I found a green iguana in my backyard! its so cool but what do I feed it?

Question

and how do i know if he is a she? ive got him in a shoe box right now hes about 14 inches long i cut holes in the top of it so it could breathe and get some light in there but i need to feed him what do i feed him?

Answer 1

Are they wild where you live (when I lived in Florida I saw them all the time) or do you think it is an escaped/abandoned pet?  If it is wild it will not be a good pet to you, trust me.

Head to your nearest pet store and ask them about supplies you will need.  He’ll need a tank with a lid (with proper ventilation) and heat source, food water etc.  Look up online or in books on iguana care.  But make sure it is a pet one first and not wild.

Answer 2

ok feed it veggies and give it water

Answer 3

i think they eat romaine lettuce and meal worms

Answer 4

bugs, grasshoppers, crickets, meal worms

Answer 5

feed it lettuce and scrambled eggs . whwre do u live . are sure its a green iguana. you need a big cage and a basking light. most importantly uv light and an infared light . if it is an iguana it has probably escaped from its owner

Answer 6

crickets, wax worms and you should really invest in a larger tank at least 50 gallons.  

Answer 7

do some research

Answer 8

This explains what you need to feed it. They do not eat bugs which some people tend to think. But they need sunlight and heat rocks so they can regulate their temperature. So the shoe box will have to go.

http://www.iguana-news.com/folivore.html

Answer 9

my bestfriend found a found a green iguana in her backyard

i see her iguana love fruits and mostly eats damp lettuce with vitamins

he occasionally eats meal worms but he loves fruit

you should really get a tank with a light and heating pad unless

your really tring to kill it :/

Answer 10

shakes head at the people who do not know what to feed iguanas!

First, you should find out if anyone lost or is missing an iguana.

Iguanas are herbivores, meaning they are the vegans of the animal world, they DO NOT eat crickets, DO NOT eat meal worms, DO NOT eat eggs, DO NOT eat any sort of animal protein. Romaine as I list in the food section contains only WATER, no NUTRIENCE.

Daily food should have 5-7 good staple greens (2-3 cups a day if not more younger igs may eat less then 1/4 cup) ... collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens (if you can find), endive, radicchio, arugula, mache (if you can find), watercress ... some greens to give occasionally kale, bok choy, escarole ... adding basil for young igs sometimes helps them eat ... romaine is mostly water no nutrience, you can add small amount and occasionally in w/ the good staple greens (collard, mustard, etc) but do not make romaine just your iguanas choice of greens (or any other type of lettuce most of us humans eat) ... some things to add (small amounts) snap peas, bell peppers (every now and then), parsnip, sweet potato/yam, acorn squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash ... fruits should only be given every now and then once or twice a week type of thing fruits are like junk food to iguanas ... some fruits to try papay, kiwi, mango, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, honeydew (great water source), canalope (great water source), 12 grain wheat bread ... if anything has seeds make sure you remove seed before you give it to your iguana anything w/ small seeds like strawberries wait like 3 days before giving anymore ... watermelon (seedless) can be frozen and then shaved onto your iguanas food helps w/ hydration everyday ... there are some foods that aren't good for your iguana: spinach has oxalate acids bind to the calcium, so even though spinach is high in calcium, almost none is actually available for the iguana to use, also the oxalate acids can form oxalate crystals which can and do build up in the kidneys causing kidney damage/failure ... some ig owners do give there ig spinach but in very small amounts and only once a month ... corn igs can not digest ... carrots can block calcium absorption ... bananas are low in calcium best to give another type of fruit ... apples too much acid - appetite suppressant ... rhubarb is poisonous ... food should be cut/chopped/diced no bigger then the iguanas head, if they are small having a chopper chop them up, or slice them into very small pieces ... spray/mist food to help w/ water/hydration

Along w/ feeding an iguana you need to make sure that you are providing the proper UVB, heat/temps and humidity.

UVB: (12 hrs on during day - 12 hrs off during night no light)

US: ReptiSun 10.0 distance 8-10 inches from your igs body

Repti Glo 8.0 distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

ReptiSun 5.0 distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

UK: Arkadia distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

- You will need to adjust the distance as your ig grows

- Using a shop light from a home improvement store works the best, get one that has 2 tube plugs and using 2 UVB tubes

- The UVB listed are in tube form, using the 36-48inch tubes are the best more length for your ig

- Surface under the UVB tube lights need to be a flat surface if at an angle your igs body will not get the proper UVB threw out

- There are UVB's out there on the market now that can cause eye damange to your ig

- W/out UVB your ig may end up w/ MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease)

- UVB information that you may find interesting:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm - http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttube... - http://www.uvguide.co.uk/whatreptilesnee...

Temps:

never let drop below 70F ...

basking 92-96F if temp is too low digestion is slowed too high food digests too fast and nutrition is lost

medium/middle (overall) 88-92F

cool 75-84F

at night 73-84F ... having a temp gun works the best to know what your igs body temp truly is.

*** NO HEAT ROCKS PLEASE ... they can cause major burns on the under belly ... igs dont feel heat from below so they will sit there not knowing they are burning themselves ***

Floor covering:

BAD floor covering: bark, dirt, moss, sand, pellets are all bad ... at some point your iguana will try and l**k swallow and then possibly cause blockage which will then need to be surgically removed or possibly death ... SAFE floor covering: newspaper (unprinted), paper towels, towels, vinyl flooring, indoor/outdoor carpeting - if you have any lose fibers from the carpeting or the towels please remove and replace - unprinted newspaper if you possibly can use is safer just in case your ig likes to try and eat the newspaper some ink may contain soy

Shoe box?!?!?!???? This is too small for an iguana, plus does not provide the proper hight that the iguana needs. Young iguana (8-12 months of age) should not live in anything smaller the a 55 gallon tank. Smaller the tank you can not process the correct temps threw out. Enclosure needs to be at least 1.5-2 times it's total length ... an adult you will need a space of 6-7ft tall x 8-10ft long x 4ft wide.

Since you now have taken a creature from the wild/back yard, you will now need to read and learn and understand what you have brought into your life. Iguanas are not easy animals to take care of, specially if you have some what of a busy life style.

The iguana you caught you should give daily to every other day bath. Be feed 2-3 times a day, right now he/she may only eat a few bites of food, but that will change into cups of food. Know that the iguana will need to gain your trust for it to accept you as his/her slave, and still you only have a 50/50 chance that he/she will accept you as his/her slave. You should have a herp/reptile vet look over your iguana, to see if he/she has any parasite/mites/health issues.

Sites for you to read:

http://www.greenigsociety.org/ - http://www.iguanaden.org/ - http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html

A great book to read and have on hand:

Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan

Yahoo has some great sites for Iguana owners... these groups helped me and still help w/ questions .. if you'd like to join:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BabyI... - http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Iguan...