Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been looking through Ig web sites for a couple months now & ran across this.
I wondered if any of you had ever heard of this.
This is the link if you want to view the page...
http://www.talktothevet.com/ARTICLES/REPTILES/iguanafeeding.HTM

Intestinal Inoculation

A fairly recent discovery has provided a probable explanation for the premature deaths of young iguanas despite apparently adequate diets. In the wild, young iguanas obtain needed intestinal bacteria and protozoa by eating the feces of adult iguanas. The microorganisms acquired this way are essential for digestion of plant material. Baby iguanas are not born with these microbes, so young iguanas reared in captivity never acquire them.

All newly acquired, domestically raised (not wild-caught) iguanas should receive fresh feces from a healthy, parasite-free adult iguana (preferably wild-caught). One dose should inoculate the iguana for life. Some veterinary hospitals are prepared to assist new iguana owners with this process.

~~Thanks for the input in advance~~
Terri

I have heard of that. My vet gave me some literature when I brought my little ig in, and I read it there. I didn't know what to think of it. I don't know if my igs were caught as babies or if they were bread in captivity. I guess I should have asked more about it, but I don't know if I could feed my igs POOP. It just doesn't seem right. Then again if they need it I guess it's something we have to do. I'm sure the supplements that stores sell have what ever they need in them to help with digestion. Let us know what you find out, and I'm gunna try to check around and learn more about it.

Kaplan and Hatfield both have found feeding feces to babies can kill them. Try using nonfat yogurt in small amounts if gut bacteria is a concern for you. Bt first read more at http://www.anapsid.org/coproph.html#innoc or in Iguanas for Dummies or The Ultimate Iguana Manual.
Fecal Inoculation

There is a section about fecal innoculation in the Hatfield book. He says friends of his have lost entire clutches of hatchlings because it is almost impossible to be sure if a "healthy" adult in captivity will have the exact mix of bacteria that babies get in the wild, and in fact, often have critters in their feces (or an that can kill babies. What I have heard is that it is not necessary, and if you have a hatchling that you want to innoculate, you'd do better giving it the beneficial gut flora mixes that health food stores sell for humans with digestive tract problems.