What do You Feed Iguanas?

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Tim Cole. I'm with the Austin Reptile Service, and I've been keeping reptiles and amphibians for forty years, and we're here to talk about what to feed iguanas. Iguanas are, for the most part, herbivores, but occasionally they will eat some meat. Babies once in a while are known to feed on crickets, but for the most part their diet is vegetation. As adults, once in a while, they've been known to even eat mice, but once again, they are mostly herbivores. So, feeding them a variety of plants is the way to go. There are lots of web sites out there that lists the proper plants to feed them. Some plants you don't want to feed them. Some plants are better than others. There's lots of examples for that. Examples of a plant that's not really good to feed them is iceberg lettuce. It's basically just water, it has very little food value. Spinach is not good in quantity because it takes away potassium. So there's certain supplements you have to look at to add to the veggies that you're feeding your iguana, which number one is calcium. And you can check on....various books are available on iguana diets. I would steer you away from the commercial diets. I don't entirely trust that they have all the vitamins that are needed, and I look at it this way: iguanas are not going to find these things out in the wild. So feeding them a more natural diet is going to be healthier for them. Feeding them variety is healthier for them."