Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm a long time lurker here. I've been keeping Cyclura for the last 6 years. Now that I have 4, my food bill is through the roof! I have a 1.0, 6 year old Cayman Brac and 3 yearling Rhino's. They are all bottomless pits! Was wondering if you guys have any tips for making food stretch. I'm buying greens 3x's a week plus other fruits and veggies once a week. I've been thinking about maybe supplementing with a commercial diet. There seems to be conflicting info in that department though. Mazuri, ZooMed? What are you successful with. I have no problems continuing what I'm doing now. Just wondered if anybody has some tips for bulk food sources/adding pellet food and stretching rations etc. Thanks.

I hear Mazuri is the best. I was going to get some iguana food for my green, but I got really sick and was forced to give him away to some nice people that do rescue around here. A lot of people on here use Mazuri tortoise food, but I think the one design for the igs is better since it has more protein which the igs need; tortoise don't need a lot of it to grow well like the igs. The tortoise will grow too fast given too much protein and pyramide out of control. I think with the iguana food you just sprinkle it on the greens and veggies to add extra nutritions to the food.

I've always been told that too much protein for Cyclura is not a good thing. When young I'll supplement with some kingworms or occasional crickets. Not very often though. Seem to do just fine with greens and other fruits and vegetables. Correct me if I'm wrong about the protein. Anyone else?

No, I think it's more consistance of what you find in plant...not animal protein. I think all the stuff they use to make the food is from plants. Plant protein and animal protein are different. Animal protein (purine) are a lot richer and it destroys the liver. Plant protein is an incomplete chain of protein called paramadine (sp) and it doesn't cause liver damage because it's not complete chains of protien. I might get some of the details wrong, but you can read about it on www.anapsid.org

Gotcha. The clarification between animal and plant protein makes sense now. Sometimes you can't be to sure about the advice you get from these forums. Thanks

OMG cyclura overload.

I have one cyclura and 3 greenies (and a bunch of blue-tongues, tortorise and various parrots and other small guys)

What we do is buy bulk veggies at supermarket (which specializes in fruit/veg) like a NYC fruit stand. (we are on Long Island and these places are SUPER cheap)

But as far as bulk dry food, we buy the 40 lb bag of ZooPreem Large Fruit Parrot (around $80)and Mix it with RABBIT food (from Agway, about $10 a giant bag) for the lizards. They are the same ingrediants (if not BETTER) and thier poop looks good! Birds are esentially modified reptiles!!!

lol I also feed my parrots this stuff so the lizards get a sprinkle and they r addicted. I also give them cheerios and other non sugar cereal mixed in. This keep lizards happy and fat. I like the idea that they always have a little dry food incase they are starving (like you would a dog or cat)f

and of coure an entire salad bowl 3-5 times a week, with 3 bananas as a snack shared between the 4 liz and 2 parrots

My vet is always impressed with her growth, appearance and her blood levels/kidney function are PERFECT. Cyclura def drink and eat more. I notice her gulping water all the time

Hope they helps- the rabbit food is a cheap alternative just make sure they get enough water

Sounds like a good diet to me,good idea and healthy.

good and healthy- fat and lumpy!

wow! The salad looks great! It looks like I can eat it myself... [laugh]

note the flowers from our garden

(my wife swears the tortoise appreciates them)

If you choose to be a slave to your lizards, then go ahead and spend six to 8 hours a week shopping for and chopping greens and cleaning the messy feces greens cause. If you want to actually enjoy your animals, switch to dry. Mazuri is not the best, it is the worst of the main three which also includes Zoo Med, and Marion. If the dry iguana food is pricey, cut it with rabbit pellets. The cyclura will actually eat more of the dry food than they really need so the rabbit pellets will not rob them of any nutrition but act as a filler just to somewhat satisfy their bottomless appetite.

at minute every week i get 20 bags of watercress,20 bags of rocket,4 spring cabbage,dandelions,3 bags parsnips,2 turnip,green beans,runner beans,chicory,2 bags sweet potatoes,4 courgettes,2 chinese cabbage,celery,squashes,6 mangos,3 papayas an figs to feed 8 uromastyx,4 desert igs,6 chuckwallas,7 ctenosaura,7 rhino igs,6 cubans igs an a pair of exuma island igs £50 a week it costing me

Which dry food would you recommend then?

Zoo Med

I talked to a lot of tortoise people and they all say they're tortoise grows best on Mazuri tortoise food. You get a really smooth growth for tortoise with Mazuri, something you don't see in ohter food. Folks at the tortoise forums love this stuff.

Hmmm, last I looked, this was a cyclura forum.

it is? Awww my poor tortoiseman

Torts are more sensitive than other reptiles when it comes to nutrition. Any imbalanced could potentially cause severe deformation and illnesses cause by nutritional defficiency. If they can make any tortoises grow very well (even some of the most difficult species)with no pyramiding and reproduce, I think they can also make a great food for iguanas.

Quoted from a scientific journal:
" rock iguanas are herbivorous, consuming leaves, flowers, berries, and fruits from different plant species."

"land based tortoises are herbivores, feeding on grazing grasses, weeds, leafy greens, flowers"

Although each type will cross over and eat vegetation that they were not designed for, example: "some" not all of my cyclura will eat grasses, and some tortoises will eat leaves", most tortoises were designed to eat grasses.

Lets put it this way, Zoo Med makes a superior iguana food to Mazuri. Look at the ingredients. Zoo Med also makes a tortoise chow and not a "one food fit all". Will Mazuri harm your iguana? Absolutely not. Is Mazuri better for tortoises? Could be, but I don't know, I dont keep tortoises so I never really studied their dietary needs. I have used all three, Mazuri in a pinch, and it was my least favorite. So if your happy with Mazuri which is cheaper and easier to get eat your heart out on it

Sometimes, it also comes down to what your animal will accept.

Mine will eat the Mazuri, ZuPreem and Marion diets, but absolutely will not touch the Zoo Med. It looks like a great diet, and I wish that he would eat it, but he stubbornly refuses. If I mix it with greens, he will pick out all the greens and leave the pellets. If I offer just the pellets, or mix them with the other foods that he likes, he will ignore the entire food bowl. In fact, none of my other herbivores will eat it either.

i bought some zoomed and threw it away . mine wound not touch it . If i put some on his vegies he would refuse to eat any of it .

That's interesting, mine and I mean all of my cyclura refuse mazuri when zoo med is available.

it the only dry food my rhino will touch . he loves it . I soak it in smashed paya/juice or sometimes just water . Its his favorite treat .

really ???

I just ordered a 25 Lb bag of mazuri TC for 33.29 with free shipping at local feed store . It works out to be 1.33 a LB .so i give mine a little Mazuri Tc every day with his greens .