Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what should my iguana diet be.wut should i do to grow back an iguanas tail.I rescued him when my next door neirbor lost him thats when his tail broke and he started missing alot of spikes.not hes doin fine eating lettuce and oranges.i never seen him drink water though.

Juan m

First off NO lettuce!! It has absolutely no nutrition!! Next this is only my opinion but no oranges or only very rarely as they are very acidic. Okay so as for what he should have. Daily greens (Collard, mustard, turnip, dandelion -- the ones growing in your yard if there are no pesticides etc.!) these should be given daily and as many as he will eat. Next veggies (green beans, squash, some sweet potato, etc.) These should be chopped finely and also offered daily. They should have fruit occassionally but it should only make up about 10-15% of their diet. This is just a starter for a full listing try Melissa Kaplan's site at www.anapsid.com or there are many others if you do a search on the net. But whatever they say no lettuces and no protein animal foods like cat, dog or monkey chow!! These are not good for them. Since this is a new iguana do you have the correct lighting? They need UVB rays and you would need to purchase a special bulb for this like reptisun 5.0 there are others but make sure it is UVB not just full spectrum and not just UVA. Do not use heat rocks!! It's cage if in one needs to be at least 1.5 x it's size in length and height. As for water we always leave some out for ours they should be misted several times a day and it is good to give them regular baths. We also mist their food before they eat it to give them more water that way. As for the tail make sure it is a clean break with no seeping, bleeding etc. If there is it needs to be cleaned with betadine and treated with something like neosporin. Lastly or maybe i should have said firstly it will need to go to the vet. There are many parasites it could have along with other diseases such as MBD which can result in its death. So a vet is a definite necessity!! If you do not know of a herp vet please find one and call around or look it up online to find one! One more point you said your neighbor had lost it. Was this on accident? Did they usually take care of it? Are they wanting it back?

Stephanie

well the neighbor lost him because they left him in a back porch in a box with mushrooms in it.It jumped out of the box and then got lost.H e was in very poor condition and very skinny as well.Now that i have him he is plump and healthy.I mist his cage take him out occassionally and cut his nail.Thanks for all the info.

Juan M