Food
Meat
The digestive system of an iguana is setup to digest vegetable products. It's not designed to digest meat. Over time the animal protein will kill your iguana. You may have read that young iguanas should have some small insects. This is simply not true. Current research shows that iguanas in the wild do not hunt animals or insects.
Leafy Foods
Leafy vegetables should make up the majority of your iguanas diet; about 2 thirds of his food intake should be in this form. By this I don't mean lettuce. I rarely, if ever, give any to my iguana. There is simply not enough nutritional value. Tare these leaves up to the size that you'd expect he would bite off on his own.
Vegetables
One third of his diet should be vegetables. Fresh are the best, but frozen can be substituted. Don't serve them frozen, Thaw them first or slightly warmed in the microwave. Don't use canned vegetables, few nutrients remain in them when they're drained.
Calcium
Calcium is extremely important for iguanas. They need it to keep their bones in good condition. You should add a supplement to their diet to boost the calcium intake. Without this an iguana would probably end up with "Metabolic Bone Disease". This will cause the bones to become brittle and ultimately lead to death. There are many powdered, iguana calcium supplements that you can get at pet stores. A pinch a day mixed in with the food should do the trick. There is some discrepancy as to which kind to use. Some have vitamin D mixed in. It's thought that vitamin D will aid in the bodies absorption of the calcium. My vet disagrees and suggests that the vitamin D is just being stored in the body and can possibly cause problems. It's possible that the vitamin D that they get from proper lighting is all they need to help process calcium. Please click on my "LIGHTING" link to find out more on this. I use a calcium supplement such as "Tums" I ground up some tablets in the food processor and put the powder in a saltshaker type of bottle and sprinkle it on the food everyday. I am currently not using any vitamin supplements, only calcium. Be aware that opinions differ on the subject of vitamins, but the calcium is a requirement!
So What Do We Feed Them?
Use vegetables that are high in calcium and low in phosphorus. High amounts of phosphorus can be problematic. This can cause liver disease and kidney trouble, Yet another reason not to feed iguanas meat. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be 2 to 1. I have formed a chart of foods that I think are recommended. There is some disagreement in this area too. This is a collaboration of food used by people who have done some research. Some foods should be used more often then others. Some no more than a small amount once a week. For a list of foods I use
Click Here.
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