4,660 answers about reptiles & amphibians
Keeping reptiles and amphibians well comes down to environment — heat, light, humidity and the right enclosure — plus feeding and health basics that differ by species. This page gathers the reptile and amphibian library of KinsLe Answers in one place, organized by topic. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
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387 answers in Feeding & Nutrition — page 11 of 17
Yes — escarole is a sound staple green for tortoises, the broad, flat-leaf member of the chicory family sold alongside endive. Its calcium balance is favorable for a leafy green, it is less bitter than curly endive, and its sturdy leaves chop well and hold up in a warm enclosure. Wash it, cut it to size for your…
Yes — endive is a recommended staple green for tortoises, one of the leaves that can anchor the daily salad. Both the curly and broad-leaf forms have a favorable calcium balance for a leafy green, a pleasant bitterness tortoises accept well, and a texture that chops and mixes easily with other staples. Wash the…
Yes — dandelion greens are among the finest foods you can offer a tortoise, close to the wild weeds grassland species evolved eating. They are high in calcium and fiber, and most tortoises eat them eagerly, flowers and all. The one firm rule is sourcing: only pick dandelions from ground you know has not been sprayed…
Yes — collard greens are one of the best staple leaves you can feed a tortoise, not just an occasional extra. They are rich in calcium relative to phosphorus, which is exactly the balance a growing or maintaining shell needs, and they hold up well chopped into a mixed salad. Wash the leaves, remove the thickest part…
Yes, tortoises can eat carrots — grated or finely chopped, and in moderation rather than as a daily staple. Carrots supply beta-carotene for vitamin A, but they are also one of the sweeter vegetables and their calcium content is low, so leafy greens should still dominate the bowl. The main practical issue is texture:…
Yes — butternut squash is one of the better vegetables you can offer a tortoise, and unlike fruit treats it earns a regular place in the rotation. Its orange flesh is rich in beta-carotene, which the tortoise converts to vitamin A, and it sits well alongside the leafy greens that should still make up most of the bowl.…
Yes — blueberries are safe for tortoises, but they belong in the treat column, not the daily salad. Fruit sugar is the issue: a grassland species like a Russian or Hermann's tortoise is built for fibrous weeds and leaves, so a few blueberries once in a while is plenty, while a redfoot tolerates a slightly larger fruit…
Yes — tortoises can eat bell pepper, and most relish it, but it earns a place as an occasional extra rather than a dietary building block. Peppers carry useful vitamin C and moisture, yet they are sweeter and softer than the weeds and grasses a grazing tortoise's gut is built for, so a pepper-heavy diet drifts the…
Yes — acorn squash is a good food for grazing tortoises such as Russians, Hermann's, leopards, and sulcatas, offering fibre, moisture, and useful vitamins in a form they eat eagerly. Serve it raw, with the hard rind cut away and the flesh chopped or grated into pieces a tortoise can bite through, and take out the…
Yes — crested geckos can eat live insects alongside their powdered diet, and most are healthier and more active for having both. The powder is the nutritional backbone, mixed fresh and offered as the staple, because it is formulated to cover the vitamins and calcium a gecko needs. Small live prey such as crickets,…
Yes, blue tongue skinks can eat dog food, and used the right way it is a genuinely practical part of their diet rather than a shortcut. These skinks are omnivores that take animal protein readily, and a plain, good-quality wet dog food gives digestible protein many keepers build meals around, mixed with a generous…
Yes, romaine lettuce is safe for bearded dragons, but it should sit in the supporting cast rather than star in the salad. It is mostly water with modest fibre and far less calcium and nutrient density than the dark leafy greens dragons do best on, so a bowl built on romaine alone leaves real gaps. Use it chopped and…
Yes — prickly pear is one of the better plant foods you can offer a bearded dragon. Both the flat pads, sold as nopales, and the fruit carry a favourable balance of calcium to phosphorus alongside useful moisture and fibre, so chopped pad can sit alongside staple greens regularly rather than as a rare treat. The one…
Yes — hibiscus flowers are a safe and well-liked food for bearded dragons, and the leaves can be eaten too. The catch is sourcing: flowers from a florist, bouquet, or garden centre sprayed for pests are not safe to feed, so only offer blooms you have grown yourself without sprays, or from a source you trust, rinsed…
Yes — waxworms are one of the fattiest feeder insects you can offer, soft-bodied and rich, with little calcium to balance them, so they work as an occasional treat rather than a regular menu item. Most reptiles find them irresistible, and offered too often they can crowd out better food: some animals start holding out…
Yes — most herbivorous tortoises can eat sweet potato, but it works as an occasional treat rather than a staple food. It is richer in natural sugars and starch than the leafy greens and weeds that should make up the bulk of the diet, so offer a small amount of peeled, finely chopped or lightly cooked sweet potato now…
A garter snake in captivity eats a rotating menu built on earthworms, whole fish and, for larger snakes, occasional pinky mice. Nightcrawlers are the backbone for most keepers, chopped for juveniles and offered whole to adults, alongside fish such as guppies, platies or silversides. One trap matters: some feeder fish,…
Mealworms are not bad for a leopard gecko as part of a rotation, but they are a weak choice as the only feeder, since their tough chitin shell is harder to digest than softer insects, they carry less moisture, and nutritionally they are outclassed by crickets, small dubia roaches and black soldier fly larvae. The…
A veiled chameleon's week should bring gut-loaded insects daily for a juvenile and every other day for most adults — crickets and dubia roaches as staples, black soldier fly larvae and silkworms rotated through, and superworms only as an occasional treat. Unusually for a chameleon, veileds also nibble vegetation, so…
A Russian tortoise should eat a daily pile of high-fibre weeds and greens roughly the size of his shell — dandelion, plantain, clover, chicory, and sow thistle as staples — dusted lightly with calcium several times a week. This small steppe species is adapted to sparse, fibrous grazing, so fruit stays off the weekly…
A red-eared slider's week changes with his age: juveniles need protein daily, while an adult's week should be mostly leafy greens — dandelion, red leaf lettuce, and turnip greens offered every day — with a measured portion of quality pellets and protein foods like earthworms or shrimp on two or three days. Pellets…
A panther chameleon's week should bring a daily rotation of gut-loaded live insects — crickets and dubia roaches as staples, black soldier fly larvae and silkworms mixed through the week, and a hornworm or two as a hydrating treat. Youngsters eat daily in quantity; adults can be fed every other day, taking a modest…
A pacman frog's week centres on two or three meals rather than daily feeding, because this ambush frog is built to eat big, then sit still digesting. Nightcrawlers are the best staple — dusted with calcium at most meals and a multivitamin once a week — with dubia roaches and a hornworm rotated in, offered by tong at…
A leopard gecko's week should mix live insects across several feeding sessions: an adult eats every other day, taking roughly as many feeders as he will hunt in fifteen minutes, while a juvenile eats daily. Rotate the menu between crickets, small dubia roaches, and black soldier fly larvae, with mealworms as a…
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