Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a thought/question/concern....when we adopted Forest I found him on the green iguana society's board under adoptions. There is a list there that tells all about the animal in question, ie...vet visits,behavior, food fed, etc.

Under Forest's food his previous owners listed that they fed forest "salad" along with treats from their ventures to restaraunts...shrimp, chicken, etc. There was also a note that said the G.I.S. didn't endorse this type of feeding...I never mentioned it when we exchanged Forest cause I figured he'll be mine in a few hours so I'll do what I need to do when I get him home. No need to make his owners feel bad.

Well, his owners have talked about visiting. Forest has lost some weight since I've had him because he gets NO shrimp, NO chicken, NO meat whatsoever here. He's not skinny, just better fed. He eats his salads eveyday but will come running if he smells the stuff he used to get & I know he misses it. They always ask in e-mails if he's getting fatter.

How do I keep them from thinking I have starved their boy & get them to realise he's just HEALTHIER now without making anybody mad?

I can see an akward situation coming up.......any ideas?

Uggggggggggg. I don't want them leaving thinking they gave me their ig only for me to starve him. I'm not. Just NO bad foods & he seems to eat his salads only because he tolerates them. I KNOW he'd prefer eating chicken. I guess after 7 years, he'll never forget that smell.

Any ideas? I can't seem to get him to eat enough salad to fatten him up like he was before.

Thanks,
Terri....oh and a picture to show you he's not wasting away...

Hi, you really have nothing to worry about ...actually you saved his life...many years of animal protein would have shut down his kidneys for sure...make that point known to the former owners...animal protein has been proven to cause renal failure in iguanas...they die in like 6 to 7 years where they could live 20 to 25 yrs on just vegetable matter...You have done well by him....be proud...Lyn

That does sound tricky. What iguana books do you have? Maybe you can go through your best ig books and sticky mark the pages that talk about diet, specifically about no animal protein. When they come over and ask about how skinny he is, you can maybe say something like "yeah! I found out that he was somewhat overweight because of the chicken and shrimp. Did you know that they're not supposed to have it, because I had no clue. But this book says... yada yada yada... and my vet said the same thing. Isn't that interesting?"

It still might be awkward, but at least it won't seem so much like you're pointing the finger at them. Instead, they might decide that they're decision to give him away was a good one, and that you're taking great care of him.

My ig wasn't a rescue, but two of my birds were. One of them was rescued from a co-worker of my husband's. After awhile, she stopped asking about him because my husband was always telling her about the things I had taught him to do, the new diet he was on, and the new cage we had bought for him. It was awkward, because she was mostly a nice person and when we took him, I didn't exactly list off the problems (yep, new cage, more toys, better diet, better socialization and retraining...). But in the end, I think she was glad that 1. she didn't have the responsibility of dealing with him anymore and 2. he was in a better home.

You did the right thing. Don't feel bad about it. And don't underestimate these people... it's possible that if they listed him on GIS, they found out that what they were doing was wrong.

Alika
>1.0 green ig (Xander)
>0.1 cockatiel (Cami)
>1.0 senegal parrot (Beeper)
>0.1 blue-fronted amazon (Sam)
>0.0.1 red bellied piranha (Sebastian)

I hear you guys. I just feel so akward becuase they are really nice people she's a techer, he sells insurance, young 30's...VERY nice, just not very smart about ig health.

I just don't want them to think that Forest isn't happy. And he's NOT if you think about it. Thaey gave him crap but he LOVED it. I don't & he tolerates his food. But, he's healthier.

Just gonna be one of those things.........I know he's healthier even if he's not as happy.

Oh well, I love my lizard & he'll be around longer for it all...

Thanks for the replies.

As a rescue operator, I can sure identify with your concern. Like the other week I picked up a ball python from a really nice, caring guy. It was clearly malnourished because someone had told him that feeding a snake more than once a month would cause "stomach rot". So this poor ball python was literally starved for years. It can be hard to tell someone who means well that they have been putting their pet in harm's way for years.

One way to soften the blow when you tell them is remind them that their dietary mistake is a common misconception so they don't feel quite so bad, and mention the animal's diet in the wild to back you up. I certainly have never heard any reports of igs chasing shrimp and chicken around the trees in South America. That may help put things in perspective for the old owners. Either way, they should appreciate what you're doing because there are not a lot of options for folks giving up iguanas. My rescue gets so many calls for them they end up on a waiting list for weeks or months sometimes before we can take them in.

And since we're on the topic, I might as well mention if you're interested in iguana adoption, check out my rescue's website - www.forgottenfriend.org

Jesse
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary

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Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
"Find out how you can get involved in reptile rescue..."
www.forgottenfriend.org

Awwwwwwwww, I loved your site & the story about Ellie.

GOOD for you helping out the reptiles who need it!!!!!

I guess I was looking (and found) some ways to answer their questions when they wonder why he's not fat.

Anyway you look at it, Forest is happy (except the cut-off of his "goodies", but is one big spoiled boy.

Another good thing is that he loves loquat fruit & the tree is blooming in our yard. Maybe I can fatten him up some on them before they visit! He'll also run you over for oranges & we have an orange, a tangerine & a grapefruit tree here. Give me a break on buying mango's every week. LOL

Thanks for the reply!

Terri

Terri,
thanks for the kind words about the website and the rescue. If you know any other responsible reptile owners, please tell them about our cause. We are always trying to expand the reach of our rescue network, and the more good reptile homes we have, the more reptiles we can help.

Another good idea for your ig is to take a look at one or two different ig books to make sure you're following a nutritional diet. A little fruit is great, but too much of that can even be bad. But who am I to talk about not spoiling pets? Our jack russel is not supposed to be allowed on the furniture, but every time he jumps up on my lap when I'm watching TV, I never tell him to get down . . . spoiling pets is a hard habit for all of us to break. Good luck!
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary

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Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
"Find out how you can get involved in reptile rescue..."
www.forgottenfriend.org

You're very welcome for the compliments on your site & your endevor. You're a great guy. I think all people that help reptile are.

Forest is on a good diet of escarole (won't eat collards or other such "good" stuff) grrrr, shredded sweet potato, snap peas or green beans, & then mango or papaya on top of the salad.

I don't give him the citrus very often but he loves the loquat & I've looked & can't find where it's bad for him. I guess I feel so guilty when he camps out in my kitchen when I cook chicken, that some in season fruit is better than nothing. Again, I've looked & can't find it on any list that states its bad.

He's such a pain when it comes to eating. He doesn't like variety that seems to play a big part in other ig's diet. If I change it too much, he flat won't eat. I tried boiling eggless pasta in chicken broth to flavor it but salt.........so nope, I guess years of bad diet have made him crave things he just won't get here.

Oh well.

Anyway, loved the site & wish I could do more but Forest free roams & I have no clue how to set up a cage for another ig & also affraid what he'd do while I was gone (to the interloper) LOL.

Will always suggest adoption to anyone thinking about it. I love my boy & never have regretted him coming here to be with us.

So thanks. I appreciate all.

Terri

You're right about trying to get reptiles off a poor diet once they're used to it. Sounds like my problem with fast food

Your ig looks great in his pic, how do you add pics to the kingsnake forums anyway I never learned how to do it. It sounds like your ig has a great home with you. It's always great meet people who treat their reptiles so well when I'm used to seeing the opposite in my rescue work. Hope to run into you again some time.

Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary

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Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
"Find out how you can get involved in reptile rescue..."
www.forgottenfriend.org

It sounded like you were getting ready to eat him! LOL!

I've thought about what a nice belt he'd make at times but no eating. LOL

Terri