My Pet green iguana wont eat! how do I make him fat again?

i have a baby green iguana, ive only had him for about a week, he was really fat when i got him, now hes sooo skinny, aned i take him out with me everywhere I go, here its all greens and plants, I give him lettuce and fruit, I ve even tried gerber, but he will eat every day, but inly flowers! I got him from the wild, from here at the beach, and he seems fine, he doesnt even wanna run away, but hes reaallllly skinny! I feed him everything, but its like hes nto eating, he does but is skinny. What do I do, cuz this is getting real bad

My Pet green iguana wont eat! how do I make him fat again?
First have you ever taken your iguana to a herp/reptile vet? If not you need to, have a fecal done to find out if he/she has any parasites. Your iguana may also have mites. Vet should give med that will get rid of the mites.



Second, your igs diet sucks. When feeding baby food to an iguana it should only be baby food such as prunes, squash, sweet potato ... nothing added but water. No other type of baby food like rice, chicken etc etc.

You need to provide food over night, some young igs will only eat when us humans are not around. You should provide food at least in the morning and at night before lights out. Also may want to change out the food dish, use a plastic lid instead, he/she may or may not be able to see the food.



Young iguana (8-12 months of age) should not live in anything smaller the a 55 gallon tank. Smaller the tank you can not process the correct temps threw out. Enclosure needs to be at least 1.5-2 times it's total length ... an adult you will need a space of 6-7ft tall x 8-10ft long x 4ft wide.

Temps:

never let drop below 70F ...

basking 92-96F if temp is too low digestion is slowed too high food digests too fast and nutrition is lost

medium/middle (overall) 88-92F

cool 75-84F

at night 73-84F ... having a temp gun works the best to know what your igs body temp truly is.

UVB:

US: ReptiSun 10.0 distance 8-10 inches from your igs body

Repti Glo 8.0 distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

ReptiSun 5.0 distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

UK: Arkadia distance 6-8 inches from your igs body

- You will need to adjust the distance as your ig grows

- Using a shop light from a home improvement store works the best, get one that has 2 tube plugs and using 2 UVB tubes

- The UVB listed are in tube form, using the 36-48inch tubes are the best more length for your ig

- Surface under the UVB tube lights need to be a flat surface if at an angle your igs body will not get the proper UVB threw out

- There are UVB's out there on the market now that can cause eye damange to your ig

- W/out UVB your ig may end up w/ MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease)

- UVB information that you may find interesting:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm - http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttube... - http://www.uvguide.co.uk/whatreptilesnee...

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

Humidity:

Iguanas are tropical they need humidity. Spraying/Misting a few times a day will add some humidity. You can use a humidifier/vaporizor to also help w/ humidity. You should at least allow your iguana to soak in the bath tub at least every day to every other day, plus he/she will learn to use the bath tub as his/her restroom.

Food:

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

Animal protein:

Iguanas are plant eaters, they should not be feed any animal protein. No meat, no dairy, no tofo. If you ever give your ig iguana diet dried food, please read the ingredients there are so many products on the market today that clearly puts meat protein in there ingredients, usually w/ in the first 10 ingredients.

Vet:

When you get an iguana you should take your ig to a herp/reptile vet that knows about iguanas. Just for a new pet check over. Your ig may have mites, parasites or other nasty things carried from the pet store. Plus if anything was to happen you know who to call w/out looking threw the phone book hoping you find a vet who knows something about iguanas.



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/BabyI... - http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Iguan...
Reply:Your iguana may be dehydrated and that's why he isn't eating. It's very easy for one of these guys to get dehydrated, even if you are feeding them water.



You may want to visit a vet in your community that works with exotic pets. He or she can inject fluids into your iguana to get him hydrated again. Don't put this off because if he's skinny, he's not doing well.



Good luck and hope this helps!



raised chameleons
Reply:You need to take him to the vet. Taking an animal from the wild isn't always a good thing, but he may make it if cared for properly. If he needs any injections for any reason, the vet can do so. It's very important to take any animal to the vet. He could be sick, dehydrated... anything.
Reply:holy cow