Ponder this while you are frustrated :) Re: Frustrated ig owner!!

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Posted by Xine on July 29, 2001 at 16:16:13:

In Reply to: Frustrated ig owner!! posted by j on July 28, 2001 at 01:17:42:

Hey, we all started there, welcome to the wide world of information. When I started with iguanas, I firmly believed that MK was the be all and end all of iguana information. Then, I expanded out. I have done a 90 degree turn (not a full 180 :) in the care of my shelter igs. My own experiences and observations dictated iguana care. I love my Active UV Bulbs and I will never, ever go back to the tube bulbs. The critters here have never been so healthy. They look good, feed bills are astronomical, great color, blood panels are outstanding. MK thinks they are awful, but she has never used them by her own admission, and her "comparison chart" uses outdated information and essentially compares apples to batteries.
I have a theory on iguana food that I am hammering out even now, I think we are feeding way too many starches (parsnip, carrot, sweet potato, yucca, pasta, rice etc). How did I arrive at this? Simple, I looked at other hind-gut fermenters. Cows, rabbits, horses all get gastro-intestinal tract stasis (AKA colic) if they are fed diets too high in starch/grains/carbs. This is can be fatal, and even if it doesn't kill them, significantly weakens them. I also firmly believe that we are over feeding calcium. Most people will disagree, but urates are calcium. If it is being excreted in large amounts, it is doing kidney damage. Is this caused by dehydration? Maybe, I am still working on this idea, as it is something that smacked me about two months ago while dealing with my breeder rabbits (needed consistent food source for pythons). Iguanas are extremely efficient at digesting their food, 40% is the number that I have heard most frequently. That said, they are designed to take in food constantly, similar to the way cows/horses/rabbits do. By making their diets too rich we may be doing them a great disservice. High roughage diets may be the way to go, lots of greens, and not much else. Will this idea prove out? I think so, but it will be years before anyone will be able to provide a concrete answer, and even then, their will still be a lot of questions.
Sorry for raising even more questions. The only answer I can give you is to use your brain. Read a lot, compare information, and never accept blindly what an 'expert' says. You have to think and research for yourself. YOu will learn nothing if you are not willing to open your mind to new ideas.

Xine
(Christine Lynn)
Second Chance Reptile Rescue and Rehabilitation
Jacksonville, Florida
Adoptions and Educational Talks

: Hello all- this is just a frustration post. I have spent about 3 hours surfing the web tonight for iguana info. I have visited over 15 sites. What I am frustrated with is the conflicting ideas about iguana care. For example, some people swear by the MK salad, while others say no, use the Iguana Den Diet, some say the Active UVHeat bulb is the best while others say it isn't, and so on and so on. It is frustrating because I don't know if something I am doing today that I think is helping my ig, is really going to hurt it in the long run. Anybody else feel like this at times, or am I the oddball? Thanks for listening.

Second Chance Reptile Rescue and Rehabilitation

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: Hey, we all started there, welcome to the wide world of information. When I started with iguanas, I firmly believed that MK was the be all and end all of iguana information. Then, I expanded out. I have done a 90 degree turn (not a full 180 :) in the care of my shelter igs. My own experiences and observations dictated iguana care. I love my Active UV Bulbs and I will never, ever go back to the tube bulbs. The critters here have never been so healthy. They look good, feed bills are astronomical, great color, blood panels are outstanding. MK thinks they are awful, but she has never used them by her own admission, and her "comparison chart" uses outdated information and essentially compares apples to batteries. : I have a theory on iguana food that I am hammering out even now, I think we are feeding way too many starches (parsnip, carrot, sweet potato, yucca, pasta, rice etc). How did I arrive at this? Simple, I looked at other hind-gut fermenters. Cows, rabbits, horses all get gastro-intestinal tract stasis (AKA colic) if they are fed diets too high in starch/grains/carbs. This is can be fatal, and even if it doesn't kill them, significantly weakens them. I also firmly believe that we are over feeding calcium. Most people will disagree, but urates are calcium. If it is being excreted in large amounts, it is doing kidney damage. Is this caused by dehydration? Maybe, I am still working on this idea, as it is something that smacked me about two months ago while dealing with my breeder rabbits (needed consistent food source for pythons). Iguanas are extremely efficient at digesting their food, 40% is the number that I have heard most frequently. That said, they are designed to take in food constantly, similar to the way cows/horses/rabbits do. By making their diets too rich we may be doing them a great disservice. High roughage diets may be the way to go, lots of greens, and not much else. Will this idea prove out? I think so, but it will be years before anyone will be able to provide a concrete answer, and even then, their will still be a lot of questions. : Sorry for raising even more questions. The only answer I can give you is to use your brain. Read a lot, compare information, and never accept blindly what an 'expert' says. You have to think and research for yourself. YOu will learn nothing if you are not willing to open your mind to new ideas. : Xine : (Christine Lynn) : Second Chance Reptile Rescue and Rehabilitation : Jacksonville, Florida : Adoptions and Educational Talks : : Hello all- this is just a frustration post. I have spent about 3 hours surfing the web tonight for iguana info. I have visited over 15 sites. What I am frustrated with is the conflicting ideas about iguana care. For example, some people swear by the MK salad, while others say no, use the Iguana Den Diet, some say the Active UVHeat bulb is the best while others say it isn't, and so on and so on. It is frustrating because I don't know if something I am doing today that I think is helping my ig, is really going to hurt it in the long run. Anybody else feel like this at times, or am I the oddball? Thanks for listening.

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