THE NATIONAL IGUANA AWARENESS DAY

IGUANA INFORMATION SHEETS

(Based on "Green Iguana: The Ultimate Owner's Manual" by J.W. Hatfield)

http://www.niad.org

Lights as a heat source have already been discussed … see above.

Despite those books that tell new owners they are supposed to feed iguanas crickets and meal worms at a young age, animal protein is very deadly to an iguana. An iguana has something called a hindgut, which contains bacteria that breaks down the cellulose or fiber in plants. They also do not have the saliva like humans that start to break down food on contact. Food does not digest until it reaches the bacterium. However, the bacterium can not break down the animal protein, so it just rots in the iguana's stomach. Over time a diet of animal protein will cause kidney failure in iguanas. This is currently one of the leading causes of death in iguanas.

Iguanas also do not chew, but use their teeth to perforate the leaves and plant matter. Because of this you must cut up bulky vegetables and greens into bite-sized pieces. Iguanas do have fun ripping up the leaves though. Try holding a whole collard green leaf in front of the iguana and watch it eat.

The main point to an iguanas diet is to have at least 2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus. In addition, the diet should have a good variety, meaning at least 5 types of greens, veggies, and fruit per feeding. Below are some examples.

GREENS

Spinach, swiss chard, kale, bok choy, and beet greens are high in oxalates and phytates. Although these foods are high in calcium, the oxalates and phytate molecules bind to calcium molecules and actually prevent the calcium from being used by the body. I suggest only using these foods occasionally.

VEGETABLES

 Kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and bok choy are cruciferous foods. These foods can inhibit iodine absorption, which can lead to goiter. You can include these in the iguana's diet, but sparingly. Foods with a very high phosphorus count should also be limited. These include corn, yams, potato, asparagus, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.

FRUITS 

Fruit should be limited due to their higher phosphorus content. The best fruits in this list are in the top row; raspberries, mango, figs, and papaya.

BAD FOODS

When housing an iguana you have several options: free-roaming, aquarium or terrarium, and enclosed habitat. When purchasing an iguana, you should never buy a 10-gallon aquarium. NIAD suggests a 55-gallon aquarium or larger terrarium to start, but you must consider the fact that this iguana will double in size the first year. To save money, you may want to invest in a good, larger cage up front.

No matter which option you choose, the following should be available to your iguana:

• Spacious
• Tall
• Proper heating
• Proper lighting
• Good ventilation
• Visibility
• Water for drinking and humidity levels
• Thermostats and timers
• Physical hazards should not be present
• Appropriate place to defecate (not by food)

If a cage is being used, place it in a place where the iguana can watch people, but not directly in front of a window that gets direct sunlight at any time during the day, or that is cold in the winter. During a sunny day, the heat can build up in the iguana's cage and leave it nowhere to go. The iguana could overheat and die. On the other hand, if you live in a cold climate the draft from the window would mess up any heating standard you have set up in your cage … especially if the cage is wire or metal. Also avoid heaters, air conditioners, and heat vents. These will also disrupt your temperature settings in the cage.

Iguanas also require approximately 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Some stores tell you to buy a blue light for your iguana, but some can actually be too light and disrupt sleep.

An iguana should also have climbing objects such as branches or pvc pipe wrapped with rope or outdoor carpet in the cage.

Metabolic Bone Disease - According to a survey compiled by James Hatfield, 80% of the problems seen by vets are MBD. This disease is caused by lack of calcium. Signs of MBD include a rubber jaw, broken or fractured bones, swollen back legs, muscle twitches and tremors, and lack of appetite. If any of the three most important factors (lighting, heating, high calcium diet) are missing, MBD is a great possibility. You could feed your iguana all the calcium rich vegetables there are, but without UVB the calcium is useless.

Worms - We all know what worms are. In many cases when you buy an iguana, it already has worms. A quick fecal check by a vet will tell you if your iguana has worms. Common signs include loss of appetite or refusal to eat, lethargy, mucus in feces, worms visible in feces, and more frequent than usual defecation.

Ticks - are slow moving, hard or soft bodied parasites that suck the blood of humans and reptiles. They start off very small, but in time after feeding they puff up and are more visible. Symptoms include excessive scratching, listlessness, shedding problems, or noticeable creatures crawling on the iguana.

So what do you look for when choosing an iguana? First, you have several places to get an iguana if you want one. These include reptile rescues, humane societies, herpetological society, newspaper, mail order, or pet store. In most cases when getting iguanas from the first 4 sources, you may not have access to the iguanas past care information, such as diet, heating, and lighting. However, you will give a needy iguana a home.

When you buy an iguana from a pet store, you need to educate yourself first. In many cases a pet store will not know how to care for iguanas or even what supplies to sell you. They may even sell you a sick iguana. The above information should help you when buying things for your iguana, but how can you tell if it is healthy?

Things to look for:

• Is the skin tight? If not it may be dehydrated or starving
• Is the iguana bright green? If not the iguana could be sick
• What is in the food bowl? Do you see crickets or mealworms? The type of food fed your iguana in the store could have a lasting effect on the iguana
• Is the tail just past the vent plump? This is where an iguana stores fat - if you can see the bones in the tail this iguana is starving or sick
• Do you see mucous coming out the nose or mouth?
• Is the jaw firm or do the top and bottom halves of the mouth not line up. If it is not firm, the iguana could have MBD
• Does the stomach look full?
• Is the iguana active, or is it lying at the bottom of the cage?

If you answered no to any of these questions, do not buy the iguana. A sick iguana may die within days or a few months. If you want this iguana to live to old age you will want one that is very healthy to start with.