Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

SunSchein89 asked in PetsReptiles · 1 decade ago

WHY is cabbage bad for lizards?

Ok, so I know to avoid cabbage in most cases or to feed it very sparingly at the least. I see that it is normally grouped with lettuce when talked about as foods to avoid feeding. Is cabbage also mainly water and thus not very nutritious, or is it high in oxalates like spinach, or is there another reason behind this? An answer would be much appreciated since google didn't seem to want to turn up anything :).

2 Answers

Relevance
  • Thea
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    It contains goitrogens which can lead to thyroid problems if they are fed exclusively for a long period. Goitrogens interfer with the uptake of iodine. All cruciferous vegetables have goitrogens such as kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens as well. So you can feed cabbage, although it tends to not be favoured by many reptiles, but it must be in moderation and mixed with greens like dandelion, escarole etc that are not part of the Brassica group and therefore goitrogenic.

    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&db...

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    It would be the former. Lizard owners (particularly iguana owners) are often misinformed to feed their reptiles plants like cabbage and iceberg lettuce, and this only provides the lizard with water and other than that, has no nutritional value.

    Source(s): Could you answer my question please?
Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.