Caught Green IGUANA

[P. Novak]

Alright, well I caught a green iguana, thats right caught in california. Must have been someones pet. Its only about 2 feet long. I have him setup in a 100 gal on end, lots of branches and plants. The only concern I have is his diet. What should his diet consist of, I've checked caresheets and such but I want experienced keepers thoughts here. What do you feed your iguana? I know its a herb. Thanks

 

[Galadriel]

Oh wow. This is quite a list...
Green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, spinach (occasionally), carrots, sweet potato, yellow squash, zuccini, mellons, figs, pommegranite, avacado in small doses, grapes, apples, bananas....
Just about any fruit and veggie is on the menu. He'she will let you know what they don't like. Avoid iceburg lettuce at all cost!!! It's nothing but crunchy water, no nutritional value. And no more than 5% citrus fruits.
Add a little vitamin powder every other day. They tend to like a quick soak in the tub, and, if you're lucky, will decide to use it as thier bathroom =)
WARNING: if it's a male, be prepared for rut when he reaches maturity. It's normally from January to March and they become NASTY! A guy in AZ tried to give me his several years ago because the docile family lizard went into rut and gave his owner 57 stitches! Get a toy stuffed Ig or a green towel, toss it in the cage and let him take out some frustrations. He WILL go back to normal =)
Avg heat should be 85F, give him a good mist every evening and you guys should do well. Oh, and make sure he h as natural branches to climb on to help with his nails....and that's way more info than you asked for :8o

Latha math an drasda

Galadriel

 

[P. Novak]

Thank you very much! If its a female will it go into rut? How do I tell what sex it is? Just vitamin powder, no calcium powder? I have both.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Thank you very much! If its a female will it go into rut?

If it's a female, you'll need to provide it somewhere to lay eggs (which it will do even if it hasn't mated, the eggs just won't hatch) or she could become eggbound and die. There's a fairly recent iguana thread here where we suspected someone's iggy of being eggbound, and there's a ton of info and links on the subject there. Also on how to set up a proper "nest".

I don't remember if the girls are prone to going crazy at certain times, just the eggbound part.

 

[Galadriel]

At a couple feet the best way to tell is to look at the femoral pores on the underside of it's thighs. Females will have a row of small "holes" running town to the knee, males will have larger femoral pores. You can probably do a google search to find something to comare them to. Yes, use the vitamin and calcium powder, but don't use to much. You can OD him/her on calcium and that's just as dangerous as not giving her enough. When they mature, males also have much larger jowels, dew lap and spikes. That critter could also get 6-7 feet, so be prepared =) If it's a female andd you're concerned about her becoming egg bound, you CAN have her spayed. Call your local herp vets and find out which of them will do it. Honestly, if you plan on keeping it, I'd suggest a routine vet visit anyway, just to be sure it's in good health.

Latha math an drasda

Galadriel

 

[KennyGee]

lol I caught a Jacksons chameleon when i was living in San Diego, i was looking around for fence swifts when i saw this green thing and i was :? :? :? holy Sh!t a CHAMELEON!!!!!!! BOY WAS I SUPRISED.

 

[Phyre102887]

Heres a site with info on igs.

http://www.greenigsociety.org/

 

[bugmankeith]

Take him to the vet asap to make sure he didnt contract any parasites or infection.

 

[Sequin]

Oh wow. This is quite a list...
Green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, spinach (occasionally), carrots, sweet potato, yellow squash, zuccini, mellons, figs, pommegranite, avacado in small doses, grapes, apples, bananas....
Just about any fruit and veggie is on the menu. He'she will let you know what they don't like. Avoid iceburg lettuce at all cost!!! It's nothing but crunchy water, no nutritional value. And no more than 5% citrus fruits.

First off, congrats on the find. I would not base his diet on alot of the fruits/veggies mentioned. Ratios of greens/veggies are also important. Anything with the word "lettuce" after it has no nutritional value. Here's a list of a much better staple diet

Kale, snap peas, green beans (mine doesn't like them, but experiment because they are a nutritious staple), mango, papaya, escarole, gai lon, watercress and endive. I would completely avoid citrus fruits. I'll give mine a few cherry tomatoes or red/orange peppers as a rare treat.( As in once a month) Don't just feed him any fruit or veggie! Iguanas need very specific diets. My food ratio is 80% greens, and 20 % fruits and veggies.

Like one user mentioned, www.greenigsociety.com
check these two links especially...

http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm
http://www.greenigsociety.org/feedingigs.htm