I think I have a picky Iguana?

My pet iguana will only eat celery??? It wont eat any food?? Any other suggestions……I’ve tried apples, oranges, and carrots? Any other suggestions?

6 Responses to “I think I have a picky Iguana?”

  • James K:

    try the greens…….green leaf lettuce,red leaf, bib , grapes, blueberries,

  • Julia F:

    You need to nip that in the bud now! With just a celery diet he’s getting no nutrients! Do you know we actually burn calories chewing celery? I hate to know what it does to the iguana. You just need to offer dark leafy greens (no spinach) fruits sparingly, plants (pesticide and herbicide free) dandelions (flowers and leaves), clover, rose petals, and flowers of hibiscus, carnation and nasturtium, and wait him out. If not your just gonna have more problems!

    Some sites: anapsid.org

    http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Farm/2607/igcare.html

  • Pheobe:

    try fruits and greens, they like sweet things, what a silly iguana! lol

  • creem:

    yea try to get a bag of mix vegtables he may eat that i had the same problun with my green iguana and my bearded drgon so that may help

  • Reptile:

    Try chopping the veg. or fruit smaller by putting it in the blunder.

  • evanescence_fr3ak:

    First question would be what size are you cutting/chopping the staple good greens? If you have a young iguana you may have to almost make the greens like in a slush form.
    Just so you know citrus fruits are not good for iguanas. Apples too much acid – appetite suppressant. Carrots block calcium absorption. Celery you should only be feeding small amounts occasionally.
    Daily food should have 5-7 good staple greens (2-3 cups a day if not more) … collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens (if you can find), endive, radicchio, arugula, mache (if you can find), watercress … some greens to give occasionally kale, bok choy, escarole … romaine is mainly water no nutrience you can add small amount occasionally into a good mix of staple greens … some things to add (small amounts) snap peas, bell peppers (every now and then), parsnip, sweet potato/yam, acorn squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash … fruits should only be given every now and then once or twice a week type of thing fruits are like junk food to iguanas … some fruits to try papay, kiwi, mango, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, honeydew (great water source), canalope (great water source), 12 grain wheat bread … if anything has seeds make sure you remove seed before you give it to your iguana anything w/ small seeds like strawberries wait like 3 days before giving anymore … watermelon (seedless) can be frozen and then shaved onto your iguanas food helps w/ hydration everyday … there are some foods that aren’t good for your iguana: spinach has oxalate acids bind to the calcium, so even though spinach is high in calcium, almost none is actually available for the iguana to use, also the oxalate acids can form oxalate crystals which can and do build up in the kidneys causing kidney damage/failure … some ig owners do give there ig spinach but in very small amounts and only once a month … corn igs can not digest … carrots can block calcium absorption … bananas are low in calcium best to give another type of fruit … apples too much acid – appetite suppressant … food should be cut/chopped/diced no bigger then the iguanas head, if they are small having a chopper chop them up, or slice them into very small pieces … spray/mist food to help w/ water/hydration
    NOTE: rose petels are safe ONLY if they have not been sprayed w/ chemicals for bugs, if you get them from a florist, do not give more then likely they will be treated w/ chemicals to help preserve them
    Temps also play a part into why your ig may not be eating:
    never let drop below 70F – basking 92-96F if temp is too low digestion is slowed too high food digests too fast and nutrition is lost – medium/middle (overall) 88-92F
    cool 75-84F – at night 73-84F … using a thermometer w/ a probe at the end and place where your iguana is basking/laying will give better temps then those stupid stick on type that you can get at the pet store, the stick on type can read incorrectly.
    Also what type of UVB are you using? If you are using a coil type or a “U” shaped they can actually cause eye damage.
    ReptiSun 10.0, Repti Glo 8.0, or ReptiSun 5.0 .. if you are in the UK Arcadia brand.
    http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttuberesults.htm http://www.uvguide.co.uk/whatreptilesneed.htm
    Sites for you to read:
    http://www.greenigsociety.org/
    http://www.iguanaden.org/
    http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html
    A great book to read and have on hand:
    Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan
    If you would like to join any Yahoo groups, these groups can be very helpful, again only if you wish to join:
    http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BabyIguana/
    http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/IguanaDen/

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