Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, What's the deal. When I first got my Iguana, I was told collard greens are fantastic. They should be the staple of my Ig's diet. They're sssoooo high in calcium and everything else. They're wonderful. I say, ok cool. So THen I go into beardies and I hear "Gotta watch out of collards. They shouldn't get too much." I'm like, ok whatever. Then I get into uros and I hear "NO COLLARDS! They're horrible for lizards! They bind up calcium so uros don't get it and this that and the other thing. Collards are a no no!!" Now I'm like, hold up, I thought they were good! So What's the deal? Why are collards so great for igs and so bad for Beardies and uros? Isn't it the same plant? Doesn't it have the same calcium levels for one lizard as it does for others? Why are collards so great for one and bad for others? Can someone explain this to me?
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2.0.0 Iguanas, 3.4.0 Beardies, 1.2.0 Saharan/Nigerian Uromastyx, 1.1.1 Leos, 0.0.1 African Fat Tail, 0.0.1 Fla Garter Snake, 0.0.1 Corn Snake, 0.0.3 Fire Belly Toads, 1.0.0 Eastern Painted Turtle, 0.0.1 African Sideneck, 1.1.1 Horses {Baby next May!!!}, 2.2.0 cats, 0.1.0 dog, 0.1.0 African Pygmy Hedgehog and I'm done for now.....

From what I hear collards are supposed to be the best calcium rich green out there ...but I have also heard they contain goitrens (sp) which could cause probs...but not if mixed with other dark leafy greens like dandelion, escarole, chicory, etc feeding exclusively collards I suppose could cause a problem...like if we ate pizza 3 times a day instead of a balanced diet....good luck....Lyn

Far as I know, spinach is what you have to watch out for with igs (although they can have small amounts of it from time to time). Maybe the other lizards have different nutritional requirements?

Here's the deal with "Calcium binding"... it does NOT LEACH CALCIUM! People do not understand what this is... if you put say spinach through a complete composite breakdown, it would appear to be much higher in calcium than it really is. Some of the calcium in the green is not available, because of the presence of goitrogens, which bind to some of the calcium, making it unavailable for absorption.

This does NOT mean its bad for your reptile. It is still a high calcium green, it won't leech calcium from their bodies like some people seem to think, it won't affect calcium levels in the rest of their food.

Having said that, I feed collard greens all the time. My guys love them and do well on them. I've had fantastic bloodwork results, and I for one am not going to change from feeding collards, kale etc without much better explained facts.

Right now, the beardie forum is a bit of a joke IMHO, it has been for a long time, all the people that have been breeding for a decade or longer left when a couple of people started getting really rammy and critical several months ago. Those people now say they are gone, but the damage is done, its a shame. I can't speak for uro's, but my ig and beardies get collards and thrive on them.

well said bexley.. people dont understand alot of the stuff that they post they dont do the research. they just post up what they have heard.

i have never had a problem with any of my lizards that i feed collard greens to. as long as they are mixed in with stuff that is good for them.
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