Reptile & Amphibian Forums

These seeds fall from a tree. This iggy is eating one near Punta Cana on the east end of the Island, but they are also a major food at Descubierta on the West side of the DR. I have also found these same seeds in Ecuador (wonder if green iguanas eat them also ?) Next time I will get a picture of the tree.

Hi John, is that like a bean? These guys eat so many weird things in the wild I wonder if we are even coming close to a good diet in captivity.

Does anyone else here feed the cyclura.com diet?

Carole

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www.reptilecare.com

Hi Carole, Inside the covering are seeds -- which may be considered beans. I would not be surprised if the tree turns out to be in the luguminous family. The whole thing is dry and hard, unlike something I would expect an iguana to want to eat. I heard reference to the cyclura.com diet a few years ago, but never saw it posted anywhere ?

John

I kept hearing how they were going to post it on their site but I dont think they ever did. Do you want me to send it to you? I dont even know if they still stand by it. It was given to me by AJ some years ago (4 or 5 even). I could maybe even post it here but I wont call it the cyclura.com diet in case they would have a problem with that??? I dont want to step on anyone's toes.

Carole
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www.reptilecare.com

4-5 years ago.. was that the one with the pyramid that the IIS had endorsed ? If so, I am familiar with it. If not, I am curious and would like to know what it was if it is not too much trouble to email.
Thanks.

Hi John, I dont know if it is this pyramid one you speak of. Im not sure what the pyramid might be. Like the one we humans use for our supposedly ideal food intake?

I will email you privately.

Carole
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www.reptilecare.com

The food item in the photo is a mesquite bean. Mesquite bushes grow like weeds throughout the area, and are also very common in southwest US (introduced), Central and northern South America. These are leguminous trees and the beans (fruits) fall seasonally in the hottest months of the year. They are relatively high in protein, very high in carbohydrates, over 20% fiber and have a good calciumhosphorus ratio.

Indigenous people often pulverize the dried bean to make a highly nutritious bread.

Because the scarcity of highly nutritious foods throughout the range of C. cornuta, it is not surprising that these lizards gobble the sweet beans with delight. However, as is the case with most herbivorous lizards, seasonal fruits offer only a part of the annual diet, and their relatively rich contents are offset by the low-nutritional value of the other foods commonly eaten.

There has been quite a bit of research conducted on mesquite beans, mostly as a supplemental feed for cattle and pigs. If you want to find more info on their nutritional value, just type "mesquite bean AND nutrional value" into a search engine.

Though I know about mesquite beans, I have not travelled to DR, and was not aware that cornuta gobbled them up (though it makes sense). Thanks for posting the photos.