Iguana Care | Greens for your green iguana

Greens for your green iguana

Green Iguanas are herbivores, that is, they are plant eaters. Animal proteins, such as dog food, cat food, and various “people food” treats should be avoided completely if possible. Green iguanas are still one of the most popular pet reptile species. They are farm-raised in Central and South America, and are still imported by the thousands. Green iguanas are arboreal lizards residing in trees in the wild, feeding off of leaves and fruits of those trees. However, since a lot of green iguanas originate from South America, duplicating their diet in captivity is nearly impossible.

Plants like kale and spinach are high in oxalic acids, which bind the calcium your iguana needs. While a little bit of these plants will not hurt it, and they can be used once in a while for variety, there are so many other good foodss out there that it seems silly to use just these.

Fresh water should also be offered at all times. Fresh fruit (bananas, berries, apples, peaches pears, and plums) can occasionally be included in the iguanas diet . Fresh greens and vegetables may be offered as an occasional treat, but should make up only a minor portion of the diet as additional supplementation is not required. For optimum iguana care always make diet changes gradually over the course of several days as your pet is a creature of habit and doesn’t like a change of routine.  If you take away the food it is used to and subsitute it with something else without ‘phasing it out’ then your pet is likely to ignore the new food altogether.  Instead, start by subsituting the new food once in the first week, twice in the second, three times in the third week etc.

My conclusion is that if you have some sitting around, feel free to use commercial food products on those very infrequent days when you realize that you are all out of greens and really don’t have time for a trip to the grocery store.

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