Re: changing ig diet: good or bad?

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Posted by PH Meliss on April 03, 2003 at 16:46:52:

In Reply to: changing ig diet: good or bad? posted by shortydsm on April 03, 2003 at 13:42:26:

:Ok, I have heard (I dont remember from where) that it is really bad to change your igs diet. Is this true?

Changing from a bad or incomplete diet to a good one is never bad. Any change is stressful to an iguana, whether or not it affects them directly. Move them to a new, super-deluxe iguana condo: stress. Go away on a business trip: stress. Move their enclosure to a different room, or different place in the same room: stress. So, while stress is generally something to be avoided, in some cases, it can't be avoided and may, as in the case of improving the diet, even be necessary. Fortunately, all of these types of stressors are temporary: the iguana will get used to the changed situation and so will no longer be stressed by it.

:Before I adopted my ig (2.5 wks ago) he was being fed collard/mustard greens, tomatoes, zuchini, carrots & cucumber. Since I took him in, I have been adding yellow summer squash, spinach, dandelion leaves, and the occasional serving of grapes & strawberries to his diet & I took out the cucmber & tomatoes.

Zucchini has about as much nutrition as cucumbers. Spinach is high in oxalates which both bind calcium (and so preventing its uptake by the body) and causes mineralization of the soft tissues, including organs. Grapes aren't as healthy a choice as some other fruits.

If you haven't already read it, please read my Iguana Care, Feeding & Socialization article. It goes into some length about diet construction, including problematic foods.

:He seems to like this "new" diet better than the old one, but I am unsure if it is bad for him that I changed it a little bit.

Since you are only removing some of the foods and adding some others, and not making a 100% change, you can make the changes all at once, especially if he's willingly chowing down on it. The concern about gut upset when changing diets pertains more to animals fed commercial diets, such as dogs and cats. Even igs who were eating primarily a lettuce and fruit cocktail diet can be switched right away to a proper diet without concern.

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PH Meliss
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Iguanas for Dummies
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