The reason to avoid feeding these...

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Posted by Mr. D on March 30, 2001 at 21:50:09:

In Reply to: is it healthy for my iguana to eat mealworms or superworms? posted by craignoyes on March 30, 2001 at 19:24:37:

While Dishy is absolutely correct that you shouldn't feed them the reason not to is a bit more complex. The simple bottom line to it is that there have been no significant studies showing that iguanas, whether wild or captive, need any amounts of animal protein. Iguanas are not designed to absorb and use any quantitative amounts of animal protein. Kidneys are especially taxed when trying to process it. It's true that occassional ingestion won't harm them but it's not a good idea to make a habit of it.
If you haven't noticed yet, iguanas will try to eat just about anything at least once. My largest, Mel (4') tries to eat her green food bowl at least once a week. My favorite argument, when someone says that if iguanas weren't supposed to eat a particular item then they wouldn't do it, is that one day while clipping Mel's claws she actually tried to eat the clippers. Following the above "advice" I should make toe nail clippers a regular part of all of my iguana's diets...
Just be careful with the iguana and beardie together... You never know what sort of trouble they can get into.....
Good Luck....

The Iguana Spot

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: While Dishy is absolutely correct that you shouldn't feed them the reason not to is a bit more complex. The simple bottom line to it is that there have been no significant studies showing that iguanas, whether wild or captive, need any amounts of animal protein. Iguanas are not designed to absorb and use any quantitative amounts of animal protein. Kidneys are especially taxed when trying to process it. It's true that occassional ingestion won't harm them but it's not a good idea to make a habit of it. : If you haven't noticed yet, iguanas will try to eat just about anything at least once. My largest, Mel (4') tries to eat her green food bowl at least once a week. My favorite argument, when someone says that if iguanas weren't supposed to eat a particular item then they wouldn't do it, is that one day while clipping Mel's claws she actually tried to eat the clippers. Following the above "advice" I should make toe nail clippers a regular part of all of my iguana's diets... : Just be careful with the iguana and beardie together... You never know what sort of trouble they can get into..... : Good Luck....

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