What About Humidity ?

 

Iguanas need high humidity. They do best in locations that are positively muggy. If they do not get it, they suffer from difficult and incomplete sheds and a dull, scurfy appearance. Try to keep humidity in your iguana habitat at 65-75%. A chicken or laboratory hygrometer will help you keep track of the humidity but better ones designed for reptiles are available. Be sure the iguana can not eat the wick.

 

Misting the pet and its cage frequently with a garden sprayer or plant spray bottle will help keep the humidity high. Be careful not to mist heat lamps or they will crack. Placing shallow vats or pans of water on the floor of the cage will also add humidity. Towels in the pans will help wick up and evaporate the water. When you run the AC, stuff old clothes into the AC vents in the iguana's area because simply closing the duct grid is not sufficient.

 

In dry climates, or forced-air heat, you may need to place a humidifier in the room. You can also add an outdoor submersible fountain pump and an aquarium heater to a decorative rock fall or garden fountain in the cage to increase humidity. The more the water drips and agitates, the more will evaporate. Just be sure all wiring is secured tight to the frame with cable ties and the the system is on a GFI receptacle.

 

What Should I Feed My Iguana?

 

Please read my article on Metabolic Bone Disease.

 

Iguanas and children are not good judges of what it is healthy to eat. Wild iguanas do not have this problem. They were designed to eat the lush jungle foliage that surrounds them. That is what their intestines were designed to digest. The plant materials they normally eat are not very nutritious as they are consumed. But bacteria and protozoa that live within the iguana's intestines ferment the plant matter into all the nutrients that the iguana needs. They are similar to the ones that help cows digest grass. The leaves and flowers that iguanas naturally eat will not be available to you in most parts of the US or Europe.

 

It is natural to feed pets things that we know are healthy for us. But iguanas are very different from us in their nutritional needs. The truth is , no one knows what iguana diet is best for a long and healthy life. What we do know are the kind of diets that are bad for iguana health. These are diets that are too rich in protein and carbohydrates.

 

What about Just Feeding A Commercial Iguana Food From The Pet Store ?

 

I do not recommend them. Despite the labels, not enough is known about iguana nutrition for any manufacturer to produce a scientifically proven food. Shelf-life issues, profitability, owner eye-appeal, unknown ingredient quality, bulk manufacturing processes and storage conditions all make commercially-prepared diets much less desirable than feeding fresh produce. Their only advantage is that they save you time and space.

 

The same goes for cat food, dog food and monkey chow. Feed them to cats, dog and monkeys - not iguanas.

 

Here Are Some Foods That Are Good To Feed Your Iguana

 

Feed iguanas of all ages the same. Just cut the produce into smaller pieces for small iguanas. Feed a diet that is primarily or totally green leafy vegetables. some Iguanas remain healthy when they receive small amounts of sugary or starchy fruits and vegetables. But their digestive systems were not designed to handle them and I do not suggest they receive any.

 

In the wild, iguanas don't stroll around looking for fruit. They are territorial and their territory is less than a quarter acre. So, in real life, sweet fruit is a treat they don't eat very often. The healthy intestinal bacteria and protozoa that iguanas rely on to produce vital nutrients do not do well when the sugar content of the iguana's diet is too high.

 

When you feed your iguana, stress variety in its diet. Do not allow you iguana to live on less than four or fivevarieties of of leafy vegetables.

 

Good Green Leafy Vegetables For Your Iguana:

 

Kale, collard greens, escarole, turnip tops, beet greens, mustard greens, dandelion, Chinese cabbage (bok choy), Swiss chard, hibiscus flowers, endive, sprouts, arugula, green cabbage,pea pods,watercrest, rapini, clover.

 

Often the best outer portions of these vegetables are discarded by the grocery store. If you maintain good relations with the produce department staff, you can often salvage the portions they discard.

 

Iguanas also like a variety of flowers. Hibiscus and dandelion are two I know are safe.

 

>What About spinach, beets, and cabbage?

 

One of the most common health problems veterinarians see in iguanas is metabolic bone disease (MBD). This condition occurs when there is not enough utilizable calcium in the iguana's body. It is unclear why this occurs. We suspect that not getting enough full-spectrum light, diets too high in vitamin D, too low in calcium or too high in phosphorus might all cause this problem.

 

Some plants contain compounds called phytates and oxalates. These compounds bind to calcium and iron in the laboratory and probably make calcium in the diet less available. Plants that are high in oxalates are spinach, beet greens, rhubarb and chard nd kale. Plants high in phytates include, pinto beans, peas, and navy beans. Wheat bran is also high in phytates. All vegetables of the cabbage family contain compounds that can interfere with iodine absorption. These compounds are called goiterogenic, because they have been known to cause goiter in humans.

 

No one wants a sick pet. Based on this information, most folks avoid feeding ingredients known to be high in these compounds - like spinach, beets and cabbage. Or, if they feed them, they feed them in moderation. I do not believe you will have any problems including these foods in your iguana's diet if they are fed in moderation.

 

Are There Other Things I Should Not Feed My Iguana?

 

Iguana enthusiasts avoid feeding certain plants to their pets. These decisions are based on theoretical knowledge regarding compounds known to exist in certain plants. Spinach, cabbage and beet tops, as well as some other high-oxalate plants are frowned upon by many enthusiasts because the oxalates they contain might conceivably interfere with calcium absorption. I do not know of any cases of MBD that occurred solely due to the feeding of these plants. I believe your pet will be safe if you simply offer it a great variety of greens..

 

There are so many potential vegetables and plant out there so suggestions on what to feed iguanas vary a lot. Basically, you should aim at a diet with a large variety of plant ingredients that is low in fruit sugar, low in protein, rich in calcium and which promotes good digestive tract function.

 

Reptiles that consume cat or dog food or other high protein things like eggs, peas and beans often go on to develop kidney problems (gout). Peas and beans are also high in phytic acid. There are no studies I know of on the effects of phytic acid on iguanas - but in other plant-eating reptiles they are converted to oxalic acid which blocks calcium absorption which is so necessary to prevent MBD.

 

Lots of supermarket fruit are too high in sugar and too low in fiber. I would not provide them to your iguana in any substantial amounts. The same goes for root vegetables.