More on diet, plus my "Banana Trick" I use

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Posted by Diana on November 13, 2001 at 17:55:00:

In Reply to: Will do, thanks for the input... posted by Chris H on November 13, 2001 at 14:49:37:

:::Seems like the diet of igi's changes every year. A few years ago, Romaine was a must. I'm glad people do the research and find more benificial alternatives. I'll definently get him on on new diet.

Chris, I think it's great how well you took our suggestions for changing the romain lettuce to other more nutritious greens. It's true--research changes often and so it's vital to be up on the latest info. Romaine lettuce has almost NO nutritional value (although it's slightly better than iceburg) and therefore, can't supply an iguana with the calcuim and other nutrients it needs to grow and be healthy.

Collard greens and mustard greens are VERY very high in calcuim as far as plants go, and therefore, should be fed as a staple. Igs love them, too. My iguanas prefer collard greens to almost anything--except over-ripe bananas.

Bananas should be just a treat, but when you do give them, it's fine to sprinkle them with supplements. My igs prefer to rip into a whole banana while I'm holding it over having me slice it up on their salad top. In fact, when my igs are not eating well, or seem to have no appetite, I peel an over-ripe banana, sprinkle the top with calcuim or other vitamins (just a bit, because my igs hate their vitamins and can tell when I'm using them on a banana to entice them) and hold it in front of their noses and they rip right into it.

Here's my little trick I do to make them eat:
When their mouths are open while chewing (be careful doing this, you can get bitten by accident) I hurry and stick some of their greens or veggies into their mouth. Once their "eating momentum" is up and they're in "eat mode" they will keep on eating whatever I place in their mouths. I only use this method of "force feeding" when they seem to not eat for a while, which sometimes happens with a changing in the weather. My male eats a lot less than my female does, and he often seems depressed so I have to use the "banana trick" quite often in the winter to make sure he's at least getting some food down on a daily basis.

Hope this idea will help you!
Diana

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: :::Seems like the diet of igi's changes every year. A few years ago, Romaine was a must. I'm glad people do the research and find more benificial alternatives. I'll definently get him on on new diet. : Chris, I think it's great how well you took our suggestions for changing the romain lettuce to other more nutritious greens. It's true--research changes often and so it's vital to be up on the latest info. Romaine lettuce has almost NO nutritional value (although it's slightly better than iceburg) and therefore, can't supply an iguana with the calcuim and other nutrients it needs to grow and be healthy. : Collard greens and mustard greens are VERY very high in calcuim as far as plants go, and therefore, should be fed as a staple. Igs love them, too. My iguanas prefer collard greens to almost anything--except over-ripe bananas. : Bananas should be just a treat, but when you do give them, it's fine to sprinkle them with supplements. My igs prefer to rip into a whole banana while I'm holding it over having me slice it up on their salad top. In fact, when my igs are not eating well, or seem to have no appetite, I peel an over-ripe banana, sprinkle the top with calcuim or other vitamins (just a bit, because my igs hate their vitamins and can tell when I'm using them on a banana to entice them) and hold it in front of their noses and they rip right into it. : Here's my little trick I do to make them eat: : When their mouths are open while chewing (be careful doing this, you can get bitten by accident) I hurry and stick some of their greens or veggies into their mouth. Once their "eating momentum" is up and they're in "eat mode" they will keep on eating whatever I place in their mouths. I only use this method of "force feeding" when they seem to not eat for a while, which sometimes happens with a changing in the weather. My male eats a lot less than my female does, and he often seems depressed so I have to use the "banana trick" quite often in the winter to make sure he's at least getting some food down on a daily basis. : Hope this idea will help you! : Diana

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