Posted by Harry's Dad on July 06, 2000 at 21:36:25:
In Reply to: My new addition posted by Lori on July 06, 2000 at 18:05:58:
Welcome to the forum.
May I recommend that you do some in-depth research on Vitamin additives before adding them to your iguanas diet on a regular basis. I believe as some others do, that if you are feeding a balanced diet on fresh items, that putting powder vitamins on the igs salad, may not be the best thing for it. Too much can be, almost as bad as not enough. I can't remember the last time we have used calcuim powder or anything else with our iguanas.
One area to get information on, is calcuim build up. This can lead to an early death to an iguana. It's VERY important to learn values of food items and what an iguana needs. Once you have that learned, set a schedule of different items, keeping the amount of each item focused on a percentage of their diet. An example: Collard greens are very high in Ca to P ratio.
Another area is UVB....it's definitely important to have the correct lighting for your iguana, but also as important is time spent outside in direct or indirect sunlight. UVB bulbs produce around 5.0 UVB which is only a speck compared to natural sunlight.....so this summer.....give your iguana some needed sunlight, it makes for a healthier iguana. (side note: sunlight through window glass does NOT allow UVB to get by so letting your iguana sit by the window will not do anything for UVB intake.
Also, keep a close eye on your iguana outside (leashed or caged) for signs of over-heating. Temps over 85 degrees can lead to over-heating. I try to shade around 60 to 65% of the cage if it's over 85 degrees.
Best wishes and again welcome to the forum
HD
IguanaFIRST rescue