Okay, Josh, get comfortable because it's a long post from me!

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Posted by Iguanamomma on December 22, 1998 at 23:07:38:

In Reply to: My iguana won't eat! More information to the people who did the follow up posted by Josh Kilpatrick on December 22, 1998 at 22:20:23:

First STOP the Hartz food! Dry food, in my opinion, is only to be used when you absolutely have to do so. You need to be using fresh food with some occasional use of frozen (thaw it first) food. Once you start feeding her/him fresh vegetables you'll see a big change in her appetite! You will want to use leafy, dark green vegetables such as mustard greens, collard greens, curly mustard greens, escarole. Can also add to this green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce and other leafy vegetables but use it sort of as a "filler" because these aren't as nutritious for them. You wash off the greens then tear it up into bite size pieces. Since yours is still a baby I wouldn't try to use any part of the stem(s).
You don't have to use all these greens in one meal! You can choose one or two and add a different vegetable to it such as green zucchini or one of many types of squash. These help add water also. Squash needs to be grated before using. For a baby I would use a grater with the smaller holes so that it is finely shredded. As he gets older you can grate it larger. There are lots of other vegetables you can add to your greens. Review the Kaplan site for more vegetables that are good to use.

Your iguana will also enjoy and need a bit of fruit. For a baby you will have to dice and "smush" fruit up. Grapes are good if cut up into quarters then quarter again. Little pieces of apple...NO seeds they are poisonous. Chopped up strawberries, kiwi, mango, papaya. A few banana slices quartered.
I would start with one type of green + another vegetable+fruit. Just a small amount since this is a baby. If she/he will eat this, fine. If he/she becomes picky and refuses all but one thing, then mix it up so that to get what he/she wants she's going to have to eat something with it!

You will want to add some calcium supplement and vitamins to this but I've forgotten what the suggestion is for babies. (Ours are almost 5 and 4 years old now)

About the lighting........yep, Ziggy needs something to keep warm at night unless you are in a year round warm climate! Some people use those new ceramic lights that don't emit light. I have always used the special night lightbulbs made for reptiles. Our iguanas prefer the ones that put out a blue light. And you are right on the money about this lighting business being confusing! The thing with day lighting is to provide something that helps your iguana process calcium for his bones, etc. to prevent metabolic bone disease. The best possible thing you can do is provide your iguana with real sunshine for a few minutes (daily if possible) as often as possible...and more than a few minutes it's just that 20 minutes in the sun is worth more than ANY light no matter what it's manufacturer says! To take ours out when they were babies we used a birdcage! Escape proof! We've turned cold this week down here in Texas so we won't be "sunning" until it warms back up to at least the 70's.

You might want to pick up the January 99 issue of Reptiles magazine and check out the articles on iguanas. Lighting is probably covered (I don't remember right now) and there are ads in the mag for lights so you can see what it refers to in the article.

You will have to work patiently to get Ziggy to accept you and let you carry or hold him. It is a matter of time.......and a matter of trust on Ziggy's part.

Oops, almost forgot......is that light you refer to IN her cage where she might be able to touch it? Iguanas are very curious creatures and more than one has been burned "tasting" a light or touching one. Maybe someone else can help with this set up. I've got screen tops on my enclosures so that the lights sit on top of them where the igs can't touch them.

Good luck and happy holidays! If you have trouble getting Ziggy to eat after starting the fresh foods, jump back in here and folks can help you more. Most of us have experienced the picky eater syndrome......it is much like a 2 year old child!

My apologies to you and the forum for being so long winded! Was trying to be specific but that easily turns into rambling by me *grin*

Follow Ups:

re: squash + zucinni ..... iZ's mom 12/23/98 (0)
Some add'l lighting & heating info Desiree 12/23/98 (0)

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: : First STOP the Hartz food! Dry food, in my opinion, is only to be used when you absolutely have to do so. You need to be using fresh food with some occasional use of frozen (thaw it first) food. Once you start feeding her/him fresh vegetables you'll see a big change in her appetite! You will want to use leafy, dark green vegetables such as mustard greens, collard greens, curly mustard greens, escarole. Can also add to this green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce and other leafy vegetables but use it sort of as a "filler" because these aren't as nutritious for them. You wash off the greens then tear it up into bite size pieces. Since yours is still a baby I wouldn't try to use any part of the stem(s). : You don't have to use all these greens in one meal! You can choose one or two and add a different vegetable to it such as green zucchini or one of many types of squash. These help add water also. Squash needs to be grated before using. For a baby I would use a grater with the smaller holes so that it is finely shredded. As he gets older you can grate it larger. There are lots of other vegetables you can add to your greens. Review the Kaplan site for more vegetables that are good to use. : Your iguana will also enjoy and need a bit of fruit. For a baby you will have to dice and "smush" fruit up. Grapes are good if cut up into quarters then quarter again. Little pieces of apple...NO seeds they are poisonous. Chopped up strawberries, kiwi, mango, papaya. A few banana slices quartered. : I would start with one type of green + another vegetable+fruit. Just a small amount since this is a baby. If she/he will eat this, fine. If he/she becomes picky and refuses all but one thing, then mix it up so that to get what he/she wants she's going to have to eat something with it! : You will want to add some calcium supplement and vitamins to this but I've forgotten what the suggestion is for babies. (Ours are almost 5 and 4 years old now) : About the lighting........yep, Ziggy needs something to keep warm at night unless you are in a year round warm climate! Some people use those new ceramic lights that don't emit light. I have always used the special night lightbulbs made for reptiles. Our iguanas prefer the ones that put out a blue light. And you are right on the money about this lighting business being confusing! The thing with day lighting is to provide something that helps your iguana process calcium for his bones, etc. to prevent metabolic bone disease. The best possible thing you can do is provide your iguana with real sunshine for a few minutes (daily if possible) as often as possible...and more than a few minutes it's just that 20 minutes in the sun is worth more than ANY light no matter what it's manufacturer says! To take ours out when they were babies we used a birdcage! Escape proof! We've turned cold this week down here in Texas so we won't be "sunning" until it warms back up to at least the 70's. : You might want to pick up the January 99 issue of Reptiles magazine and check out the articles on iguanas. Lighting is probably covered (I don't remember right now) and there are ads in the mag for lights so you can see what it refers to in the article. : You will have to work patiently to get Ziggy to accept you and let you carry or hold him. It is a matter of time.......and a matter of trust on Ziggy's part. : Oops, almost forgot......is that light you refer to IN her cage where she might be able to touch it? Iguanas are very curious creatures and more than one has been burned "tasting" a light or touching one. Maybe someone else can help with this set up. I've got screen tops on my enclosures so that the lights sit on top of them where the igs can't touch them. : Good luck and happy holidays! If you have trouble getting Ziggy to eat after starting the fresh foods, jump back in here and folks can help you more. Most of us have experienced the picky eater syndrome......it is much like a 2 year old child! : My apologies to you and the forum for being so long winded! Was trying to be specific but that easily turns into rambling by me *grin*

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