Feeder insect

Can Mourning Geckos Eat Wild-caught insects?

Never feed — unsafe
Quick answer: No. Wild-caught insects should never be fed to a mourning gecko. Any insect from your garden or an outdoor space carries pesticide residue, herbicide contamination, and parasite risk with no reliable way to test or clean it, and most are the wrong size regardless.
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Any insect from your garden or an outdoor space carries pesticide residue, herbicide contamination, and parasite risk with no reliable way to test or clean it, and most are the wrong size regardless. Only feed captive-bred insects from a reputable supplier.

pesticide-riskparasite-risknever-feed

See the full feeder insects guide, or browse all 299 info pages.

Related feeder insects
Can Mourning Geckos Eat Complete Gecko MRP (meal-replacement powder) — fruit/nectar blend?

Yes. Complete Gecko MRP (meal-replacement powder) — fruit/nectar blend is a staple feeder for mourning geckos. The backbone of the diet for most keepers.

Can Mourning Geckos Eat Repashy MRP (Crested Gecko Diet / Grub Pie, used off-label)?

Yes. Repashy MRP (Crested Gecko Diet / Grub Pie, used off-label) is a staple feeder for mourning geckos. No brand makes a mourning-gecko-specific MRP, so keepers use the same Pangea/Repashy powders formulated for crested and gargoyle geckos — the nutritional profile suits a small nectivorous/frugivorous species just as well.

Can Mourning Geckos Eat Fruit Flies (Drosophila melanogaster / hydei, flightless)?

Yes. Fruit Flies (Drosophila melanogaster / hydei, flightless) is a staple feeder for mourning geckos. The single best live feeder for this species — actually sized for a mourning gecko's tiny mouth, unlike almost every feeder insect marketed for reptiles generally.

Can Mourning Geckos Eat Springtails?

Yes. Springtails is a supplement feeder for mourning geckos. Primarily a bioactive clean-up crew, but a self-sustaining culture in the substrate also gives hatchlings and juveniles a source of correctly sized live prey to hunt between scheduled feedings — genuinely useful for a species this small, not just decorative..

Can Mourning Geckos Eat Pinhead / small crickets (2nd–3rd instar only)?

Yes. Pinhead / small crickets (2nd–3rd instar only) is a supplement feeder for mourning geckos. Fine occasionally for larger sub-adults and adults specifically at pinhead size — anything bigger is already too large.

Can Mourning Geckos Eat Honey water / diluted nectar (occasional)?

Yes. Honey water / diluted nectar (occasional) is a treat feeder for mourning geckos. A drop of honey diluted heavily with water on a leaf mimics the floral nectar this species forages in the wild and is a good occasional treat — never a diet replacement, since it supplies sugar with essentially no protein, calcium, or vitamins.