Iguana diet ideas please???

Question

i am adopting an iguana and would like some ideas of iguana saldads!!! thanks!

Answer 1

Well, Iguanas thrive off of leafy greens.  That means lots of Collard Greens and Mustard greens.  Don't bother with lettuce; it has absolutely no nutritional value.  Its mainly just water.  

Green and yellow squash are great for your iguana too, along with alfalfa ;)

Take all of these things and chop them up finely into a salad, and place a small piece of strawberry on top as a treat.  You'll have a very happy, healthy iguana!

Answer 2

Thank you for adopting.

Hopefully you will have a good UVB source and heat temps and the proper size enclosure for your new adopted iguana.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttube...

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 ***

Food:

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

Animal protein:

Iguanas are plant eaters, they should not be feed any animal protein. No meat/bugs, no dairy. If you ever give your ig iguana diet dried food, please read the ingredients there are so many products on the market today that clearly puts meat protein in there ingredients, usually w/ in the first 10 ingredients. Some that I am aware of that do MonsterDiet, TRex, Zilla, Wardley. RepCal Iguana pellets is one that is safe to use. Soak pellets before offering to help w/ hydration, only give a few pellets for you want the greens to be main diet.

You don't have to follow a "salad", as long as you provide the proper greens more then 1-3 green daily at every feeding. MK Diet (from anapsid.org) if you do go w/ you do have to follow it to the "T", no skipping on anything.

http://www.greenigsociety.org/feedingigs...

http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart....

http://www.iguanaden.org/diet/calphos.ht...

http://www.iguanaden.org/diet/calphosveg...

http://www.iguanaden.org/diet/calphosfru...

http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html...

* please read threw the sites listed above*

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...

*oh and I'm not a kid and know what I'm talking about*

Answer 3

thid diest is the best tried it with 10 iguanas go onto www.iguanaden.com the best site ever plz vote me best anser if u think it is  

Answer 4

Do not feed it lettuce. The diet should consist of kale, mustard or dandelion greens, strawberries, blueberries, sweet potato, peas, broccoli, etc. Do not feed anything that is mostly water such as celery, or lettuce. Also stay away from chard, parsley, and spinach as these can bind up the calcium in the body. I am hoping that you are aware of the special lighting requirements that are necessary for your new friend and the necessity of a UVB bulb. If you have no idea what I am talking about than I suggest that you go to the library and get a book. Do not believe what you read on the internet because most of the time the people writing these blogs etc have no idea what they are talking about and are usually just kids.