Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello,

my b/f and i have a rescued female iguana and she is still being the finickiest eater EVER! i have printed out that iguana food list that someone linked to me from here a few months ago, and went shopping! well she does not eat anything BUT mustard greens and Rep-Cal brand pelleted food. (wont eat other brands). we are SO concerned about her diet and i don't know what else to do. I am adding some vitimen dust to her mustard greens (the sandfire Iguana dust stuff) but i know its not enough. and now she wont eat the mustard greens with dust on them...grrrr. why is she being such a fuss?

shes in a home made enclosure now. its two stories, lots of climbing areas, rope, plants, etc. plus a "wading" pool aka water area. its roughly 7 feet long, by 4 foot high at the low end and 6 feet high at the tall end. L shaped enclosure but on side. we've got the repti-sun 8.0 (two bulbs) near her basking spots. she should be living it up! shes barely a year old too.

i've heard of appetite stimulant sprays for the food. does anyone use these? is there a flavor, brand, etc. that iguanas seem to prefer? any help would be appreciated!

rachel
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4.3 African Clawed Frog
3.3 Calfornia Newt
0.1 Leucistic Texas Ratsnake
1.2 Veiled Chameleon
0.1 Albino Cranwells Horned Frog
0.1 Paddle Tail Newt
0.1 Green Iguana
0.5.0 Indonesian Floating Frog

Hi Rachel,
I'm absolutely no expert on iguanas, but from all I've read and heard on finicky eaters is to never give up trying to get them to eat a varied diet.
Keep putting healthy stuff in with her, and hopefully she'll start sampling them and decide she likes it. Maybe try some yummy fruit along with her greens, and try exposing her to other types of leafy greens, and non-leafy greens (like the MK Salad recipe) as well. Just keep trying.
I know that everyone else on this board is going to have alot more experience about this than me, so hopefully someone else will reply with ideas to help.

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Meredith
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"What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak; What will people do when they find that it's true?
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak; There ain't no disguising the truth!"
(DC Talk: Jesus Freak; 1995 Virgin Records)