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since crickets are high in protein, i was wondering if feeding my iguana crickets every so often would be a good idea? i just got "him" from my friends neighbor who could no longer take care of him. he's only about 2.5-3 feet head to tip of tail and about 2 years old. i have 2 blackthroat monitors, a red tegu, a pacman frog and a blood python so i figured i'd take him since i had the room. he's REALLY SKINNY, his hips look like they are going to burst through his skin.. skinny. i would greatly appreciate any tips on fattening him up and information on the crickets being in his diet. the people who had him before me said they fed him crickets but the setup they had him in didn't meet his needs at all (no basking spots, no trees or logs to climb on and DISGUSTING repti-bark bedding) so i wasn't to sure if the diet they were feeding was right either. they gave me everything with him to for free. so i cleaned and disinfected the cage, i have paper towels down as bedding, i put some nice trees and a couple basking areas in, my temps are 90 on the hot side, 80 on the cool, 120 degree basking area and i have a nice long log about 6-8 inches under a repti-sun 5.0 full spectrum UV strip lamp. the last 2 days i've been feeding him spinach, summer squash, strawberries, and green grapes. he seems to like them. should i sprinkle a calcium supplement on the food? or is the UV light enough? with monitors i don't need to worry about UV lamps since they get enough calcium through the rodents they eat haha so this is all new to me. any tips and suggestions would be great!

thanks
ian

>>since crickets are high in protein, i was wondering if feeding my iguana crickets every so often would be a good idea?

should i sprinkle a calcium supplement on the food? or is the UV light enough?
>>
>>thanks
>>ian

Hey Ian,

Answers to your two questions. Crickets are bad juju baby! Animal protein in any for is bad juju. Animal protein in any fashion is bad for Green Iguanas. Herbivorous lizards are not created to properly digest these and kidney failure does come around 8 years of age in iguanas where crix, insects, meat, dog/cat food, cheese, eggs, etc.... is offered.

A well rounded diet of dark leafy greens (collards, dandelion, mustard, kale) mixed with finely chopped veggies (squash, yams, parnsips, green beans, whole beans) and some high calcium veggies (berries are great) will help put weight on in no time. Chop everything smaller and that will help him put more food into his belly. For skinny lizards, whole wheat pastas (check label for eggs, several brands do not contain them) mixed with veggie or fruit based baby foods help bulk up the iguana. Be sure that the animal is eating the veggie mix.

I would strongly suggest to start off with, to be sure to offer calcium supplementation. Calcium Carbonate is the best choice. You can use the rep-cal with D3 or you can offer tums. I prefer to use the sugar free variety. Right now I would DEFINITELY head start with calcium until you get on a good path.

I would suggest looking into either Iguanas for Dummies or Green Iguana: The Ultimate Owners Manual as two great references for green iguanas. Also you might want to drop those temps just a smidge. At least the basking spot drop down to 105. It aint a savy!
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

thanks a ton! i'll get working on the right now and i'll post pictures later tonight to show everything

thanks
ian

sorry for the bad picture quality i'm saving money to buy my own camera so i had to use my gram's haha

his hips are very skinny

this is a picture of what i've done with his setup, keep in mind that there was no logs to climb on before. it was only that little half log hide, the fake tree in the corner, a water dish, a food dish, and really old repti-bark bedding

he's almost done shedding but he still has some on his head.

i've done the best i could for him with what i have right now. i'll build him a bigger cage as soon as my blackthroat's new enclosure is finished. also, how do you tell males and females apart?

they didn't work on the last post

Ya know, for how skinny his tail and legs are, his belly looks plump. I would suggest getting a fecal sample to a vet!

Give him time and he will put on weight. Maybe try twice a day feedings in smaller quantities. Avoid feeding real close to lights out.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

his stomach is plump, but you can still see the ribs. I think it's just from last meal. but what is starting to concern me is that in the last 2 days that i've had him he hasn't pooped. he has eaten a couple times but still no poop. so if he hasn't by the morning I will try soaking him in warm water. I will start feeding smaller quantities though, I just didn't know how much he'd eat. i'll also get a fecal sample to the vet asap. thanks for all the help, I appreciate it.

thanks
ian