Our food planner estimates consumption, subtracts inventory, and rounds the remaining requirement up to whole packages. It has separate sections for insects, rodents, prepared gecko diet, and produce. Enter feeding amounts and schedules already appropriate for your animals; the planner does not select them for you.
Open our Reptile Feeder & Food Planner
Follow the numbered steps in each section. Numbers on screenshots match the steps directly below them. Example values are for learning; replace them with your own information.
In this guide
Choose the planning period · Plan feeder insects · Plan feeder rodents · Plan prepared gecko diet by weight · Enter dry powder directly · Plan greens and vegetables · Read the combined plan and preserve it
1. Choose the planning period
1. Enter the Planning period. Start with the time until your next planned order.
2. Select Weeks or Months. Months use the average Gregorian month, not a fixed four-week block.
3. Enter an Optional planning buffer. Load learning example fills a practice collection and a 10% buffer; replace its values for your own use.
The buffer is added before inventory is deducted. It can account for a chosen reserve or estimated losses, but it is not a substitute for appropriate feeding amounts. The worked insect example below uses four weeks and a 0% buffer.
2. Plan feeder insects
1. In Feeder insects, click + Add item. Enter Group name, Food / feeder, and Animals. Use separate rows for different feeder sizes, foods, or feeding schedules.
2. Enter Feeders / animal / feeding and Feeding frequency. Choose times / week or every N days to match how you record the schedule.
3. Enter Package quantity, Price / package, and On hand now as individual feeder counts. Read Need after inventory and Packages to buy.
Worked example: 10 animals × 3 feeders × 2 feedings/week = 60 feeders/week. Four weeks requires 240. With 40 already on hand, packages of 100, and $12 per package, the order is two packages for $24. Prorated value of food used is $28.80 because it includes the inventory already owned.
3. Plan feeder rodents
1. Add a row under Feeder rodents. Name the food and size/category the way you or your supplier actually uses it.
2. Enter Animals, Rodents / animal / feeding, and the feeding frequency. For a seven-day interval, choose every N days and enter 7.
3. Enter the number of rodents per package, package price, and usable rodents on hand. Review whole-package purchasing.
An every-N-days schedule produces an average requirement over the planning period; it is not a dated feeding calendar. A fractional expected demand can be normal. Package ordering still rounds up. Use Duplicate to copy a row for another group, then change all values that differ.
4. Plan prepared gecko diet by weight
1. Under Prepared gecko diet, add the group and select Prepared mix offered in Usage entry.
2. Enter prepared mix per animal per feeding in g or oz, animal count, and feeding frequency. Enter the actual Powder parts and Water parts by weight.
3. Enter the dry-powder package weight and price, plus dry powder on hand. Match each weight unit to its value. Read Dry powder / feeding and the purchasing results.
The ratio calculation is weight-based. A manufacturer’s scoop or volume ratio is not automatically the same ratio by weight. Weigh the powder and water in a normal batch once, or use Dry powder used mode. Example only: 20 animals offered 2 g each, three times/week, using a measured 1:2 powder-to-water weight ratio, requires 40 g dry powder/week.
5. Enter dry powder directly
1. Select Dry powder used when you know the dry-powder quantity rather than the prepared-food weight.
2. Enter the dry powder attributable to one animal per feeding and set the animal count and frequency. Check that you are not entering the whole group’s batch once for every animal.
3. Review Dry powder / feeding to confirm the interpretation, then enter dry-powder inventory and package information.
In the interface checked for this guide, the amount field could still read “Prepared mix / animal / feeding” after Dry powder used was selected. In Dry powder used mode, the amount is treated as dry powder. For example, 20 animals × 2 g means 40 g dry powder per feeding, not 40 g of prepared mix. The selected mode and dry-powder result are the important checks.
6. Plan greens and vegetables
1. Add an item under Greens & vegetables. Use a separate row when foods, groups, or schedules need different purchasing estimates.
2. Enter Animals, Amount / animal / feeding by weight, and Feeding frequency.
3. Enter package weight, its unit, price, and inventory weight. Review the result in the displayed output units.
Use the quantity you plan to offer or prepare, accounting for your own handling losses consistently. The planner does not judge nutritional suitability, choose ingredients, or automatically estimate spoilage.
7. Read the combined plan and preserve it
1. Review Preparedness summary for the planning horizon, each food category, package count, and estimated purchase cost. Missing prices or package information can leave costs incomplete.
2. Use Print to keep a report or save a PDF through the browser. The current working plan autosaves in this browser.
Purchase cost is the whole packages needed after inventory. Prorated food value is the estimated value consumed, so these numbers need not match. Shipping, tax, mortality, and spoilage are not automatically added. Reset plan clears the working plan; print or record it first if you need it.
Troubleshooting
The purchase cost is lower than food value used
Existing inventory supplies some of the consumption. Purchase cost only covers the packages needed now.
Gecko-diet demand looks wrong
Check Usage entry, per-animal versus whole-group amounts, weight units, and whether the powder/water ratio was measured by weight.
Every-N-days produces a fraction
The planner uses an average over the horizon rather than calendar dates. Whole packages are rounded up later.
A group is counted twice
Check duplicated rows and the animal counts assigned to each food item. Multiple foods may be intentional; duplicate demand may not be.