Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi I aquired my iguana at about two weeks after christmass last year and it has noticedbly grown. But not as much as I would have suspected. It was just a hatchling when i got it but it has grown to only about eighteen inches. I keep my iguana in a 5x6x5(i beleive those are the measurements, if not just around that) cage. Now what i was wondering is if it is growing fast enough or if im feeding the wrong types of food. I now feed it mainly lettuce and carrots wich is all it really cares for. I also give it Calcium with its food once a week. Also my freind tells me that it may be unhealthy and consider feeding it dogfood which i dont think is a good idea, hence the name dogfood means it is for dogs, of course common logic.But what i would like to know is is my iguana sounds like its growing at a good rate.

First of all the size of your enclosure is great! Do you have the proper UVb lights and have proper temps? They do not grow if they are not warm enough Also, you have to improve his diet...Lettuce has no nutritional value, try collard greens, mustard greens chicory, escarole, dandelion greens, and try a little carrot, green beans, squash etc...You are right do NOT give dog food to him... after years of eating dog food, they can die of renal failure because their digestive trach cannot process animal protein...good luck...Lyn

I agree with lyn-NO Dogfood! Good of you to question that 'advice'
But lettuce and carrots arent good, either. Carrots are ok as parts of treats or to add some color to the diet, and lettuce as a treat wont make your iguana drop dead, but neither are very healthy. iguanaden.com has an excellent diet menu, as do anapsid.org and greenigsociety.com those are off the top of my head, google searches can provide you with more info=)

This is a picture of my iguana, Zephyr, who has kidney disease because his old owners gave him dogfood

Sarah