Animal protein theory

[MasterYoda]

Before I start this thread I want it to be known that I have not in the past nor now or even in the future plan to feed any animal protein to my iguana, however


I have been thinking lately and that tends to be dangerous to myself and others around me ;D But do you think that it is possible that wild iguanas get more animal protein than we think. Specifically in the form of larvae or even more specifically in the form of insect eggs. The reason that I bring this up is that not to long ago I worked in a hardware store that had a very nice garden center. When we received our trees we would have to treat them for insect eggs especially afid eggs. You could turn over a leaf of some of the trees and the whole back of the leaf was covered in little green eggs about the size of a period on your keyboard .......ther would be thousands of them on one leaf. After we treated them in a day or two they would shrivel up and die (the eggs I mean). However In the wild you cannot treat trees for these eggs well you could but I wouldn't recommend it the chemicals wouldn't be good for the iguanas. Anyway the point of all my ramblings is this.

It is known that iguanas in the wild are herbivores, but If wild untreated trees had eggs on leafs and iguanas ate the leafs then wouldn't that also mean that they are accidentally ingesting animal protein, and I have to tell you if there is a bad outbreak then they would be getting a lot of animal protein because the infestations can cover mostly every leaf on a tree and in the trees surrounding in just a little bit of no time.


Any-who this was just something that was on my mind that I thought I would share. Tell me what you're opinion is on this.

Like I said in the beginning IDO NOT NOW, EVER, OR IN THE FUTURE FEED ANIMAL PROTEIN!!! NOR AM I RECOMMENDING ANYONE ELSE DO IT!!! its just something I was thinking on.

[prism_wolf]

There have been scientific studies done on the stomach contents of wild iguanas. More often than not...they do NOT find bugs, larvae or eggs in iguana digestive tracts. Yes...there is a minimal amount found in some, but the majority has been what you would find in an herbivorous diet.

On the ingestion of those things mentioned...an iguana's system is much more efficient, healthier and well hydrated for the small amounts they may eat which enables them to flush the liver and kidneys as they should...unlike the constant state of dehydration captive igs tend to suffer... .

[MasterYoda]

ahhhh I see like I said it was just something that I have been pondering and I thought I would throw it out there

[Merlin]

You also have to consider that there is something lacking in the garden center that is very prevalent in the wild,...
Predators... that would be dining on the abundance of insect larvae and eggs and keeping them cleaned up and under contol.
The condition you were refering to, i.e. the entire plant being covered with eggs and larvae, in the wild, would be the equivalent of someone yelling come and get it. That is the reason that insects lay such an abundance of eggs is because there are all sorts of things that consume them.
I have no doubt that the iguana in the wild accidently consumes the occasional insect or two but it is nothing like the situation would be of a steady diet of it as was once suggested to keepers.

[MasterYoda]

Oh yeah I agree completely its amazing that so many iguanas actually survived what peope used to feed them

Dont get me wron when I was a newbie before i started realy reseaching i listend to my pet store and tried live crickets freeze dried meal worms and the works but my igs never would touch them so i guess in a way I cannot say that I NEVER have tried it, So I quit wasting my money on insects. That is pretty much when I started researching on my own. Hell I thought that there was something wrong with them because they wouldnt eat that stuff. but come to find out It was me that there was something wrong with for not doing my own research.