Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My ig gets pissed when I take him out of his cage and often whips his tail at me. While doing all this whipping he usually hits it on his tank or his branches causing the tip of his tail or other parts to draw blood. Is this natural? Does it hurt him? What can I do to prevent this from happening?

Also, around here its hard to find good veggies for some reason in the super markets. I usually feed him snow peas, collard greens, salad of savoy, kale, carrots, radishes, and celery. He rarely gets fruits but when he does I give him bananas, pineapple, apples, pears, and chopped grapes. Is this alright? He is only about 7 months old (if that). I run out of veggies a lot as well and do not have time to run to the supermarket. So I am thinking of buying a Juvenile Iguana Veggie/Fruit Mix by Flukers (tm). Has anyone heard of this food supplement stuff? It looks like baby food or food substance mixed in a blender or something. Any one heard of this stuff?

I don't think there is anything you can do about his tail-whipping other than pad everything near him. Try catching him as quickly as you possibly can and then tuck his tail under your arm.

That Flukers ig food is crud. There are only two dry foods that can keep an ig healthy, but I don't know their names. I'll try to look them up.

One is "Rep-Cal Herptivite" but you'll probably have to mail-order it from an on-line reptile-supply store.

Quote from Melissa Kaplan: "As with all dry products for reptiles, they must be moistened before feeding,
regardless of what the directions on the package say."

Another is whichever Quantum diet is most suited for iguanas, at: www.herpnutrition.com

There may be a Zoo Med product that has ingredients appropriate for iguanas. But corn, wheat and barley as the main ingredients are not

You can also freeze the iguana salad for use in emergencies.

Hope this helps,

Roger