Sneezing a lot

[Psygirl]

Hi!

I know Iggs sneeze mostly to excrete salt. My Little green dinosaur is sneezing a lot and the front glass of the enclosure is always sprinkled with white dots and a bit of white dust at the bottom. I'm not sure if it's normal. And if it is not, it's probably from its food.

I wish I could explain to you the diet I keep him on, but I can't match the English and the Portuguese food names. The only one's I know are green beans, pumpkin, chicory (not regular). I never give him lettuce. Occasionally I give him carrot. He doesn't seem to go much for fruit.

I give him very often a dark green leafy thing that was recommended as great for iggs by the vet and the pet shop (lucky to have found one in my town with a great section of reptiles and other exotic animals with people that care about them and that know what they are doing www.zooexotico.com - it's in Portuguese but just by looking you can see why I love them, they even have their own forum for costumers and it works!!).

Next weekend I'm going to buy alfalfa leaves and dandelion leaves (not sold at the supermarket).

Occasionally I add exoterra juvenile Iggy food to the fresh vegetables.

I always mix at least 3 different kinds of greens and they vary depending on availability on the supermarket.
Every other day I supplement his food with a sprinkle of reptivite.

Bottom line: am I doing anything wrong?

Tania

[Drako's Mom]

Tania,

I don't know if this will help, but I found these links to images of some of the most important greens. Maybe you can match the pictures with the Portuguese names for them

Mustard Greens:
www.hormel.com/kitchen/images/refimages/seasonedinsight/fruit_veggies/greens/greens_curlmustard.jpg

Collard Greens:
www.hormel.com/kitchen/images/refimages/seasonedinsight/fruit_veggies/greens/greens_collard.jpg

Turnip Greens:
www.foodsubs.com/Photos/turnipgreen.jpg

What you describe about the sneezing, and the white stuff, sounds normal.

Carmen

[IguanaKing]

Tania,

Is that dark, leafy thing collard greens maybe? Are you able to post a photo of this leaf? If its collard greens, you are feeding your ig one of the BEST foods a captive ig can eat. Or can I find a photo of it on the site you linked? I don't know Portuguese, but I'm very good with Spanish, so I think I can muddle through it since the languages are so similar. If he's sneezing every 10 minutes or so...yup...its normal. Glass cleaner is another item that ig parents spend a lot of money on. ;D

[SurvivorSteph]

The best thing to feed him is couve... as long as it's smooth leaves (collard greens) and not curly (kale) ones.

a couve e bacalhau is one of my FAVORITE Portuguese meals.

Oh, the sneezing is how they eliminate extra salt from their body... it's very normal.

[Psygirl]

Thanks everyone!!!


The pics helped a lot.

I hadn't found a translation for collard, but by the pics Carmen put here and with steph' s confirmation it is couve! a very traditional vegetable in Portuguese cuisine that I usually get from my grandparent's backyard . And, Steph. if you like "bacalhau e couve" (traditional Christmas eve dinner in Portugal) you are going to love "roupa velha". Literally it means "old clothes" and it's the left overs of bacalhau com couve (any decent Portuguese family will cook for at least twice the people expected ) passed on olive oil and garlic in the frying pan the next day. It's sort of a dying habit these days but grandma still does it for me 'cause she knows I love it!

Back to the subject, the basis of my little green dinosaur' diet is collard greens (that I can get pretty much all year) and green beans and then some other stuff, rucula, chicory, radiccio, canonigos, pumpkin, some fresh aromatic herbs with small leafs (ocasionally, he loves it) that I try to vary as much as I can.

I found a translation for turnip and the pic also helped and it's available at most supermarkets and I wasn't using it because I didn't kow if it was ok.

Mustard... no match. The only Portuguese thing I know by the name mustarda is a yellow mush like mayo, that people put on sandwiches, but that I personally only use for cleaning yellow metals. Too yucky for my taste.

About the sneezing I know it's normal and healthy, but I just didn't know how much of it was normal.

The 10 minutes or so information was very reassuring 'cause now I know he's within standards.

Maybe it would help if I new more about food. I can do all sorts of things around the house, but I hate the kitchen, the cooking to be more precise. So I wont go near a pan even if I'm starving. Spending 30-40 min preparing something to spend another 15 min eating eat so I can spend another 30-40 min cleaning after it, is just not something I can relate to.

But...
... Little green dinosaur gets freshly cut and mixed greens and veggies every morning.

Like I said on another post they really have a wicked grip on us (me)!

Thanks so so much!!!

Tania

[IguanaKing]

Mustarda is a good match actually, it is made with the crushed seeds of the mustard plant, which also produces the calcium-rich mustard greens. The south-eastern region of the US has a history of using mustard greens as a food item, so it is something which is available in many places in the US. Just as a bit of trivia about mustard, the condiment or mush, in addition to cleaning yellow metals, it is also EXCELLENT in easing the pain of a skin burn.

Sean

[SurvivorSteph]

psygirl said:

I hadn't found a translation for collard, but by the pics Carmen put here and with steph' s confirmation it is couve! a very traditional vegetable in Portuguese cuisine that I usually get from my grandparent's backyard . And, Steph. if you like "bacalhau e couve" (traditional Christmas eve dinner in Portugal) you are going to love "roupa velha". Literally it means "old clothes" and it's the left overs of bacalhau com couve (any decent Portuguese family will cook for at least twice the people expected ) passed on olive oil and garlic in the frying pan the next day. It's sort of a dying habit these days but grandma still does it for me 'cause she knows I love it!

We never have any left over! It seems like the entire family (aunts, uncles, cousins) come over when mom makes it! Well, there may be a little left over... just enough for ONE person to have it the next day. I'm going to tell mom about cooking the left overs in the frying pan.

Every Christmas Eve we (Grandma, Mom, and me) make bolas de bacalhau (codfish balls), they're made with cod, mashed potatoes, and green onion rolled into bite-sized balls and deep fried. Those are my all time favorite!

Now to bring this post back on-topic... ;D I'm glad that you have access to couve all year long. No matter what else you feed, make sure they are a part of everyday's meal.

[Psygirl]

Sean,

In Portugal I have never heard of using mustard greens in cooking, just the mush. and since I've learned they would be good for the little green dinosaur, I've been looking, but haven't found any yet.

As for burns I prefer to put it in cold water and then raw eggs or fenistil. Never ever ever use tooth paste (an advice mom got a couple of years ago and that a friend of ours found out first hand to be VERY wrong).

[IguanaKing]

Hmmm...I'll have to give your remedy a try some time when I get burned, Tania, that happens pretty often at work. But the mustard works pretty well too, makes the pain go away and it goes into your skin, so the relief lasts for a while. I just walk around smelling a little funny. If you ever find the mustard greens, your baby dinosaur will dive into them, my igs LOVE mustard greens. The only problem is that I can't always find them in good enough condition.

[Psygirl]

Still about the burns, the water is important to cut down the heat, because if you don't cool it down the burning process continues even after you pulled away from whatever caused the burn. The eggs idea it's pretty simple, the white part is a sort of placenta designed to nourish forming tissues. It makes sense that it will also be useful in repairing damaged tissues.
Or you can go ITech and buy a spray that paramedics call "plastic skin" (applied after washing with water or sodium chloride isotonic solution).

I know this is off topic, but I feel very strongly about preserving the health of my Iggy Intel sources.

[IguanaKing]

Its OK if we stray from the topic a little, because a lot of this science also applies to our iggies. I agree, I always use the cold water right after the burn happens because of how your skin continues to cook if the temps aren't brought down.

[Drako's Mom]

I learned about the mustard remedy for burns almost 20 years ago - Working in a restaurant, bad grill burn, I went for the cold water, my boss pulled a gallon jar of mustard out of the fridge - and just plunged my hand right down in the jar. The combination of the mustard & it being ice cold really made it feel good.

Back on topic, Drako REALLY likes Cilantro too, also known as Coriander or Chinese Parsley. ;D

[prism_wolf]

All of these items are very good foods. The first 3-5 should be part of the
core diet.

Todos estes artigos são alimentos muito bons. O primeiro 3-5 devem
ser parte da dieta do núcleo.

Collard Greens - verdes do collard
Mustard Greens – verdes da mostarda
Turnip Greens - verdes do nabo
Dandelion Greens – verdes de dandelion
Arugula – Arugula
Acorn squash – squash de bolota
Summer Squash - squash do verão
Green Bean - feijão verde
Cilantro – cilantro
Red Bell Pepper - pimenta de sino vermelha
Yellow Bell Pepper - pimenta de sino amarela
Yellow Wax Bean - feijão amarelo da cera
Sweet Potato - batata doce
Beet Greens - verdes de beterraba
Grape Leaves - folhas da uva
Grape - uva

I have a data base of several languages...I used a language translating site and from what I've been told, these translations are good...so I hope they help... It's not all the translations, but this is a very good diet to use.

[Psygirl]

Hi!

Thanks!!

I've made a few updates, because as far as food names go most dictionaries aren't that much of a help. Maybe they can be usefull for someone else. and I added a few questions of my own.

Todos estes artigos são alimentos muito bons. Os primeiros 3-5 devem ser parte da dieta principal.

Collard Greens - couve portuguesa or couve galega (so as folhas)
Mustard Greens – verdes da mostarda
Turnip Greens - verdes do nabo / nabiças
Dandelion Greens – folhas de dente-de-leão
Arugula – Arugula
Acorn squash – squash de bolota (no match)
Summer Squash - squash do verão (no match)

Green Bean - feijão verde
Cilantro – coentros??? - is this a very aromatic green herb, with leafs with very irregular edges, that it's usually used fresh?
Red Bell Pepper - pimento vermelho
Yellow Bell Pepper - pimento amarelo
Yellow Wax Bean - feijão amarelo da cera (no match)

Sweet Potato - batata doce
Beet Greens - folhas de beterraba
Grape Leaves - folhas da uva
Grape - uva
pumpkin - abobora or abobora-menina
(what you call squash is what's inside the pumpkin???)
spinach - espinafres
carrot - cenoura
watermelon - melancia
cucumber - pepino
endives - endivias
apple - maçã
peach - pessego
strawberries- morango (fresa-spanish)

[prism_wolf]

Cilantro – coentros??? - is this a very aromatic green herb, with leafs with very irregular edges, that it's usually used fresh?

Yes...very aromatic. My husband loves the smell of it when I make the ig salad.

pumpkin - abobora or abobora-menina (what you call squash is what's inside the pumpkin???)

Squash describes many different types. The "flesh" is what is on the inside of the squash. With all squash that is edible, the peel is also. shred it all at once. The skin holds an amazing amount of vitamins.

Thank you SO much for the updated version of this list!! I am forever trying to better the data that I collect. You've helped me immensely with this...