What do iguanas eat?

Iguanas DO NOT EAT MEAT meaning NO crickets!!!

Iguanas are herbivores, animals who eat only plant matter.

Daily food should have 5-7 good staple greens (2-3 cups a day if not more younger igs may eat less then 1/4 cup) ... collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens (if you can find), endive, radicchio, arugula, mache (if you can find), watercress ... some greens to give occasionally kale, bok choy, escarole ... adding basil for young igs sometimes helps them eat ... romaine is mostly water no nutrience, you can add small amount and occasionally in w/ the good staple greens (collard, mustard, etc) but do not make romaine just your iguanas choice of greens (or any other type of lettuce most of us humans eat) ... some things to add (small amounts) snap peas, bell peppers (every now and then), parsnip, sweet potato/yam, acorn squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash ... fruits should only be given every now and then once or twice a week type of thing fruits are like junk food to iguanas ... some fruits to try papay, kiwi, mango, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, honeydew (great water source), canalope (great water source), 12 grain wheat bread ... if anything has seeds make sure you remove seed before you give it to your iguana anything w/ small seeds like strawberries wait like 3 days before giving anymore ... watermelon (seedless) can be frozen and then shaved onto your iguanas food helps w/ hydration everyday ... there are some foods that aren't good for your iguana: spinach has oxalate acids bind to the calcium, so even though spinach is high in calcium, almost none is actually available for the iguana to use, also the oxalate acids can form oxalate crystals which can and do build up in the kidneys causing kidney damage/failure ... some ig owners do give there ig spinach but in very small amounts and only once a month ... corn igs can not digest ... carrots can block calcium absorption ... bananas are low in calcium best to give another type of fruit ... apples too much acid - appetite suppressant ... food should be cut/chopped/diced no bigger then the iguanas head, if they are small having a chopper chop them up, or slice them into very small pieces ... spray/mist food to help w/ water/hydration

Besides food, you need to provide UVB ( http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm - http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttuberesults.ht... - http://www.uvguide.co.uk/whatreptilesneed.htm ), humidity, a young iguana should not live in anything smaller then a 55 gallon tank and that will only last 8-12 months of age by the time the iguana is an adult enclosure should be 6-7ft tall x 8-10ft long x 4ft wide ... enclosure needs to be at least 1.5-2 times it's total length

floor covering ... BAD floor covering: bark, dirt, moss, sand, pellets are all bad ... at some point your iguana will try and lick swallow and then possibly cause blockage which will then need to be surgically removed or possibly death ... SAFE floor covering: newspaper (unprinted), paper towels, towels, vinyl flooring, indoor/outdoor carpeting - if you have any lose fibers from the carpeting or the towels please remove and replace - unprinted newspaper if you possibly can use is safer just in case your ig likes to try and eat the newspaper some ink may contain soy

Sites for you to read:

http://www.greenigsociety.org/ - http://www.iguanaden.org/ - http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html

A great book to read and have on hand:

Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan

Yahoo has some great sites for Iguana owners... these groups helped me and still help w/ questions .. if you'd like to join:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BabyIguana/ - http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/IguanaDen/

I can only assume you are living in Florida as this is the only place I can think of where one may find an iguana running loose. If it IS an iguana, then there are several answers posted here which are completely wrong.

Iguanas are strict herbivores, they do not eat bugs or other animals. Also, most lettuces are pretty worthless as far as nutrition goes (but can be good for hydration, but that's about it).

Iguanas need a staple diet of leafy greens (not to be confused with lettuce) such as Turnip Greens, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Alfalfa, and so on. This needs to be mixed in with fruits and other veggies. Please see this food chart: http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

It is also extremely important that an iguana has the right conditions in its enclosure. They need a LOT of space both to move and CLIMB in. An enclosure needs to be about six feet high and at the very least 4 feet wide. It needs a basking spot between 80-90 degrees to properly digest. It also needs to be able to get out of the heat if it wishes. You also need to make the air in its enclosure pretty humid as they get a lot of their water from the humid air they live in naturally.

Hope this helps, and good luck! Iguanas can become wonderful companions!

What Do Iguanas Eat

They eat lots of veggies and fruit but watch out what you give them. No iceberg lettuce because it has no nutrients and NO MEAT at all. Its also good that you handle them a lot or they get aggressive.

They eat red leaf and green leaf lettuce chopped carrots strawberries mustrard greens collard greens...basically a variety of fruits and veggies just dont give them iceberg lettuce....

also please make found posters for it....losing a reptile can hurt just as much as losing a dog...his family prolly misses him.

iguanas tend to eat lettuce some fruit some are known to eat pinky mice and crickets..

http://drexotic.com/care_iguanas.htm

http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/iguana.html

r u sure its an iguana?

roman lettuce ,cricket's,pieces of apples , bugs moths ,fruits

crickets babymice lettuce