What Do Reptiles Eat?

Are you thinking about getting a reptile as a pet?

There are 10,000 species and 2,700 subspecies of reptiles in the world. Only a handful of these make for good pets, but the ones that do really can make amazing house pets. They keep to themselves, they don’t need much or take up much space, but they’re still adorable and easy to handle.

Before you get your first reptile, it’s important to understand proper reptile care. The most important question to answer, of course, is “What do reptiles eat?” That’s what we’ll be discussing today, so keep reading and learn what reptile food you’ll need to buy for your pet.

Types of Pet Reptiles

You can generally separate reptiles into 4 categories: snakes, turtles, lizards, and crocodilians. For the sake of keeping a reptile as a pet, crocodiles are a bit too big, so we’ll focus on the other three.

Within these broader categories, there are specific types of snakes, lizards, and turtles that make particularly good pets. When it comes to snakes, the ball python, corn snake, and rat snake are all good breeds. Iguanas, geckos, and small dragons are good lizard breeds, while a variety of smaller turtle species will work as pets.

What Do Reptiles Eat?

When it comes to reptile feeding, it’s important to get to know your pet and its diet. Some reptiles are herbivores, so they only eat plants. Most are carnivores, however, so you’ll need to feed them insects and mammals.

Snakes

Snakes will go for anything living. They’ll eat insects of all varieties, frozen rat pups, and any other types of rodents. In the wild, larger snakes will even go for birds, larger mammals, and even other reptiles.

Turtles

It’s easy to find reptile food for your pet turtle. They’ll eat all leafy greens, including lettuce and beet leaves, but they also enjoy a wide variety of fruits (apple, melon, mango, etc.), veggies, and flowers. Aquatic turtles may indulge in fish and insects.

Lizards

Lizards of all varieties thrive on insects. You can give them such things as worms, flies, spiders, beetles, flies, and more hearty insects, like cockroaches and crickets. Most lizards will also appreciate fruit and vegetables, but larger ones may require small animals (baby birds, mice, etc.)

Supplemental Reptile Food

As you can see, reptiles can thrive on a wide variety of foods. You don’t always need to stick to the same diet, but it can be helpful to supplement fresh food with dried pellets of vitamins and minerals. These things are easy to find at any local pet food store.

Proper Reptile Care Is Important

What do reptiles eat?

Feeding reptiles doesn’t have to be difficult, but proper reptile care means paying attention to your pet’s eating habits and making adjustments. If they’re not eating properly, it could have something to do with their enclosure as well. Different reptiles need different things, so do your research and treat your pet reptile right.

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