Best Mourning Gecko Food: Complete Feeding Guide

Mourning geckos are tiny — but their diet is surprisingly interesting. These little lizards eat a mix of fruit, nectar, and small insects in the wild. Getting that balance right in captivity makes all the difference for their health and longevity.

If you've just brought home a mourning gecko, or you're prepping before you do, you're in the right place. This guide covers the best mourning gecko food options, how often to feed, and which supplements you actually need.

What Do Mourning Geckos Eat?

Mourning geckos (Lepidodactylus lugubris) are omnivores. In the wild, they lick ripe fruit pulp and flower nectar, then hunt tiny insects and invertebrates. They're not picky — they'll try almost anything small enough to fit in their mouth.

In captivity, their diet breaks down into two main categories:

• Meal replacement powders (MRPs) — fruit-flavored, vitamin-packed paste you mix with water
• Live feeder insects — fruit flies, micro crickets, and other small bugs

Most experienced keepers use MRPs as the staple and offer live insects a few times a week for enrichment and extra protein. This combo closely mirrors what they'd eat in the wild.

Meal Replacement Powders: The Core of Their Diet

MRPs are the most convenient and nutritionally complete food for mourning geckos. They're formulated specifically for frugivorous geckos and take guesswork out of feeding. You just mix with water and serve.

Here are the best options on the market right now.

Repashy Crested Gecko Diet

Repashy Crested Gecko Diet is the gold standard for frugivorous geckos. It's been around for decades, and for good reason — it's nutritionally complete, easy to prepare, and geckos love the taste.

It comes in several flavors, including Watermelon and Mango Superblend. Mourning geckos tend to go crazy for the fruity ones. Mix 1 part powder with 2 parts water to get a smooth paste, then serve in a small shallow dish.

Repashy Grubs N Fruit is a solid variation that adds insect protein to the formula — great for geckos that seem to want more than just fruit flavors.

Pangea Fruit Mix Complete

Pangea Fruit Mix Complete is the other top contender. Many keepers rotate between Repashy and Pangea to give their geckos variety.

Pangea comes in a bunch of flavors — banana papaya, watermelon mango, fig and insects, and more. It's known for high calcium content, which helps prevent metabolic bone disease. If your gecko gets bored with one MRP, swapping flavors often fixes the problem fast.

Black Panther Zoological (BPZ)

BPZ Complete Gecko Diet is a newer option gaining traction in the gecko community. It has a solid protein profile and geckos seem to enjoy the flavors. Worth keeping on hand as a third rotation option.

How to Prepare MRPs

Mix 1 part powder to 2 parts water. You're aiming for a consistency like thick pancake batter — smooth, not runny, not clumpy. Serve in a bottle cap or tiny shallow dish. Replace every 24–48 hours to stop mold from forming.

Don't leave old MRP sitting longer than two days, especially in warm, humid enclosures. It goes bad fast.

Live Feeder Insects: Protein and Hunting Enrichment

Live insects do two things: they add protein to the diet, and they give your gecko something to hunt. Mourning geckos are natural hunters — watching them stalk and catch prey is genuinely entertaining.

The catch? Mourning geckos are small. Adults top out at about 3–4 inches. That limits which insects are safe to offer.

The golden rule: Never feed insects wider than the space between your gecko's eyes. Too-large prey causes stress and can lead to impaction.

Best Feeder Insects for Mourning Geckos

Fruit Flies: The Best All-Around Option

Flightless fruit fly cultures are the go-to live food for mourning gecko keepers. They're easy to source, cheap, and perfectly sized.

You have two species to choose from:

• Drosophila melanogaster — smaller, great for juveniles and small adults
• Drosophila hydei — larger, better for adult mourning geckos

Always use flightless cultures. Regular fruit flies will escape and become your roommates. One culture produces hundreds of flies over several weeks, so you get a lot of value from each purchase.

Crickets: Use With Caution

Micro crickets work, but they're tricky. They can escape, hide, and even bite your gecko while it sleeps. If you use crickets, go with pin-heads (newly hatched) or 1/8" size only. Watch the enclosure after you add them and remove any uneaten crickets within 15–20 minutes.

Mini crickets are available from most online feeder insect suppliers. Buy small quantities so they don't sit around and die before you use them.

What About Dubia Roaches?

Standard dubia roaches are too large for most mourning geckos. You'd need nymphs under 3mm — very hard to find and manage. Unless you're breeding your own and can sort by size, stick with fruit flies and micro crickets.

Gut-Loading: Don't Skip This Step

Before you feed any live insect to your gecko, gut-load it for 24–48 hours. That means feeding the insects nutritious food so they pass those nutrients on to your gecko.

A hollow fruit fly passes almost no nutrition. A gut-loaded one is packed with vitamins and minerals your gecko actually needs.

Good gut-load foods include:

• Fresh fruits: mango, papaya, banana, berries
• Leafy greens: collard greens, dandelion leaves, mustard greens
• Commercial gut-load powders like Repashy Superload

For fruit flies specifically, keep them in the culture with fresh fruit and gut-load powder for at least 24 hours before use.

Supplements: What Your Gecko Actually Needs

Even the best diet needs backup. Without the right vitamins and minerals, mourning geckos develop metabolic bone disease (MBD) and other serious deficiencies. Supplementation is non-negotiable.

Calcium + D3

Calcium is the single most important supplement for any gecko. Mourning geckos can benefit from low-level UVB lighting, but many keepers don't provide it — which means your gecko needs D3 from supplements to absorb calcium properly.

If your enclosure has no UVB light, use calcium with D3. If you do provide UVB, alternate between calcium with D3 and calcium without D3 to avoid over-supplementation.

Dust feeder insects lightly with calcium powder before every feeding. Most quality MRPs already contain calcium, but dusting insects adds an extra safety buffer — especially for growing juveniles.

Multivitamins

Offer a reptile multivitamin once every 1–2 weeks. Repashy Calcium Plus is a popular all-in-one option that combines calcium and vitamins in a single powder — convenient for keepers who want to simplify their supplement routine.

Don't over-supplement. Too much vitamin A causes toxicity. Stick to the dosage on the label and don't double up on multiple vitamin products at the same time.

Feeding Schedule: How Often Is Enough?

Mourning geckos have fast metabolisms. Juveniles need food daily. Adults can go every 2–3 days without issue.

Always keep fresh water available. A tiny shallow dish or regular misting of the enclosure walls keeps hydration levels up.

Can Mourning Geckos Eat Crested Gecko Food?

Yes — and many keepers do exactly this. Mourning geckos and crested geckos have very similar dietary needs. Both are frugivorous geckos that thrive on quality MRPs.

If you already keep a crested gecko, you can use the same food for both species. Repashy CGD and Pangea work equally well for mourning geckos. For a deeper dive into how these MRPs work across species, check out our guide on Crested Gecko Care: The Complete Beginner's Guide.

Signs Your Mourning Gecko Is Eating Well

Mourning geckos are secretive feeders. You might never actually see them eat. That's normal. Instead, look for these signs that feeding is going well:

• Rounded belly — full but not bloated
• Active at dusk and dawn — crepuscular behavior means your gecko is healthy and alert
• MRP level dropping — check the dish each morning; if it's being consumed, that's a great sign
• No visible ribs or hip bones — a thin gecko isn't getting enough calories
• Clean, full sheds — poor nutrition often leads to stuck shed or patchy skin

Red Flags to Watch For

Some signs point to nutritional problems or feeding issues:

• Wavy or bent limbs — early metabolic bone disease from calcium deficiency
• Rubbery or soft jaw — advanced MBD, requires vet care immediately
• Sudden weight loss — could be parasites, stress, or internal illness
• Refusing MRP for more than a week — try a different flavor or brand
• Refusing all food for 2+ weeks — check temperatures and humidity first, then consult a reptile vet

Most feeding refusals in mourning geckos come down to stress, wrong temperatures, or boredom with a single food flavor. Fix the environment first before assuming illness.

Practical Feeding Tips

A few small habits make a big difference:

1. Feed in the evening. Mourning geckos are most active at dusk. Putting food out before lights-out means they'll find it when they're naturally looking for it.

2. Use bottle caps for MRP dishes. They're the perfect size — shallow enough for easy access, small enough not to waste food. Replace the cap every 2 days.

3. Rotate MRP flavors monthly. Variety prevents food boredom and ensures a broader micronutrient profile. Alternate between Repashy and Pangea, or try different flavors within the same brand.

4. Start a fruit fly culture. Buying fruit flies weekly adds up fast. A DIY fruit fly culture kit pays for itself in a month and ensures you never run out of live food.

5. Don't rely on insects alone. Live bugs are great enrichment, but MRPs provide far more consistent, complete nutrition. Insects are the supplement — MRPs are the staple.

If you're just getting started with this species, our full breakdown in Mourning Gecko Care: The Complete Beginner's Guide covers everything from enclosure setup to humidity and handling.

Setting Up a Simple Feeding Station

Mourning geckos are small and fast. A dedicated feeding station makes it easier to monitor whether your gecko is actually eating.

Here's a basic setup that works:

• One MRP dish — small bottle cap or 1" shallow dish, mounted at mid-height on the glass with a suction cup
• One water dish — no deeper than 5mm (geckos can drown in surprisingly shallow water)
• Feeder release zone — a flat piece of cork bark near the MRP dish gives fruit flies a landing spot where your gecko can hunt naturally

Clean the MRP dish every 2 days and disinfect with dilute white vinegar weekly. Mold in the feeding dish is one of the most common avoidable health hazards for mourning geckos kept in high-humidity bioactive setups.

Avoid Wild-Caught Insects

It's tempting to catch moths or gnats from outside and toss them in the enclosure. Don't. Wild insects can carry pesticides, parasites, and pathogens that will make your gecko sick.

Captive-bred feeders from reputable suppliers are always the safer choice. The only exception is wild springtails and isopods specifically sourced for bioactive setups — but even then, use established suppliers rather than your backyard.

Quick Reference: Best Mourning Gecko Food Summary

Once you have a routine dialed in, feeding mourning geckos takes about five minutes every couple of days. A quality MRP, a steady supply of fruit flies, and consistent calcium supplementation will keep these fascinating little geckos thriving for 10+ years.

For a broader look at gecko species that share similar care needs, our roundup of Best Pet Lizards for Beginners: 11 Species Ranked covers how mourning geckos compare to other popular options.