a month.
Ever noticed how sweet watermelon tastes? Those sugars can be so tasty that your pet might choose this fruit over other, less sweet options.
Don’t give in. Crested geckos need a variety of foods to keep them from getting addicted and refusing everything else.
Fruit is always a treat!
How do I prepare and offer watermelon?
Crested geckos don’t use their teeth to bite and chew their food- they use their tongues!
Any solid food provided to a crestie should be offered in 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, rinse the watermelon with a fruit and veggie wash. While you won’t feed your pet the rind, this will prevent the unintended transfer of pesticides or bacteria. Use cold water and a clean scrub brush.
Once you cut it open, remove any seeds. The seeds are a dangerous choking hazard and difficult to digest. You can avoid this by getting a seedless watermelon instead.
Next, cut and discard the rind. Then, slice the pink or red section into tiny pieces. Another option is to use a melon ball scooper.
You don’t need to mash or puree the watermelon since it should be soft, but it doesn’t hurt to do that for younger cresties. Once you wash, seed, and chop the “meat,” serve it in a shallow bowl.
Remove any leftovers after a few hours. The sweet juices of the watermelon may attract insects and make life less pleasant for everyone.
Should you serve watermelon with or without the seeds?
Do not serve the seeds to your crested gecko. They are dangerous and not something your crestie should eat.
Can I mix the watermelon with something else?
Yes! Watermelon contains healthy nutrients but isn’t a ‘perfect food’ for crested geckos. Mixing it with something else can offset the problems.
CGD and papaya are solid choices because they are higher in Ca than P, which helps offset the problems with watermelon.
You can blend it with insects, like crickets or dubia roaches, or another fruit, like strawberries, but these mixtures will continue to have high phosphorous content.
Buying and Storing Watermelon
What is the best month to buy them?
The best time to buy watermelon is when it is in season. In the US, that is May through September.
In-season watermelons travel shorter distances, so they are fresher when they get to you. As with all produce, the less time between harvest and purchase, the better the taste.
While many stores will carry watermelons year-round, they cost more and don’t taste as good in the off-season.
Finally, farmer’s markets and produce stands are great places to pick up locally grown food. You can taste the difference!
How do I pick a good one?
Watermelons stop ripening when picked, so what you see is what you get. Look for a brown stem and some webbing on the skin. If you tap the outside, a fresh one will make a deep, hollow sound.
How long do they keep?
Uncut watermelon can keep for one week on the counter or two weeks in the refrigerator. Once cut, the melon loses its sweetness.
You can store carved chunks or slices in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
You can freeze it, but it will be soggy when it thaws. Cresties might not take to the defrosted version the same as they do to the fresh stuff.
Should I buy organic or conventionally grown melons?
Watermelons are among the safer fruits for pesticides because the rind protects the part we eat. That said, there might be pesticide residue on the outside that should be washed and cleaned thoroughly.
Organic watermelons have a lower exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, which is always good for their health.
Do All Crested Geckos Like Watermelon?
Just like with us, each crested gecko has preferences. Not every person likes the taste of watermelon, nor does every crestie.
Do you remember a time you tried something new? 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 watermelon to your pet and they didn’t devour every bite the first time, don’t worry. Try offering it again, maybe topped with powdered gecko formula to help them adjust to the taste.
Conclusion
Crested geckos can eat watermelon periodically.
While it has a less-than-perfect Ca-to-P ratio, its low oxalic acid, high water content, and high vitamin C content are good.
Be sure to clean it and remove all the seeds and the rind before serving it.
Watermelons are a good option as one of the many fresh fruits you feed to your crested gecko as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
What about other fruits? Can Crested Geckos Eat Apples?