The powder is the backbone
Crested geckos were transformed as pets by complete powdered diets: mixed with water to a smoothie consistency, they deliver the fruit sugars the species seeks in the wild together with the protein, calcium, and vitamins it needs, in proportions worked out for the animal. Offered fresh on a regular rotation, that powder is a full diet on its own — a gecko can live healthily on it alone — and it should stay the centre of the feeding plan even when live food joins the menu. Replace it on schedule rather than topping up, since a stale dish loses both nutrition and appeal.
What live insects add
In the wild, crested geckos are not pure fruit-eaters; they snap up insects opportunistically, and live prey gives a captive gecko things powder cannot: the chase, the strike, the exercise, and a protein and fat profile that varies the diet in useful ways. Many geckos visibly perk up on insect evenings, hunting with an energy they never show at the powder dish. A couple of evenings a week is the usual rhythm — enough to matter, not enough to unbalance the week. Insects are the enrichment course; the powder remains the meal the diet is calculated on.
Choosing, sizing, and dusting prey
Good options are small crickets, young dubia roaches, and black soldier fly larvae, offered one at a time so you can count what is actually eaten and no loose cricket is left to wander the enclosure overnight. Size prey conservatively — no wider than the space between the gecko's eyes is the keeper's rule of thumb — and dust insects with a plain calcium powder before serving, because insects on their own run short on calcium. Feed in the evening when the gecko wakes and hunts naturally, and take out anything uneaten after the session.
If your gecko favours one food over the other
Preferences vary by individual. Some geckos hold out for insects and sniff at powder; others ignore prey entirely and thrive on the dish alone, which is perfectly fine. For the insect-obsessed, keep the powder fresh and available, offer insects after the powder has had its chance, and do not let hunting replace the complete diet — the powder carries nutrients prey alone will not supply. For the powder-only gecko, an occasional try with a different insect is all the pressure worth applying. KinsLe's Care Teams let you set the insect evenings as an assigned feeding duty with the dusting step written in, so the rotation is kept even when someone else feeds.