Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey All!

I know that the following "?" is probably the most commonly asked "?" when it comes to reptiles and amphibians that there is...

"What should I be feeding my...?"

My experience has shown me a few things… Chucks can be very stubborn eaters. There is very little commercial info/books/internet sources, available on chucks. The “Iguana diet”, as used by many “experts” may be a good starting point, but may also be too rich to use for a specific species as specialized as a Chuckwalla… “Iguana diet” does not refer to the pellet food, but the common caresheet that has been around for many years.

There are many foods that are really good and really bad and even poisonous to our scaly friends! There are so many things available commercially, and even growing in our own backyards, that knowing you are supplying a balanced diet can at times feel overwhelming.

I thought it might go a long way to start a thread on what we feed our Chucks, and D Iguanas. What they seem to favor, and what seems to attract them to the food bowl! Is it better to offer food that they would eat in their native ranges, or will nice veggies purchased at the local grocery store suffice for long term captives. Is it better to offer foods seasonally or offer mixed platters of foodstuffs 365 days a year? What factors are considered when we decide on the percentages of greens/fruit/grass etc... Is it wise to mix commercial pellet food with the fresh chopped offerings? What foods have you found that a chuck will eat that just seemed completely out of the ordinary? Are there specific foods that should be fed both prior to and after hibernation? How do you "wean" a wild caught chuck off of the foods that they are used to eating in the wild if those foods are unavailable to you?

I'm hoping that some of you guys will post lists that will benefit everyone. If not a list, maybe a few items that everyone can use to measure what they are doing and feel confident that they are raising a happy chuck or D Iguana! Spring time is right around the corner, and there will be a lot of hungry mouths to feed soon!

Thanks everyone,
-Kory

Hi Kory,

Mine love collard greens, kale,mustard greens, romaine, escarole, shredded carrot,shredded sweet potato, other veggies/ things hard boiled egg pieces, (especially banana chunks as treats these are things I use in winter months, when outdoor plants are not available.

But as soon as I am able to get things from the yard, I give them dandilions both flower and green part, clover, weeds from cracks in side walks(don't know what the name of them is) grasses with weeds, pansies, hibiscus flowers, they love my big day lilles (especially the yellow ones) and rose pedals.

I have also read buttercups are toxic but my chucks love them.
I give the same foods to my desert iggy. Some people add in turtle pellets ( mazuri) sp.

** No pesticides/ weed killers ect... are used in my yard OR on my flowers, and I try to not pick anything on the borders of neighbors yards.

Hersheys BIG salad

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PHEve / Eve

I have about a billion of these orange lilies. I think they call them tiger lilies but also have heard them called day lilies. I never feed them because someone told me they were toxic. Do you know anything about them or have you ever fed them to your lizards. They grow in huge clumps everywhere and their leave look like giant blades of grass. Ok Eve just did a search and I think they are daylilies since tiger lilies have an entirely different leaf. So do you feed a lot of these? Man it would be great if I could they are verywhere arounf my house.

Hi buddy, I have several different types of day lilys, and colors , ones that grow in clusters and ones that are huge and grow on a big stalk .

They are all daylilys and my chucks, iggy and uro's love them. Just the flowers though not the greenery. Pull the flowers off after looking at them a few hours lol, and I add them in their sald bowls, they LOVE them and will devour the whole flower quite fast.

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PHEve / Eve

My Chucks just go crazy for sweet potatoes! I feed my Black Mountain Tortoise lots of sweet potatoes and thought I'd see if the chucks would try it. Mr. Chuckles pounced on it and actually climbs up my arm to get it. Not bad for an adult wild caught chuck that's been in captivity less than a year! I sometimes mash it and use it to introduce new foods that I’ll mix in with it. Works every time!

They also eat lots of Collards... Not the lizards! Weeds, tortoise pellets, grape leaves, hibiscus flowers and leaves, carrots, they love clover grass, alyssum, and various naturally occurring vegetation that I'll pick when I go out to the desert (Usually grasses, creosote, and Palo Verde flowers) Both also like dried foods as well... Sun dried grasses, and weeds sprinkled on their salads or scattered loosely in the cages.

I've got a gigantic type of weed growing that has leaves that look like watermelon vine leaves. It grows about 3ft tall, and has one leaf per stem. I want to post a pic of it and find out if it’s edible or not. I'll try to post a pic this weekend.

Thanks for posting! And the rest of you out there that haven't posted, take the time to do so. Pics of weeds that grow in our yards that are both edible and poisonous would be very useful to everyone.

-Kory

Theres no one more knowledgable on flowers, bushes, and yes even names of weeds that the chucks can eat or that he has tried. He's not only a Honky Tonkin guitar playing dude but he's
awesome with horticulture. He can prepare a list of things that would be of great value to everyone here.

Now, if we can just RATTLE HIS CAGE, YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO David
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PHEve / Eve

I thought you were going to compile THE comprehensive, authoritative list!