Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay i know that sounds really wierd. at the pet store i got him from they were keeping him with a green basilisk....oh by the way he is stil fairly young....but back to the point. in the tank with the basilisk the had a bowl of lettuce for him and crickets for the basilisk...according to the shop worker, he first ate the lettuce. then he started to occasionally eat some crickets. and according to her at the point when i bought him he did not even mess with the lettuce anymore. i gave him a bowl of vegetables but he did not even touch them all day. then i threw in some crickets and he went wild and ate them like crazy. should i have any real concerns about this or should i just sit back and enjoy my....shall we say "anomaly" of nature

I can say first hand that feeding crickets to iguanas is a bad idea, way too much protein over time will kill an iguana. My mom bought my brother and I an iguana at an early age and she fed him crickets only and he always sat on a hot rock which is also a terrible idea. He ended up getting very sick and his stomach was impacted with the bodies of the crickets and he died a very slow painful death. Sadly over the years our family has had many iguanas and we never received proper instructions on how to take care of them so many died before they were even a year old. Almost all of the petshops feed their iguanas either crickets or plain old lettuce which has no nutrional value so they set their pets up for death before they even have a chance. I'm not really sure how to wean an iguana off of crickets but I was able to stop an iguana that I rescued a few years ago from eating fried chicken. Yes..fried chicken, he went hungry for a day and a half with a fresh salad in front of him and eventually he ate and I assume forgot about chicken. Although this might not be a good idea for any sick/malnourished iguana so you might want to check with a vet. Anyway thats about all I have to say on that, everyone else please don't bash me if I'm wrong!

Animal protein of any sort (including crickets) are hard on an iguanas kidneys. They digestion is made for vegetables. Iguanas who are fed animal protein can look very healthy and can grow rapidly but their kidneys are getting destroyed. They usually die before the age of 5-7 of kidney failure. Of course there are exceptions. Some iguanas may be born more resistant to certain health problems but they live in spite of the bad care not because of it. Vegetable protein is the only protein they should get.

My MBD deformed iguana was fed dog food on a regular basis but I got her to eat vegetables. Here is an article about picky eaters Picky Eaters

This is what I usually post for new owners
DIET :

An iguana's diet should contain the following each day:
70-80% calcium rich greens: Collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelions, arugula, watercress are the better ones. Kale, beet greens, chicory greens and escarole used in combination with the better greens are also good. Stay away from lettuces (except for a very occasional treat) because they have very very little nutrition if at all and the iguana will fill up on it and not eat the nutritional food--in other words it is junk food. Spinach should only be used occasionally because it is way too high in oxalates and phosphorous. The oxalates bind with the calcium making it indigestible and the phosphorous binds with calcium in the blood making the calcium there useless. But spinach is high in iron so it is good if only used very occasionally (1-2x a month maybe).
20-30% vegetables: Winter squash (acorn, butternut, kabocha, ect..), green beans, snap peas, okra, parsnip, yucca root. Summer squash (zucchini, yellow, Mexican or white, ect...) occasionally is good too. Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are good color enhancers.
No more than 10% fruit: Blueberries, figs, mango, papaya, and prickly pear (cactus) are the better fruits. Strawberries, raspberries, black berries and melons are good. Flowers should be considered a fruit
percentages based on volume
ABSOLUTELY NO ANIMAL PROTEIN OR BY PRODUCTS

Try to choose more than 1-2 greens and try to vary what choices you make. A varied and balanced diet is best.

The following is just one way to supplement
Rep-Cal Iguana food soaked is a recommended supplement that helps
**appetite--the color and smell seems to increase their appetite
**hydration--the pellets act as sponges, they soak up twice their volume of water
**regularity--the increase hydration help keep things moving
**mineral/vitamin supplements--no other supplements are needed other than a probiotic

Use 1-2 tablespoons for an adult iguana or a teaspoon for a baby. Soak it in water for about 5 minutes--it will be about twice the size after soaking. Sprinkle this over the greens/vegetable diet.

Link: Food Information Chart

TEMPERATURE

Iguanas need heat to digest their food. They have a hindgut where they get 30-40% of their nutrients digesting the fiber in their diets. There are organisms there that break down the fiber for them so they can get the nutrients out. Those organisms go on strike if the temperature gets below 85. Then all digestion ceases at temperatures below 70-75. So iguanas need to be able to thermo regulate their body temperature. They do this by moving between warmer and cooler areas of their enclosure. So it is important to provide the correct temperature gradients (zones).
**Basking should be 92-98 (some say 90-95).
**Ambient (overall) should be (80-85).
**Coolest (farthest and lowest from basking) should never be less than 70-75
**Nighttime NO less than 70-75 but 80-85 is good if not better.
To have this you need a large enough enclosure with the heat set up properly.

Please note: Hot Rocks should not be used. Hot/heat rocks are iguana slow cookers. They need radiant heat from above like they would get in the sun. Yes, they will lie on a warm log but once they lay on it the warmth is absorbed and the log will cool off. With a hot rock it doesn't cool off and keeps slowly cooking the skin and flesh of the iguana. They end up with severe burns because they don't realize that they are getting slowly cooked. My own iguana has a scar from being burnt from her heat rock. I still have it but the cord is cut off.

UVB LIGHTING CRITICAL requirement

Iguanas need UVB to produce natural D3. They do not utilize dietary D or D3 efficiently if at all and the dietary D3 doesn't break down like natural D3 if not needed. So it is important to either provide natural UVB (through unfiltered sunshine) or artificial. Artificial can be provided by fluorescent tubes (not compact or coil) or mercury.

Fluorescents need to be set up

Quote:
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from: www.cyber-ig-info.netfirms.com/uvb_light.htm
1) Purchase good-quality, proven fluorescent tubes. We recommend Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0 manufactured by ZooMed®. These lights have shown to produce the best amount of UVA and UVB for Iguanas and other sun-basking reptiles and are readily available in most pet shops.
2) Use (2) of these lights in tandem to gain the maximum amount of UVB necessary.
3) Use a good-quality lighting fixture. Low-cost fixtures have a lesser quality ballast that effects UV output form the lamps.
4) Increase UV output by using a fixture with a highly reflective surface. Covering the reflector wings with common tin/aluminum foil (shiny-side out) will increase UV output by 50%.
5) Place the fixture so that it is no farther than 6"-8" from the back of the iguana while basking. The greater the distance from light to reptile, the less UVB is produced. This recommendation is based on the Reptisun 5 or 10 or similar fluorescents. There are a few new fluorescent tubess out there that may be dangerous at this distance so please do research.
6) Replace fluorescent tubes every six-months as a general rule. UVB weakens and disappears after about six-months. It's important to realize that even though the tube is still producing light, there may not be any UVB left. You can readily monitor the UVB amount by using a Solarmeter 6.2 UVB Radiometer. This handy device will allow you to measure the UVB emissions in microwatts per centimeter squared (mW/cm2), allowing you to know exactly when the tubes have become so weak they need to be replaced. This can save you money in the long-run as some tubes will produce UVB up to one year.
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Mercury vapor bulb set up will depend on the brand and strength you get. IMO MegaRay by Reptile UV is the best. Read the link in the quote for more information.
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Marie
Poyner Corner

The last time someone told me they had an iguana that only ate crickets, blowing up the picture showed a water dragon. Is it possible that you have a water dragon?

White around the mouth, no dewlap?

Cindy

he is definately in iguana...i'm quite familiar with most herps but just never owned an iguana before

It's best to gradually take him off crickets. Changing the diet too suddenly can cause problems. He will be okay not eating for a day or two. It is vital that you ween him off of crickets completely. As stated by previous posts, too much protein is bad for iguanas. Offer him some vegetables and some greens. If he doesn't eat them, don't worry. He will eat if he's hungry enough.

Let us know how he does. Good luck.

If you are sure he's an iguana, show a pic. Also, this is a very silly problem to be having. If he is an iguana, just stop giving it crickets. Only offer a balanced nutritional dish of greens and refresh it every day. Iguanas need time to acclimate before they will take food that just sits there. Crickets will only destract it from the food it should be eating. Iguanas love crickets in the same way people love alcohol (they enjoy it, but it poisons them). Also, check the humidity and temperature. An improperly cared for iguana will not eat well.

In my opinion, there is no weening process. At least not in my experience. My ig can go 2 days without eating if he is putting up a fight. If I give in and give him little bits of the food I am trying to get him to stop eating, he will eat the little bits of his desired food and nothing else. But my ig is a very picky eater. I have a hard time giving him a well balanced diet. So, when I switch up his food, I can expect at least 2 days worth of waste before he will start eating it. Plus, he is really cranky during this time. But I don't want him to eat the same stuff all the time. He needs variety.