Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i need some advice on a baby ig, i have 2 at the present...... one is a 5 ft 5 year old, whom is by himself and is doing well.
the second who is my problem is a baby a friend dropped off..... he is about 14 inches in length thats snout to tail.....the friend wasnt sure of how to care for it so she brought him to me, instead of putting him in the same room as the adult, i have him in a room by himself, at the present he is in a 55 gal tank, with an iguana light, and a basking light, the temp in the tank ranges from one end its is 89 degrees, the other side is about 72 degrees.... the humidity is at about 80 to 85%, i also allow him to soak everyday,
the diet consists of shredded orange squash, parsnips, green beans, mango, pumpkin, melon(cantaloupe), peas, figs, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, papaya......my problem is he has been here for 3 weeks and i have yet to see him eat.... she was feeding pellets, so to make a easy change i put pellets in his tank, and have been mixing them with his "salad" and i havent seen him eat... he looks to be dehydrating..... any one here have any advice to get him to eat???

Besides not seeing him eat are you sure the same amount of food you give him is still there later? Some won't eat while you are watching. I'm sure since you have a large iguana you already know this but do you mist the small one daily and make sure at least some of it is dripped on the nose so that they will sometimes "lick" it off? Has it been taken to the vet? Sometimes there is some other problem as to why it isn't eating. I have also had some good luck using baby food vegetables or fruit to get them to eat. You also might try soaking the pellets in water if you aren't already and start with mainly feeding pellets and when he is eating, daily cut down the amount. Some pellets aren't too awfully bad for them and do contain the vitamins they need although none are as healthy as fresh green and veggies.

Stephanie

I had a baby ig a few years back who wouldn't eat. I got a reptile product called "Jump Start", which is a high caloric appetite stimulate. After force feeding this for a few days, he began eating on his own. Might be worth a try for your guy.

Wendy