Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a baby iguana, only about 4 in SVL. Currently I feed a commercial diet but would love to switch to vegetables and greens instead. The thing is, I can only buy a whole head of collards or mustards. Most of it goes bad. If I freeze the leaves, they are all wilted when defrosted. If I blend them and freeze them, will they still be good?

I don't usually freeze the greens for the same reason you mentioned...they get mushy and wilted. Usually, the collard and mustard around here are pretty cheap, so when mine was younger I just threw them away when they go bad and buy a new head. Just buy one kind of green if your baby ig is still small and rotate it between the others. Like one week you can buy collard, the next mustard, then dandelion, and then escarole. Once your iguana has gain some size in about 2 years you kind buy three different kinds at a time to add more varieties. Once they are about 5 years old, they may go through a head of green a day or more. I find my greens last longer if you don't wash them and store them uncut that way. I usually just get enough out for the day and wash them and then cut them right before feeding time in the morning. The green will last up to a week or a little more if they are fresh. With vegetables you can freeze them since they don't get slimy like greens do when you freeze them, but make sure youi add some crushed vitamin B1 to the frozen veggies because freezing destroy vitamin B1 in greens and veggies. Note: Some ig will not eat frozen veggies for some reason. Good luck!

I have other lizards that eat greens, so usually someone will help eat them up! My husband bought a bunch of turnip greens at Wal-Mart yesterday and it was a much smaller bunch than collards. But my lizards are small, so sometimes I still throw away collards, too. The good thing is that it only cost $2-$3 around here. I'm finding that at 6" SVL, the little ig is really starting to pack away the food already...scary!

As for veggies, that's a bit easier. We eat yellow squash so I chop up the necks for the herps. I buy frozen green beans, peas, etc and they like those. Fruit-they eat whatever we eat. It seems that not everyone eats the same thing when it comes to fruit, so I just share. Some eat mango, some don't, etc.

>>I have a baby iguana, only about 4 in SVL. Currently I feed a commercial diet but would love to switch to vegetables and greens instead. The thing is, I can only buy a whole head of collards or mustards. Most of it goes bad. If I freeze the leaves, they are all wilted when defrosted. If I blend them and freeze them, will they still be good?

TUPPERWARE BABY!

They make a really nice product that I use when I have a few veggie eaters (those days are past). I have successfully stored uncut, cleaned greens for 3 weeks before they have gone bad. I have stored prepared iguana salad for 1.5 weeks.

TO prepare uncut greens, wash and separate the greens. Pat dry. Place in container and open one air vent. This should last well over 2 weeks like this. Of course if you do the prepared iguana salad be sure to wash and dry the excess water off greens. That is where the rot starts. If you cook your squash, keep it in a different container.

I know there are tupperware stores in malls and this is a common item there as well.
Tupperware Fridge Smart

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Cindy
PHFaust

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