Iggy Info

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Posted by nanci on February 23, 2002 at 06:16:24:

In Reply to: the truth about iguanas... posted by vicky on February 23, 2002 at 05:53:35:

: How many of you will give advice to new iguana owners about the diet of an iguana based on information you have learned here or on other websites. I am one of those. But what if everybody is stuck in a vicious circle where we are constantly sharing stale info.
: What is the truth about iguanas then. I buy mine in a petshop(SORRY, DIDNT REALISE AT THE TIME :( wont happen again) they advise me to feed him vegetables and the occasional insect is no problem. I then found this site and everybody told me that iguanas have a strict diet and are only allowed specific vegetables, no meat. Then why is it that when I bought a book obout lizards, it says that iguanas are partially meat eaters although MOSTLY vegetarian.
: I then went to to vet thismorning for a checkup (everything was fine with Columbus and he suspects a male :) ) He asked me what I was feeding him and I listed some of the veggies advised to me from here. He then told me to feed him anything basically and that cat food was a good idea. He did say that he should be fed mostly vegetables, but not specific ones and that basically, egg,pasta, catfood,mealworms were okay occasionally. I did doubt this information so I phoned another vet afterwards (both were reptile vets) and got the same advice from her.

: I'm not saying that everyone on this forum is wrong about it, I'm just curious why at a petshop, a book, and two vets tell me he can eat meat, but the internet says he cant.

Find yourself a good up to date source about iguanas. When I first got mine, I borrowed a book at the library. It said you can have one person hold one end of the ig and one hold the other if you want to tear part of its tail off.
It also said if your ig is sick you can put it in the freezer to kill it. The book was written in the '60's when people didn't know very much about iguanas. It should be taken off the shelf. Regular vets don't often know much about reptiles, or sometimes other "exotics". When I had my birds, I took them in for a beak trim and they cut it straight across. That is a death sentence for a bird who uses the pointed beak to break open seeds. They had to call in an avian specialist who filed it to a point.

Pet stores are in the business of SELLING. They don't give diddly what they sell.

And, yes, you can get bad advice on the Internet, too. You have no clue whether it's an 11-year old behind the name or someone who has studied igs.

I go to a website on AOL. It's run by Melissa Kaplan. She wrote the book Iguanas for Dummies, which is a current book. She's an expert in vet care. We have some other people over there -- herp rescuers, Henry Lizardlover (who also wrote a book on ig care) and other people who have benefitted from years of experience taking care of igs.

You have to read it all and mostly decide what's good and what's not. Giving an ig cat, dog or monkey food will succeed in giving you a fat iguana. Those foods are formulated for cats, dogs and monkeys, not igs. Igs live in trees and eat leaves, berries, etc. They probably do eat an occasional insect.

I will tell you. I have put a bug or two in front of my ig just to see what would happen. He ignored it. I've put meat in front of him -- he ignored it. But, he will eat some scrambled egg. He loves them and I do give him a bit once a week with his dried alfalfa and smashed up calcium tablets (he won't eat them in anything else).

People tend to believe what they want or what's easiest, I guess.

nanci

Follow Ups:

I would stop with the eggs.... xta 02/23/02 (9)
- Xta............ nanci 02/23/02 (8)
  - Books Craig Loose 02/23/02 (6)
    - a book is only as good as the education the author posesses n/m Ig Chick 02/23/02 (1)
      - ....and experience (more) xta 02/23/02 (0)
    - Re: Books JNelson 02/23/02 (3)
      - Re: Books Craig Loose 02/23/02 (2)
        
        Actually........... nanci 02/24/02 (1)
        
        Re: Actually........... Craig Loose 02/24/02 (0)
  - :-) n/m xta 02/23/02 (0)

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: : How many of you will give advice to new iguana owners about the diet of an iguana based on information you have learned here or on other websites. I am one of those. But what if everybody is stuck in a vicious circle where we are constantly sharing stale info. : : What is the truth about iguanas then. I buy mine in a petshop(SORRY, DIDNT REALISE AT THE TIME :( wont happen again) they advise me to feed him vegetables and the occasional insect is no problem. I then found this site and everybody told me that iguanas have a strict diet and are only allowed specific vegetables, no meat. Then why is it that when I bought a book obout lizards, it says that iguanas are partially meat eaters although MOSTLY vegetarian. : : I then went to to vet thismorning for a checkup (everything was fine with Columbus and he suspects a male :) ) He asked me what I was feeding him and I listed some of the veggies advised to me from here. He then told me to feed him anything basically and that cat food was a good idea. He did say that he should be fed mostly vegetables, but not specific ones and that basically, egg,pasta, catfood,mealworms were okay occasionally. I did doubt this information so I phoned another vet afterwards (both were reptile vets) and got the same advice from her. : : I'm not saying that everyone on this forum is wrong about it, I'm just curious why at a petshop, a book, and two vets tell me he can eat meat, but the internet says he cant. : : Find yourself a good up to date source about iguanas. When I first got mine, I borrowed a book at the library. It said you can have one person hold one end of the ig and one hold the other if you want to tear part of its tail off. : It also said if your ig is sick you can put it in the freezer to kill it. The book was written in the '60's when people didn't know very much about iguanas. It should be taken off the shelf. Regular vets don't often know much about reptiles, or sometimes other "exotics". When I had my birds, I took them in for a beak trim and they cut it straight across. That is a death sentence for a bird who uses the pointed beak to break open seeds. They had to call in an avian specialist who filed it to a point. : Pet stores are in the business of SELLING. They don't give diddly what they sell. : And, yes, you can get bad advice on the Internet, too. You have no clue whether it's an 11-year old behind the name or someone who has studied igs. : I go to a website on AOL. It's run by Melissa Kaplan. She wrote the book Iguanas for Dummies, which is a current book. She's an expert in vet care. We have some other people over there -- herp rescuers, Henry Lizardlover (who also wrote a book on ig care) and other people who have benefitted from years of experience taking care of igs. : You have to read it all and mostly decide what's good and what's not. Giving an ig cat, dog or monkey food will succeed in giving you a fat iguana. Those foods are formulated for cats, dogs and monkeys, not igs. Igs live in trees and eat leaves, berries, etc. They probably do eat an occasional insect. : I will tell you. I have put a bug or two in front of my ig just to see what would happen. He ignored it. I've put meat in front of him -- he ignored it. But, he will eat some scrambled egg. He loves them and I do give him a bit once a week with his dried alfalfa and smashed up calcium tablets (he won't eat them in anything else). : People tend to believe what they want or what's easiest, I guess. : nanci

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