Iguana question?

Question

how do i tell if my iguana has salmonella?

my iguana gets sick more often like he keeps brining up his food

(crickets)

Answer 1

A few things here.

First, iguanas do not eat crickets and your lizard will die if you continue this diet.  You need to feed the iguana leafy greens and vegetables.  Please see this food chart: http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart....

Second, although one in three iguanas do carry salmonella, it does not make them sick.  It resides in their intestines and contaminates their f***s.  While it does not hurt the iguana, It can make YOU sick (or kill you if your immune system isn't up to par).

Answer 2

Wow. Iguanas are herbivores. They dont need crickets. they dont need meat or anything.

Answer 3

First crickets are meat protein for iguanas, iguanas don't eat meat, or shouldn't eat meat. Iguanas are herbivores, animals who eat only plant matter.

Iguanas have salmonella, it's in there fecal matter.

http://www.greenigsociety.org/salmonella...

If your iguana is sick, you need to take him/her to a herp/reptile vet that knows about iguanas. He/She may have parasites or mites, which could possibly be making him/her sick.

Iguanas diet should consist of mostly greens:

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 ... 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

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...