revamped diet

rcently in another post i explained that my vigu7anas were ill due to stress ,and i was told to change there diet so here it is:

greens
1.5 cups of collard greens
1.5 cups of mustard greens
1 cup watercress

veggies
yellow squash
chayote squash
green beens
green peppers

fruit
apples
strawberries
kiwi

fruits and veggies = 1.5 to 2 cups also all are ran through a food proscessor veggies are given daily with greens fruits every other day. also for supplement i give repti cal calcium supplement3 times a week, bread bi weekly and esu iguana vitamin spray daily.

all comments encouraged thank you in advance for all helpful info

[IguanaKing]

The new diet looks good. ;D The vitamin supplements will be good until your igs are back in good health, and have been for a while. At that point, with a good diet (like what you are providing), the supplements can be eliminated. What are your cage temps? Remember, for sick iguanas, the temps should be increased by about 5 degrees over the normal temps.

For your fruits, you should also try feeding things like Bartlet Pears, and Papaya. If you ever hand-feed either of these two items though...watch your fingers.

I'm sure that others will add other items that are good for your ig, so you can vary the non-staple items regularly and not have your igs get bored with their food.

I'm glad to see you're using a food processor for your fruits and veggies. Green beans, especially, can give your ig an upset stomach if they are not in VERY small pieces, so a food processor is a great way to keep that from happening.

[prism_wolf]

Change the color of the peppers, too. Use red, orange or yellow. Try yellow wax beans in place of green beans on occassion.

Use dandelion as a core item if you can find healthy stock.

Fruits can be any of the berries...blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, etc.

Add nasturtiums...these are a pretty good flower for an addition. Daylily petals will help add color. Zair loves these.

These are just a few things...the list is pretty extensive. IK is right about the vitamins. Use them only until they're better.

[SurvivorSteph]

And make the greens a DAILY item; greens should be the bulk of your igs' diets, veggies come next, and of course fruit in small quantities.

I would also recommend lightly sprinkling NutriBac on the salad to help increase gut flora. You can get NutriBac at reptileuv.tripod.com/probiotics.htm.

Keep us updated on how they're progressing.

[WillemsMom]

Good revamping, iguanaboi. I'm sure you'll see positive results soon. I bet the flower petals that prism mentions would be a wonderful treat ;D

[WillemsMom]

Hi Sean, I've seen you refer to using a food processer often. When I tear up Willie's food I always wonder if I'm doing the right thing by him. Some of the pieces are pretty big..like a flat section of a tangerine. Other pieces like lima beans. Your thoughts?

[IguanaKing]

The tangerine should be ok in larger pieces Nancy. Lima beans are probably ok too, since they are the actual seed portion of a bean pod. I imagine they would break down in Will's stomach as easily as peas. With green beans, the pod itself is the problem, not the bean inside it, so I grind them up into really tiny pieces. If I don't do this, Hercules especially, seems to get a case of heartburn because he can't sleep and swallows repeatedly. Sometimes this still happens because a piece or two may have been left too large. When it does, I just slide a pillow under his chin to elevate his head, pet him, and he drifts right off to sleep.

Another advantage to the food processor is that it makes it impossible for your ig to pick out his favorite foods while ignoring ones he doesn't like so much, so he eats everything in the diet you are working so hard to provide. Your ig can also eat more of the processed food, since it makes more efficient use of space in his stomach.

[WillemsMom]

Many thanks, Sean, Willie dives into his food twice a day now, but I'll remember what you say.

How you love your igs is very special!

well my iguanas are alot better now they are super heavy and eat like there is no tomorrow lol the are getting there new enclosures built this weekend and now that its hot they go outside more. but i think for the most part they are happy. and btw i only plan on using the supplement daily til they are fully recovered.after that itll be weekly or bi weekly. and thank you all for your help toward saving my two green buddys.

[Tesa]

Hey Nance? Did I read wrong or did Sean?? lol
I read it that some items you were cutting to the size of lima beans and tangerine slices....or did you mean those specific foods?? I have a headache this morning and no coffee yet.......prolly me. lol