Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was talking with MarkM that posts a lot in the Ctenosaura forums a bit and he feeds his spiny tailed iguanas the Zoo Med dried Iguana food and he has had really good results using this (Apparently their color is really amazing when he feeds them this food). I mentioned that I am trying this food with my Desert Iguana and he told me not to use this since Dessert Iguanas get most of their water from their greens. BUT! I emailed him back and told him that I always see my D.I. drinking from his water dish. So, in light of that, shouldn't I still be able to feed him this food? Well, he never answered me back and I kept emailing him a few times. As a side note, it says that you don't have to soak these pellets in water, but I always do anyway, so that when my D.I. was eating them, he was also getting some water from them.

What does everyone think about this? Does anyone else use these pellets??

Jeff H.

I bought the same food as you but I can't get my C. Palearis or my hispidus to eat them dry or wet. So you must be doing something right they are afterall Iguanas.

Well, he wouldn't eat it at first, but then one day, he started taking it out of my hand, which I thought was weird. He will now pretty much eat it. But, I am still concerned about the possibility of him not getting enough water if I do feed him these pellets.

I'm brand new here but many beardy folks don't trust the complete (dry) diets b/c there are concerns about renal damage with insuffient water intake. I think I would err on the conservative side here.

Hi Jeff, I don't have anything against these pellets, but desert iggys love and need their veggies, some like crickets or superworms, but mine has never eaten a bug in all the years I have had him.

He loves his shredded carrots/ and squash and collard greens, kale , dandeline greens and the flower too. Rose petals, clover, small chunks of banana, other veggies and fruits as well. If you want him to have the pellets, just sprinkle some on his salads daily or every other day, but don't cut out his salads he needs these things to stay healthy and for added hydration. But to add them, I see no harm.

Hershey enjoying his greens

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PHEve / Eve

I second Pheve on the salads, and keep in mind that most of the food that a Desert Iguana will eat in the wild is dry or almost dry. The grasses that they eat have high levels of alchohol... Dizzy Dezzies , and a lot of other naturally occuring foods have high levels of oils in them.

I would stray from pellets except for Zoo-Meds Grassland tortoise food. It has a low protein content and really high fiber content. I have been mashing this with diced collard greens, mustard greens, dandelions, and sweet potato! It took a while for my adult chuck, but he eats this stuff like there is no tomorrow! All of my reptiles are eating this and have never looked healthier.

BTW, this is fed to all my critters every other day/feeding, the rest of the time they eat chopped weeds, hibiscus, endive, beet tops, superworms, and cactus.

Take a look at turtlestuff.com, they offer many foods that a Desert Iguana would eat in the wild, pre-dried, and mixed, they also offer seeds to grow your own!

Be careful with collard greens... They have a somewhat high level of phospherous which will block the ability of a reptile to absorb calcium. It is still a very good food, just make sure to balance the diet with plenty of calcium, fiber, and of course.... sunlight!

Hope this helps or inspires you!
-Kory