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 7 of 17
Feed a leopard tortoise every day, because this is a grazing animal built to eat fibrous food in small amounts almost constantly: a fresh pile of grasses, hay, and leafy weeds each morning, with grazing access through the day whenever weather allows. The daily question is not whether to feed, but whether the menu…
Feed a Kenyan sand boa on a snake's schedule, not a lizard's: a youngster takes a small rodent about once a week, and an adult stretches to one every week and a half to two weeks, because this slow burrower digests unhurriedly and fattens easily. Daily or frequent feeding, however willingly accepted, is the fastest…
Feed a young Jackson's chameleon every day, and a settled adult every other day, because this slow, deliberate hunter needs regular insect meals but overeats into poor condition when food is constant. Morning feeding matters as much as frequency, giving the chameleon the whole warm day to digest what its tongue has…
Feed a green anole a small meal every day, because this tiny, active lizard has a fast metabolism and does best on little and often: a few small crickets, tiny roaches, or fruit flies each morning. Adults in cool, quiet spells may skip the odd day without harm, but daily offering is the safer rhythm to build the habit…
Feed a five-lined skink daily while it is a striped youngster, then offer adults a good insect meal every other day, because this fast, active North American skink burns energy in constant motion but still overeats in a tank. Small, quick prey offered in the morning, when it basks and hunts, matches how this lizard…
Feed a fire skink daily while it is young, then move a settled adult to a solid insect meal every other day, because this secretive, burrowing skink hunts eagerly but spends long hidden hours digesting. Most keepers never see the meal happen, so the schedule, not the skink's visible appetite, has to run the routine.…
Feed a common musk turtle daily while it is young and growing, then settle adults onto a good meal every other day, because this small bottom-walking turtle stays active and hungry but gains weight easily in a tank. Each feed should be sized to the turtle, eaten in the water within a short session, and cleared away…
A children's python should be fed on a spaced schedule, not daily or even weekly for life: hatchlings take a small rodent every five to seven days, juveniles every seven to ten days, and most adults every ten to fourteen days. Choose prey about as wide as the thickest part of the snake's body, offer it warmed in the…
An adult White's tree frog usually needs only three or four large crickets, or the equivalent in roaches, every other night, because this famously food-loving species becomes overweight very easily; juveniles take smaller insects nightly while growing. Offer prey with tongs after dark, sized to fit comfortably in that…
An adult tokay gecko does not need daily feeding; five to seven large insects such as adult roaches or big crickets every other evening suits most adults, while juveniles can take smaller prey every evening as they grow. Offer food after dark with tongs or in a deep bowl, choosing prey about as wide as the space…
A tiger salamander should not be fed daily as an adult; two or three large earthworms, or an equivalent portion of roaches or crickets, every two to three days is plenty for most, because this big salamander gains weight easily. Juveniles eat smaller items more often, ideally offered in the evening with tongs on a…
An adult spotted turtle usually needs a head-sized portion every other day rather than daily, mixing aquatic pellets with earthworms, small snails, and a little plant matter, while juveniles take a smaller serving each day in shallow water. Feed in water shallow enough for this small, weak-swimming species to feed…
A red-eyed tree frog does not eat a full meal daily as an adult; three or four large crickets, or the equivalent in roaches, every other night suits most adults, while juveniles need smaller insects every night as they grow. Offer food after dark when this nocturnal frog's big red eyes are open and it is hunting from…
A painted turtle's daily amount depends on age: juveniles need a head-sized portion of protein-rich food every day, while adults do best with that pellet-and-prey portion every other day alongside leafy greens offered more freely. Serve food in the water, let the turtle eat its fill in one sitting, then remove the…
A common musk turtle, or stinkpot, needs less than most owners expect: adults thrive on a head-sized portion every other day, built from aquatic pellets plus worms, snails, or small pieces of shrimp, while juveniles take a similar small serving daily. Feed in the water, ideally in the evening when this secretive…
An adult mud turtle generally should not be fed a full meal every day; a portion roughly the size of its head, offered every other day, suits most adults, while juveniles can take a smaller head-sized serving daily while they grow. That portion can combine aquatic turtle pellets with earthworms, small snails, or…
An adult mourning gecko needs only a small smear of prepared gecko diet, roughly a bottle-cap amount, offered every other evening, plus tiny live insects such as fruit flies or pinhead crickets once or twice a week. Because a colony of these tiny all-female geckos often shares one enclosure, place two small feeding…
A marbled salamander does not need a set meal every day; most adults do well on two to four appropriately sized items, such as earthworm pieces or crickets, offered two or three evenings a week, while juveniles need smaller servings more often as they grow. Feed after dark on damp ground, place food where this shy…
A healthy adult green anole usually needs only two to five small live insects at a feeding, offered every other day rather than as a large daily meal, while a growing juvenile may eat a similar small serving daily. Keep each cricket or tiny roach no wider than the space between the anole's eyes, feed after the…
A fire-bellied toad needs a modest daily feed while young, settling as an adult to a good insect meal every other day, because this hardy little frog is an eager eater that will overdo it if you let it. A few small crickets or similar insects per toad at each feed is the working scale, not a tub emptied into the tank.…
A fire-bellied newt needs only a tiny portion of food, offered daily while young and usually every other day as an adult, because this small semi-aquatic newt eats little at a sitting and fouls its water with anything more. A few bloodworms, a small piece of earthworm, or a couple of tiny pellets is a real meal at…
A fire salamander does not need food every day at all: this slow, cool-loving amphibian thrives on a solid earthworm-based meal every few days, with adults often fed two or three times a week rather than daily. A daily feeding routine built out of mammal-pet habit will make a fire salamander fat and sluggish. Judge…
A diamondback terrapin needs a daily measured portion while young, roughly a head-sized amount of quality aquatic turtle food plus natural protein, and most adults stay in shape on that same portion every other day. This brackish-water turtle overeats readily in captivity, so the daily question is a portion decision,…
A Dart frog needs a surprisingly large number of very small flies each day, because each fruit fly is only a mouthful: a single adult will work through a generous dusting of flies at a morning feed, and growing youngsters need that supply daily without gaps. There is no weekly shortcut, since this frog's whole feeding…
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