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Posted by Jason Z. on August 15, 1998 at 10:41:40:
In Reply to: Re: dog food input... posted by mark on August 13, 1998 at 20:30:51:
: Thanks all for your input...The vet stressed not to give too much dog food and also stressed the fact that she intended it as a tempory addition to Reptars diet. She said to feed him a pinch of dog food twice a week for the next 3 weeks. only to try to get his wieght up. She also said that she would never recommend feeding an ADULT Ig any animal protien.
: Sounds just like what Jason is saying.
: thanks again all
Yeah, that's pretty much it--you understood me better than the others.
I am not trying to discount recent research but the sources I refer to were produced in the early '90s and I would be happy to provide more information if anyone would like it (I'm at work and I don't have them with me...). These were the latest information available to me when I bought my iguana and I have a very large and healthy specimen as a result of using these guides and a little common sense.
In response to Kenny, I only used the dog food as a supplement to my juvenile ig's diet for the first year. I think this is an important time to maximize their growth and they relish treats like this. You may remember that very young iguanas can be very finicky eaters so finding a treat like that can help. I know I sound like I support a dog-food diet but I have exercised caution and only used it in small amounts up to about a year old. You could probably get away with it for up to two years but I lowered his protein intake after one year and moved to beans and eggs as sources of animal protein.
In response to Dave, I am talking about very small amounts of protein in addition to a complete diet. I AM NOT talking about "large or moderate" amounts of dog food. Your quotation fully supports my assertion that the types of health problems associated with feeding dog food only occur when large amounts of dog food are fed. It is a safe and pure source of protein that can be added (10-15%) to a growing iguana's diet giving them variety and the protein they need. With dog food you needn't worry about pesticides as with insects and it is available year round. Also, check your facts--high D content is a problem with monkey chow--not dog food, they are completely different.
It is right to be cautious when feeding dog food to iguanas but I hate to hear people say never use it. Face it, the two main deficientcies in growing iguanas are calcium and protein. I would much rather see a new iguana keeper feed dog food in small amounts than no protein at all. This is the same problem many human vegetarians face--few people know of the protein sources found outside the meat group. Feeding a young iguana a fully vegetarian diet at a young age will cause stunted growth unless special attention is payed to protein rich foods. Why not dog food? Feed a good quality, low-fat softened dry food in small amount a couples times a week. The danger is in keepers who rely on the conveience of dog food making it a staple of the animal's diet. And I'll stress again--never feed it to an adult--that is where damage occurs.
In conclusion, I just wanted to provide some additional information to the status quo of this board so that a novice herper would have enough info to make his own determination. I enjoyed the debate.
Thanks guys,
Jason
