I can't believe we're still feeding dog food

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Posted by Dave on August 14, 1998 at 06:10:19:

In Reply to: Re: No offense taken... posted by Kenny on August 13, 1998 at 20:09:02:

Well, I will try to not be a nameless souce, but instead will quote from the foremost experts in the field.

"Since these commercial diets are balanced for dogs, cats and/or monkeys, the amounts of avalible vitamin A, and particularly D, are usually grossly in excess of what is required-and tolerated-by reptiles. When these rations are fed in large or even moderate amounts to many reptiles, they induce severe, often fatal, soft tissue mineralization..." Frye, Fredric; DMV, MS 1994 "Reptile Care, An Atlas Of Diseases And Treatments" Why take a chance?

Many older books on Iguana care (that some vets still use) incouraged the use of dog and monkey chow to provide quick growth to iguanas. But this information was from South American iguana farms, who wanted fast-growing iguanas for food, not for longevity. It is not neccessarily the protein that is bad, but the excess amounts of vitamin D. If you want to add protein to a juvenile iguana's diet, use alfalfa.

Below is a link to Melissa Kaplin's iguana diet sight. It is the best on the net.

iguana diet

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Re: I can't believe we're still feeding dog food Kati 8/14/98 (0)

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: : Well, I will try to not be a nameless souce, but instead will quote from the foremost experts in the field. : "Since these commercial diets are balanced for dogs, cats and/or monkeys, the amounts of avalible vitamin A, and particularly D, are usually grossly in excess of what is required-and tolerated-by reptiles. When these rations are fed in large or even moderate amounts to many reptiles, they induce severe, often fatal, soft tissue mineralization..." Frye, Fredric; DMV, MS 1994 "Reptile Care, An Atlas Of Diseases And Treatments" Why take a chance? : Many older books on Iguana care (that some vets still use) incouraged the use of dog and monkey chow to provide quick growth to iguanas. But this information was from South American iguana farms, who wanted fast-growing iguanas for food, not for longevity. It is not neccessarily the protein that is bad, but the excess amounts of vitamin D. If you want to add protein to a juvenile iguana's diet, use alfalfa. : Below is a link to Melissa Kaplin's iguana diet sight. It is the best on the net.

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