There are many aspects of caring for your iguana that you still need to take into consideration, even after building your habitat. Let’s break them down here.

Feeding Them

Iguanas are very delicate animals and part of that comes from their dietary needs. But, it will be up to you to determine what the right foods for your iguana are based on his tastes and your needs. But, we’ll break it down for you too.

Don’t be fooled by myths. Iguanas eat plants, not any type of insect or animal. If they do ingest this it is only by accident. They are herbivores!  Don’t make the mistake of feeding your iguana any type of animal protein.

As for what you should do, there are several things you’ll need to take into consideration. First, anything that you give your pet should be clean, healthy and sterile. Fresh food and water is a must for you and so is it for them. You’ll have an unhealthy living environment with a sick iguana if you allow them to drink dirty water.

You should feed your iguana daily. Give him clean water several times per day, too. Although you may hear that you don’t have to do this, it is imperative to provide your pet with fresh food daily and allow him to eat as much as he wants.

Don’t worry about over feeding them. They can’t be overfed. But, how much; give them food and let them eat. You’ll soon be able to tell just how much is too much and how much he wants. As he gets bigger, his appetite will grow, too. Feed him in the morning, after he’s waken for the best, all day temperature aided digestion he needs.

Water is a funny thing with iguanas.  In fact, you should train them to drink more water. To do this, use a highly enjoyed piece of lettuce, such as collards, and place a small amount of it in their water bowl. When he eats it, he’ll take in water too. Soon, make the piece smaller and smaller until he is coming to the bowl to drink water rather than to eat the treat.

One thing that is important in feeding your iguana is the amount of calcium to phosphorus that they get. Its called the Calcium to phosphorus ratio or Ca:P. You want this ratio to be 2 to 1. Most foods are high in one but low in the other of these. Remember, a variety of foods is perfect for the iguana so keeping this in mind, feed him a diet of variety that provides a 2 to 1 ratio in these elements.

What to feed them. Here’s a good variety: 

Greens:  At least 40 percent of their diet should be made up of foods like turnip greens, collards, dandelion, water cress, and escarole.

Vegetables:  Another 40 percent of their diets should provide vegetables like green beans, mushrooms, bell peppers, squashes, peas, parsnips, okra, alfalfa, sweet potatoes and carrots.

Fruits: Keep this to less than ten percent of their diets and it can include foods like raspberries, mango, fig, apples, bananas, papaya, or melons.

Protein supplements:  Don’t give more than five percent of this but it can come from alfalfa pellets or other commercial brands.

Grains:  Less than five percent of their food can come from grains such as cooked rice and pasta, whole wheat breads of others.

There are other foods that should never be given to your iguana. Those include any type of insect or animal protein, any type of dairy product, no eggs, no type of other animal pet foods, no rhubarb. Some foods can be given but only sparingly such as foods that contain citrus, lettuce leaves, or tofu.

Training Your Iguana

It’s important to mention some training here. That’s because you’ll want to be able to bring your iguana home to a nice, ready home and allow him to get acclimated to the area. There are many things you’ll want to take into consideration when it comes to training your iguana. First, realize that your iguana needs time to get adjusted to his home. It may take some time!

Allow your iguana to visit his hiding place without being bothered or pulled out of it. In addition, when you do pick him up and take him out of his habitat, watch for signs of stress. If he doesn’t like what you are doing, he’s stressed and he fears for his life. Place him near his hiding place and leave him alone.

The process of taming your iguana will take time and patience. Use smaller sessions at first to get them used to you. One way to help provide the right level of care to your iguana is to allow him to watch you. Start out by watching him watch you from a distance and for a short amount of time. Then, add onto this slowly until you are sitting near him and watching him.

After he’s used to watching you, you can begin working with touching him. Don’t pick him up yet!  He’s not ready for that. But, put your hand close enough to him. Don’t touch his head or his tail. Touch for a second and then move away. Little by little, you’ll be able to increase how long you can touch him. Don’t push it because if he doesn’t like being petted, it will take a lot of work to get him to allow it again.

Once your pet begins to allow you to pet him, including his head, you can begin to see that he’s comfortable with you. It’s advisable not to actually pick up your iguana for some time. He’s just going to take a while to adjust to you. Once you’ve gotten to the point where he doesn’t seem bothered at all by your petting, you can consider it. Never grab his tail!  The tail can actually break off in order for them to escape.

By petting its underbelly, it may rise up and want to be petted there more so. When that happens, you’ll be able to slowly pick him up. But, for these first few times, pick him up slowly and then put him back down. By doing this it will help to make the process easier and keep your iguana happier, longer. With lots of practice, you’ll be able to pick him up for longer periods of time.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...