As a UK owner I find it difficult to find a decent enough variety of greens, many such as Turnip, and Mustard are not commonly available, so I have to grow some varieties.

Other foods such as weeds, shrubs, tree leaves vines, can be collected from the wild. Check out your tortoise care guides to get an idea of what can be eaten.

Foraging and growing your own food can help increase your varieties

Even with a scrap of garden you should be able to grow some varieties of flowers plants or weeds

Some of the growing herb plots for the iguanas last year. 40 varieities grown.

Why is variety feeding important?

That is a very good question, I aim to feed a variety for a few reasons.

1. The baisic rule of nutrition is, if you feed enough of anyone food item, it is bad, some foods carry nutrition that others don't, for example your staple foods are often high in goitrogens, and your occasional foods are high in iodeine, feeding both ensures your animal is getting what it requires.

2. Nutrition even now is a poorly addressed topic, new things are being discoverd every single day, so quite literally what turns out right today can turn out to be wrong tomorrow, this is even more of a reason to be feeding a variety of food items.

3. Wild iguana diets are often varied.

4.Each food has its benefits and downfalls, feeding a variety combined and rotated together can yeild over-all better nutritional results.

5. 90% of iguana illness is often linked to poor diet.

6.Each food has health and healing benefits, the more foods your feeding the more health and healing benefits they get.

7. The food they eat doesn't become boring.

8. Colour motiviation, sensory stimulation, occupational enrichment.

9. They don't get addicted to the same foods.

10. It keeps there lives interesting and more natural.

Oxalic acid ?

The potential problems with oxalates in the body are two. First, they mean that the metal in them--say calcium--has been made unavailable to the body; if a large amount of oxalic acid is ingested, the oxalates formed mean that the body is being to some degree deprived of certain essential nutrients. For normal, healthy persons, that risk is nearly trivial provided that great amounts of oxalic acid are not consumed on a continuing, long-term basis. The second effect is not chemical but mechanical: the crystals of oxalate, very small but very sharp, can be large enough to irritate the body. The chiefest and most famous example of this is kidney stones--probably 80% of kidney stones derive from calcium oxalate.

Oxalic acid binds calcium and other trace minerals. If fed in enough quantity it can be a toxic substrance.

How-ever many of the foods that carry higher levels of oxalic acid, also have many benefits in other ways so they should not be completely avoided, many of the occasional foods still carry much needed nutrition.

For example Swiss Chard, has higher levels of oxalic acid than many of the staple foods, how-ever many of your staple foods are high in goitrogens and too low in iodeine.

Swiss chard among others is a good source of iodiene.

Providing your not feeding these foods excessively they are still beneficial to a varied diet.

Goitrogens?

Goitrogens are substances in food that can wreak havoc on the function of your thyroid gland. Goitrogens get their name from “goiter,” which is what an enlarged thyroid gland is called.

Most goitrogens are naturally-occurring chemicals that are ingested in foods or drugs. These chemicals can interfere with thyroid function in different ways. Some compounds induce antibodies that cross-react with the thyroid gland; others interfere with thyroid peroxidase (TPO), the enzyme responsible for adding iodine during production of thyroid hormones. Either way, the thyroid isn’t able to produce as many of the hormones that are needed for regulating metabolism. See my other articles on nutrition and thyroid health for more on how this works.

Many of your staple foods carry high levels of goitrogens naturally.

Many "tame animals" are actually suffering with goiter because they are fed high goitrogenic foods 365 days a year wihtout the right balance of foods, your occasional foods such as Spinach, Chard, and or appropriate supplmentation can help you avoid this.

As the saying goes, it is about variety.

Excessively feeding anything can result in problems.

Nutritional Antagonists!

Vegetables can be bad?

Phytochemicals ?

The phytochemicals, (saponins, tannins Terpenoids, glycosides etc) if fed in too much quantity, can cause problems with the formation of blood cells.

This is where the idea of sticking with a variety of food items comes into it, and rotating the foods around as applicable in dietry planning. (Saponins for example) they reduce the absorption of vitamins like vitamin A, and vitamin E, so it is a good idea, if your intention is to feed more live plant varieties, to add in some further vitamin A soulable foods etc.

If feeding foods high in Phytochemicals, appropriate supplmentation or balance with the right foods to offset the nutritional antagonists are required.

Supplements.

I use different products for different reasons and intentions, what I use depends greatly on my planning, nutritional aims and intentions.

Supplementation is one of those questions that has no black or white answers, like all products they can be dangerous if used incorrectly and yet useful when they are used correctly. How you use them correctly will depend entirely on your own individual planning, aims and understanding of the food items your feeding. Some people say with the correct diet, and the correct UV, heat, and a good wide broad diet, many argue supplements are not needed, some say they are essential to be used on every feed, and others like myself, feel that they can play a part
especially in the winter months when our produce veg selections is all our iguanas get, so it is just my opinion that neither of those answers are wrong if you plan your diets accordlingly.

Some supplements are better at doing what we need them too than others, though it does depend on what we require.
At current, I use different supplements for different things. I personally have had some input into the design of some of these supplements myself.
Many owners such as myself, and Arcadia Lighting manager and reptile expert John Courtney Smith, have had concerns over the use of supplementing with fat soluble vitamins as there seems to be no really accurate dose or delivery mechanism.
Even vets have got it wrong half the time, and unfortunately very few studies have been done to determine what is safe measurement and what isn't, and until such a time, we must be vigilant and use common sense when using supplements.

When we do the calculations for ca:p ratios, by adding them all up, and then dividing by the number of foods, your always going to be a little higher, or a little off depending, no one is ever going to get it exact.

If your calculations end up at the lower end of the ratio recomendation, then it might be a wise idea to sprinkle a supplement onto the foods to offset a poor nutritional value, or recompensate. If we are rescuing and rehabilitating iguanas with crippling effects of calcium depleted MBD, or under nourishment it may be a good idea to use them a little more, the same goes for gravid females or a combination of gravid, and crippled.
If your selections of foods carry higer leves of phosphorus, or significant amounts of oxalic acid, it may be a good enough reason to use them too.

How-ever, if your diets are nutrient dense, calcium rich, and your adding in calcium supplments and exposing to high UVB levels (which we should be) its a bad idea, to include them.

You are running risks of mineralisation of tissues, and organ impairment, kidney stones, and soemtimes it builds up around the heart, and other functions, which can cause cardiac arrest. Be wise, here I go through periods of using dusts, and then not at all because it depends on my planning, and what foods are being fed, and the things I am aiming for.

My recomendation at current is to use Arcadia Ca earthpro, or if your just aiming for plain calcium, any branded calcium carbonate (not be confused with calcium phosphate) will be okay to use.

If you can't locate, or grow fresh alfalfa, another alternative, is to buy it in powderd form, and dust a little onto the foods a few times a week.
It is the next best thing, and ensures they are still getting some of that super foods power, it is just a way of improvising with what we have, you can find this powder in most health food stores.
Or in tablet form, you can crush the tablet up and grind it into a powder and dust the food with it.

One recomendation I also have for intestinal health and hygeine, is the use of Verm X, I had the great honor of trialing this product out last year.
You feed it on 3 consecutive feeds a month, it is an all natural herbal blend, vetrinary surgeon Nick Thompson covers an article on its benefits in Septembers practical reptile keeping magazine.

Probiotics, probiotics are a good one to have on your shelf, my recomendation is avi pro + or reptoboost, this can come in handy to use if your iguana ever needs vetrianry treatment. Many antibiotics, and treatments can destroy there intestinal flora, therefore causing a lack of appetite, which for many owners can be a huge worry.
These probiotics have been designed specifically to work along side vetrianry treatment, and assist with encouraging normal intestinal flora growth, this will help stimulate an appetite if the need ever arrises.

Manuka honey, has a whole host of health and healing benefits, some yet waiting to be discoverd, many of my own vet reports advise the use of manuka honey for its mass amount of benefits that can aid in an array of many internal and external problems.
Manuka honey carries many benefits such as anti bacterial properties, anti inflammatory, anti fungal, etc, its also useful as quick and easy means of offering energy to a sick animals.

There is no reason you can't use, or add this into a slurry, or use it as a supplment means for added benefits.

Some of my own thinking surrounding the supplments I use.
Include.
Arcadia Earth EarthPro Calcium (Ca) is a high quality super fine UK sourced Ca powder. It Lacks vitamin D3, which is not needed for iguanas who are provided with high power UV systems, reducing possible toxities in the liver.

Arcadia Earth Pro A. is a potent full spectrum vitamin power that is made to the highest standards here in the UK. It contains a full spectrum of natural earth minerals, B group vitamins, for the first time Bee pollen, essential proteins and amino acids and a VERY exclusive and VERY potent organic Carotenoid to safely supply vitamin A via the A cycle, increase feeding response, healing and colouration. This is a potent but safe vitamin powder to be used alongside well set UVB systems. Available in 100g and 500g.

Nutrobal is an excellent Multi vitamin, 200mg calcium & 150IU vitamin D3, plus vitamins A C E K B1 B2 B6 B12 folic, nicotinic & pantothenic acids, biotin choline niacin and minerals P Na Fe Co I Mn Zn Se Cu. How-ever, many of these vitamins are fat soulable, and it contains vitamin D3, which therefore means it does have some problems with it.

Repashy All-in-One" Calcium powder with added Vitamins, Trace Minerals, and Carotenoids for Herbivores and Omnivores when Feeding Greens. No need for a Separate Vitamin powder. Crude Protein min. 12%, Crude Fat min. 5 %, Crude Fiber max. 10%, Moisture max. 8%, Ash max. 12%, Calcium min. 4%, Vitamin A min. 100,000 IU/lb, Vitamin D min. 10,000 IU/lb, Vitamin E min. 1,000 IU/lb. The benefit of this one for me, is it often helps offer what is required to picky eaters.

Pro Rep Ca (Calcium Carbonate) This is beneficial when I may require to extra supplement just calium with nothing else. Pro Rep aslo do a version with vitamin D3 added into it, you want to avoid this.

Alfalfa. Alfalfa tablets or powder crushed, this powder is beneficial to be used as a supplement for those times you can not grow or locate fresh alfalfa, it can still give your pet many of the benefits of the mature alfalfa plant.
Verm X 3 consecutive feeds a month, great for gut hygeine.
Wheat Grass powder, this is another wll known super food, and yeilds many benefits, too many to list, occasionally dusting this, along with the other super foods your feeding can help assist in rehabilitation cases, and occasionally be offerd to our scaley pets to expose them to a few benefits.
Herbi Mix is a supplemental feed, composed of 20 plant species, designed to specifically target calcium, and plant proteins, in my experience many iguanas even if they visually look okay, are dangerously low in proteins, I aim to feed this in the winter months mixed in with 6 different fresh greens once a week, to ensure they are getting all they require.

Right now from the

Arcadia ranges

Earth pro earth A

Earth Pro Ca

Herbi mixes (in the winter months)

Dragon Fuel

Nutrobal,
T-rex dusts.
Repashy.
Rep Cal.
Manuka Honey
Bee Pollen by itself
Alfalfa dusts
Verm X
Wheat grass.

Of course you don't have to use all these however, to raise a healthy iguana.

Times I may use supplements more will be for cycling females or females who have just laid, rescue and rehabilitation, or the winter months when I can not find the amount of foods my animals require so I improvise to recompensate.

Vitamins

Dry foods!!!

Historically, owners have felt guilt at following commercial big breeder guides, only following what the pet store told them, only to end up with a dead iguana! The need to meet all our animals nutritional aims is a big one, and for some owners like to rely on simplicity, commercial diets claim to do the hard work so you don't have too.

Big companies have always loved big convincing stickers, with big convincing labels, with big stickers shouting vet approeved on them, promote these dietary feeds as a one size fits all answer.
In the 90's the scientific interest in the green iguana continued to escalate, historically iguanas were dieing from all the usual common associated issues, many top vets, nutritional researchers such as Susan Donoghue began to test the reliability of these diets, there effects, there questions, and the fact.

A breif history on my expirience with them, I have fed many formulas of the dry diets in the past, based on reccomendations on older literature, I have also historically had some input into specific supplemental feeds (never any complete ones) which I will explain why a little more later, when rescue became one of the common problems with this animal was nutrtitional disorder, one of the first things I began learning was the nutritional problems which followed those cases, and how they were affecting those particular individuals, I have discussed this in the new arcadia guide to reptile and amphibian nutrition (which is a great book btw, make sure your order your copy its full of information and I learn't a few things too.

http://www.arcadia-reptile.com/nutrition-guide/

These were the problems I personally encounterd working along side my vet, that made me take a whole different outlook, looking away from what breeders, and other care websites were advising in some cases, it made me rethink, relook, and re-examine the whole feeding routine and stratergies. , and start looking at individual foods in depth, to learn how and what they were doing to that animal, along the way, these diets, came up in some of that research, and I began to see a pattern, of question marks surrounding them, and here is a few I would like to share.

1. In many cases if you research some of the ingridents, they should not even be inside the formula designed for the reptile, and what is, is often way out from reccomended values. Susan Donoghue is a respected vet and nutritionist who has done much work trialing and testing a variety of feeds(just using her as a nutritional expert for reference (who has contributed to many nutritional investigations with reptiles, and took part in much of the scientific papers surrounding reptile nutrition, and used in some of the scientific and medical literature books, although there are others that have noted the same) has noted through her work ( tests) that there is alot of confliction in the amounts (particularly of plant proteins in blood levels by a reduced factor or increased factor of 5% of the reccomended daily intake, (this) for a complete diet, tested in the same animals, in the same enviroments, and in the same sexes, conflicting, raises serious questions about the complete claim, because it is clear by that evidence, they aren't standing up to it.
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/12/2587S.short Susan Donoghue also trialed and compared 3 dry food diets compared to a fresh one, and observed massive conflictions even within the same brands of her choice.
References Elliot R Jacobson The green iguana Biology husbandry and medcine.
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1638/1042-7260%282003%29034%5B317a%3ABR%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=zamd

If that wasn't enough!

Susan Donoghue VMD MS DACVN and David Dzanis DVM, PhD, DACVN
Proceedings, ARAV Second Annual Conference, October 27-29, 1995. Sacramento CA. pp 74-79
http://www.anapsid.org/evalcomm.html

If you are on the iguana fb groups and forums, I recall one instance on I love green iguanas ,some of you may be familiar with specimens becoming lethargic and sometimes fitting, there are a few reported cases from this inside the community itself, historically some vets have seen specimens just crash shortly after feeding them (iguaans and tortoises) MK does raise some good points surrounding commercial diets too! This has also been observed with one or two owners on I love green iguanas, some vets I conversed with in the past have seen patients seem to trump through life with no problems, and then, all of a sudden just systematically crash at a later time, or some animals will crash shortly after introduction.
http://www.anapsid.org/comfood.html One owner reported immediate fitting before death soon after making a change to a dry food brand, this of course is speculation, and anecdotal.

2. Anyone who has even a baisic understanding of nutrition will have huge issues with anything that claims to be able to meet all your reptiles nutritional needs, (or even on the off chance of feeding once or twice a week because

A) nutrition even now isn't a topic fully understood, so how on earth can they claim a product such as these diets are meeting all our reptiles nutritional needs?

B) there has been numerous noted conflictions in the same animals in the same enviroments and fed the same quantities from the same branded dry formulas, you have to ask why if these diets are complete? when 1. they have question marks over them (ingridients and ratios, anyways, 2. things are not even now understood, and 3. studies performed on these diets breifly are showing a lot of confliction of the described nutrient intakes, as well as more and more health issues which tend to be presenting themselves, renal failure, gout, vitamin D deficency and other vits and minerals etc, not to mention the lack of long stem fiber content, which is very important, for gut health in a herbivore animal.

3. Where these diets are created and formulated, the regulations are worth checking out, where they are manufactured are strongly questionable at best, personally speaking nor have I received any answers, from any brand I have thus far addressed emailed, or attempted to converse with, they do love side stepping my questions on the forums, (representatives) I have observed this among others too there is absaloutely no rules or regulations to enforce what actually is described on these diets, is actually going in, and so this makes it very questionible, the problem will be because the companies who make these diets, don't have a good grasp of nutrition or they have a limited grasp, don't have the equipment to properly state, and everything becomes guesswork, much like us as community keepers tend to guess or estimate with supplementation, and so as seen by the studies particularly in the case of the green iguana and some tortoise diets are the exact same! are conflicting. (I would have much less of an issue with this) if they were not labelled complete.

Dzanis, D.A. 1994. Regulation of health claims for pet foods. Vet. Clin. Nutr. 1:5-11.
Dzanis, DA. 1994. The Association of American Feed Control Officials dog and cat food nutrient profiles: substantiation of nutritional adequacy of complete and balanced pet foods in the United States. J. Nutr. 124:2535S-2539S.
Donoghue, S. 1994. Growth of juvenile green iguanas (Iguana iguana) fed four diets. J. Nutr. 124:26265-2629S.
Susan Donoghue, V.M.D., M.S., D.A.C.V.N.
Nutrition Support Services, Inc.
Route 1. Box 186, Pembroke, VA 24136 USA
David A. Dzanis, D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.C.V.N.
FDA - Center for Veterinary Medicine
7500 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855 USA
Further reading on commercial food regulations and what happens can be read here.
http://www.anapsid.org/evalcomm.html

4. Even if they were regulated, and what they said for definate was going into these diets, is still questionible, because I have even seen on the back of some brands the likes of fish, and animal proteins being used and described, (I actually have 3 tubs of it here now which was given to me to take a good proper look at, and so again, this raises question marks for me, why are they there? The answer is there is none, the fish meal, and proteins being used and described may in themselves not be any more concentrated than alfalfa, clover, spinach, and parsley combos with a few legumes, but you have to ask why these completely natural advertised diets, are then using ingridients that are anything but natural? (for a list of natural food items scroll to the bottom of the page.

5.Thus far, there has been no long term studies performed in controlled settings, to prove out there effectiveness, how-ever what there is evidence suggestive of ithe short term oness tht many health issues comming up, seem to at least have the similarity of these diets, opposed to ones fed on fresh fruits greens and vegtibles? no one knows, for sure, even now, just what sits in these diets, it is all good throwing a cool looking branded sticker, with a great big complete sign, and muddling it up with some cool great looking scientific words, but id say to those, look up what those ingridents are for yourself. And more importantly check the nutritional journals for medical reported issues. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/12/2587S.full
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/124/12_Suppl.toc.pdf

6. Nutrition even now, is not a topic that is fully understood, new things are being discoverd on an almost daily baisis with fresh foods, health benefits, anti cancer, anti fungals, anti bacterial, anti inflammatory compounds, natural antibiotics, along with many many many more, too many to even list here natural self medication selections, this wasn't a natural diuretic yesterday, this is a natural antibiotic, etc, so with that, nutrition not even being understood quite fully now, I would be very interested in hearing, how a company can claim something is complete, with unquestionable undeniable conflicting results in the lab in the same specimens studied, in the same enviroments, and fed the exact same quantities of these foods, why they aren't meeting up to there aims?

I could go on an on, there are hundreds of reasons I don't trust them, and hundreds of other reasons I wouldn't feed them personally ( as mentioned the conflictions present) I would find it very difficult to plan out a diet based on that even by including it weekly when I could feed well known foods and know the requirments being met from fresh greens nutritionally via a easy calculation and working out, or specifically targeted supplemental feeds, though I am a fan and in favor of fresh where-ever possible.

It is very easy for someone to trust these diets, they are convincing, they sound appealing, they have an impressive convincing sticker with many great big scientific words and things like (vet approved on them) but when you dig down into the facts, its rather quite ammusing to see such things., which vets approved them? what is there experience with the animals being fed them? these companies never answer these questins, and these are extremely IMPORTANT questions!

I am now much more comfortible feeding a variety of fresh foods, greens, weeds, and flowers for my animals, I then have a pretty good idea of what is in them and what I am feeding, opposed to a complete drey food formulated diet, that has many question marks over them?

In nutrition, what turns out right today could be completely wrong tomorrow, with that, and the arguments presented, conflicting results in what trials there are, they don't take my appeal, I wouldn't be feeding them to my own iguanas.

Just as another example, when I have conversed with these companies, and asked which vets have approved these products, what expirience they have with those animals, do they keep them? how many did they treat? how many tests, and for how long did they do it? they fail to answer, so, again, I would be interested in hearing from the companies still.

There a hundred reasons more I could list, but these are the main reasons, I simply cannot reccomend them, I have seen animals with extremely questionable side effects and abnormal behavior patterns shortly after introduction, why this is I am not entirely sure, It just does not make sense.

How-ever, in this specific case, I honestly can find nothing about this specific dry feed, but all the principles of its ingridents are not all that disimilar from what I can see, so until more is known, I wouldn't use it as a reliable feed, just too questionable.

The dry suplemental feeds on the other hand like Herbi Mix, and Dragon Fuel, are ground up dried plant materials.

There are some branded for tortoises too, these can make okay additions as an occasional variety of food sources mixed up with other greens and moistend, how-ever I would not make these diets more than 5% of the total yearly diet. Fresh, where possible is my reccomendation.

An exception to this rule, is for owners who are living in areas prone to natural disasters, if you are one of those owners having some dry food on hand would be handy if you can't get any of the foods you need and require at these times. I would reccomend plain alfalfa pellets, Herbi Mix, Dragon Fuel, mixed in with some weeds from your bck garden prioviding nothing has been sprayed on them, dandelion, sowthistle, burnet, plantains, and clover.

Vitamins and Minerals.

The baisics

Vitamins

VITAMIN A

(Retinol, retinal, and retinoic acid — three active forms of vitamin A in the body — are retinoids, “preformed” vitamin A. Beta carotene can easily be converted to vitamin A as needed.)

Essential for vision Lycopene may lower prostate cancer risk. Keeps tissues and skin healthy. Plays an important role in bone growth. Diets rich in the carotenoids alpha carotene and lycopene seem to lower lung cancer risk. Carotenoids act as antioxidants. Foods rich in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin may protect against cataracts

Sources of beta carotene:

sweet potatoes carrots, pumpkins, squash, spinach, mangoes, turnip greens, swiss chard, mustard greens Beet Greens.

Many animals get too much preformed vitamin A from food and supplements.Large amounts of supplemental vitamin A (exception beta carotene) can be harmful.

THIAMIN

(vitamin B1)Helps convert food into energy. Needed for healthy skin, muscles, and brain.

Good sources of Thiamin.

Asparagus, Acorn Squash, Garden Peas Soy Beans, Navy Beans Pinto Beans, Lima Beans.

NIACIN

(vitamin B3, nicotinic acid)Helps convert food into energy. Essential for healthy skin, blood cells, brain, and nervous system

Sources of Niacin: Mushrooms, Asparagus, Sweet Potatoes, leafy green vegetables.

RIBOFLAVIN

(vitamin B2)Helps convert food into energy. Needed for healthy skin, hair, blood, and brain

Sources of Riboflavin: Spinach, Beet Grees, Asparagus, Apple with skin, Kindey Beans, Tomatoes, Broccoli, other leafy vegetables

PANTOTHENICACID

(vitamin B5)Helps convert food into energy. Helps make lipids (fats), neurotransmitters, steroid hormones, and hemoglobin

Sources of Pantotheniacid:

Broccoli, Tomatoes, Leafy Green vegetables.

VITAMINB6

(pyridoxal, pyridoxine, pyridoxamine)Aids in lowering homocysteine levels and may reduce the risk of heart diseaseHelps convert tryptophan to niacin and serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays key roles in sleep, appetite, and moods. Helps make red blood cells Influences cognitive abilities and immune function

Sources of vitamin Vitamin B6: Leafy Green vegetables, Banana, Starchy vegetables, carrot, squash, sweet potatoe.

Vitamin B12

(cobalamin)Aids in lowering homocysteine levels and may lower the risk of heart disease. Assists in making new cells and breaking down some fatty acids and amino acids. Protects nerve cells and encourages their normal growth Helps make red blood cells

Sources of vitamin B12: Leafy Green vegetables. (some cerials)

BIOTIN

Helps convert food into energy and synthesize glucose. Helps make and break down some fatty acids. Needed for healthy bones and hair

Sources of Biotin: Soybeans, Carrots, Tomatoes, Leafy Vegetables.

VITAMIN C

(ascorbic acid)Foods rich in vitamin C may lower the risk for some cancers, including those of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and breast. Long-term use of supplemental vitamin C may protect against cataracts. Helps make collagen, a connective tissue that knits together wounds and supports blood vessel walls. Helps make the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine Acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing unstable molecules that can damage cells. Bolsters the immune system.

Sources of Vitamin C:

Leafy Greens, Plants, broccoli, bell peppers, spinach, strawberries, blueberries tomatoes, Brussels sprouts.

CHOLINE

Helps make and release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which aids in many nerve and brain activities. Plays a role in metabolizing and transporting fats

Sources of Choline: Collard Greens, Spring Greens, Alfalfa, Arugula, Packchoi, Cabbages, Dandelions.

VITAMIN D

(calciferol)Helps maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, which strengthen bones. Helps form teeth and bones. Supplements can reduce the number of non-spinal fractures

Sources of Vitamin D (UVB) Sunlight. Mushrooms, Greens supplmentation.

VITAMIN E

(alpha-tocopherol)Acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing unstable molecules that can damage cells. Protects vitamin A and certain lipids from damage. Diets rich in vitamin E may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Supplements may protect against prostate cancer

Sources of Vitamin E.: Leafy green vegetables, Wide variety of Fruits, and root vegetables.

FOLIC ACID

(folate, folacin)Vital for new cell creationHelps prevent brain and spine birth defects when taken early in pregnancy; should be taken regularly by all women of child-bearing age since women may not know they are pregnant in the first weeks of pregnancy. Can lower levels of homocysteine and may reduce heart disease risk May reduce risk for colon cancer. Offsets breast cancer risk among women who consume alcohol.

Sources of Folic Acid: asparagus, okra, spinach, turnip greens, broccoli + leaves, legumes like black-eyed peas and chickpeas.

VITAMIN K

(phylloquinone, menadione)Activates proteins and calcium essential to blood clottingMay help prevent hip fractures.

Sources of Vitamin K: Mustard Greens Spinach broccoli, sprouts, kale, collards, and other green vegetables.

Minerals

CALCIUM

Builds and protects bones and teeth. Helps with muscle contractions and relaxation, blood clotting, and nerve impulse transmission. Plays a role in hormone secretion and enzyme activation. Helps maintain healthy blood pressure

Sources of Calcium: Leafy Green Vegetables, Plants, herbs Weeds, fruits such as Opuntia, blackberries, Figs, Broccoli.

CHLORIDE

Balances fluids in the body. A component of stomach acid, essential to digestion.

Sources Of Chloride: Endive, Escarole, Broccoli, Egg Plant, Marrow, Leeks, Carrots, Turnip, Fancy Lettuces.

CHROMIUM

Enhances the activity of insulin, helps maintain normal blood glucose levels, and is needed to free energy from glucose

Sorces Of Chromium. Romaine, Broccoli, Green Beans.

COPPER

Plays an important role in iron metabolism. Helps make red blood cells

FLUORIDE

Encourages strong bone formation. Keeps dental cavities from starting or worsening

Sources of Fluoride: Lettuces, Raddishes, Cucumber, Carrots Peaches, Plumbs Strawberries.

IODINE

Part of thyroid hormone, which helps set body temperature and influences nerve and muscle function, reproduction, and growth. Prevents goiter and a congenital thyroid disorder

Sources of Iodeine. Kelp, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Cranberries, WaterCress, Beet Greens.

IRON

Helps hemoglobin in red blood cells and myoglobin in muscle cells ferry oxygen throughout the body. Needed for chemical reactions in the body and for making amino acids, collagen, neurotransmitters, and hormones

Sources of Iron. Lentils, kidney beans and tofu. Sprouted beans and seeds such as aduki beans, alfafa and sunflower sprouts. Cereals and products such as breakfast cereals and bread. Green leafy vegetables including spinach, kale and cabbage and also broccoli.

MAGNESIUM

Needed for many chemical reactions in the body Works with calcium in muscle contraction, blood clotting, and regulation of blood pressure. Helps build bones and teeth.

Sources of Magensium: Dark Leafy Green Vegetables, fruits such as Bananna..

MANGANESE

Helps form bones. Helps metabolize amino acids, cholesterol, and carbohydrates.

Sources of Maganese: Legume family members such as Winged Beans, Kidney beans, chickpeas, sugar snap Peas, Runner Beans.

MOLYBDENUM

Part of several enzymes, one of which helps ward off a form of severe neurological damage in infants that can lead to early death.

Sources: Legumes such as beans, lentils and peas as well as cereals and leafy vegetables +plants are considered good sources of molybdenum.

PHOSPHORUS

Helps build and protect bones and teethPart ofDNA and RNA.Helps convert food into energy. Part of phospholipids, which carry lipids in blood and help shuttle nutrients into and out of cells

Sources of Phosphorus:

Most root vegetables, + fruits, shoots, and sprouts.

POTASSIUM

Balances fluids in the body. Helps maintain steady heartbeat and send nerve impulses. Needed for muscle contractions. A diet rich in potassium seems to lower blood pressure. Getting enough potassium from your diet may benefit bones

Sources of Potassium: Dark leafy greens, potatoes, squash varieties, Bannans.

SELENIUM

Acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing unstable molecules that can damage cells. Helps regulate thyroid hormone activity.

Sources of Selenium: Leafy Greens, soybeans, lima beans or pinto beans, asparagus, mushrooms, garbanzo beans or black-eyed peas.

SODIUM

Balances fluids in the body. Helps send nerve impulses. Needed for muscle contractionsImpacts blood pressure; even modest reductions in salt consumption can lower blood pressure

Sources of Sodium:

celery beets +leaves, carrots, kelp, turnips, swedes beet greens, spinach, collards, rocket and chard

SULFUR

Helps form bridges that shape and stabilize some protein structures. Needed for healthy hair, skin, and nails

Sources of Sulfur: Protein-rich foods (legumes, alfalfa, spinach, sprouts, young leaves and shoots.

ZINC

Helps form many enzymes and proteins and create new cellsFrees vitamin A from storage in the liver. Needed for immune system, taste, smell, and wound healing. When taken with certain antioxidants, zinc may delay the progression of age-related macular degeneration

Sources of Zinc: beans, root vegetables, brassicas, plants, herbs.

Plant Proteins.

Green iguanas are one of those animals that require a little more care in there diet, in-fact, herbivores are a little more difficult and require a little more thought.

One question I get asked how-ever is, "how can I make my iguana grow" or how can I get my iguana to put on weight? I also just want to throw this in for completeness, almost all iguanas that have crossed my door who have been tested with a blood test, have shown dangeroulsy low protein levels. Even if they have looked okay, many owners are simply not feeding there animals correctly, unfortunately that's the harsh truth of it, there are many reasons for this, largely I suspect the "feed only the staple foods mentality, will look after everything is partially to blame from simple unresearched regurgitated care sheets and guides out there.

When I explain the way to actually do this to owners, most people are taken back by the amount of effort it actually does take to yeild complete results.

The term "complete protein" refers to amino acids, the building blocks of life.
There are 20 different amino acids that can form a single protein,
and nine that the body can’t produce on its own in people.
Proteins are made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids, joined together in chains. There are 20 different amino acids. Some proteins are just a few amino acids long, while others are made up of several thousands. These chains of amino acids fold up in complex ways, giving each protein a unique 3D shape.

What this means is, there is not one single food for a herbivore that will give this outcome. (not unless your feeding them naughty foods that is!)

Which opens up more long term health concerns, and the strains the digestive system will take to break them down.

You have to combine, different foods, with different aminos to yeild a more complete protein/fat result or supplement with the appropriate supplements to acheive that, this is one massive reason 99% of iguanas that have crossed my door have been low in proteins EVEN though
they visually have looked okay, (looks can be deceiving) Do not rely on this! The end result is an animal, that looks okay, and mysteriously drops down dead, we see this every day on the groups of facebook, forums, boards, and I have had this happen too.

Get blood work done, if you aren't sure!
I get yearly blood work done on my guys because something as simple as that, can identify problems way in advance before they are right on top of you.
They can show you where your going right, and where your going wrong, and where you can make improvements.

To top this off also, many of the commonly regurged care websites list certain foods as "staple" and occasional.
Giving birth to the idea that the "staple" foods will look after everything, with this strange mentality.

I can not tell you how many times I have read "Don't feed spinach, its high in oxalic acid" OR, I would rather focus on the collards, mustards, no need for spinach, or chard, or blah blah blah.

Unfortunately, these foods (are the foods that carry the things your staple foods don't) and carry the things needed to offset the staple food nutritional antagonists, (goitrogens) for example, spinach is not only a great source of plant proteins and other nutrtion
It is a great source of dietary iodeine, (needed for the thyroid function for there hormones to work.
This is also another reason I suspect , we see "tame" animals half the time, people are totally not feeding themselves correctly let alone there animals!

So perhaps, owners need to re-evaluate there feeding stratergies, the myths they are useless, have no baisis in nutrition facts, and largely I would guess with this mentality is a big BIG, reason
iguanas suffer nutrtional problems probably more than other reptiles documented in medical herp literature and journals.

Every few months, I do plant protein specific targeted food dishes for my iguanas.
And these are the dishes, (while sticking within your calcium recomendations) that will make your iguana grow big, put weight on, and not become protein deficent.
Doing these food dishes is always an interesting challenge for me.

In the below photos, I have set some tubs up, compiled of varying different foods from this weeks food shop.
Each dish will serve as a secondary food dish, to the main staple one for the remainer of the week.
I call this dish the "Power of Kings" because, well, this dish is a POWER HOUSE, of vitamins, minerals, health benefits, calcium, proteins, fats, moisture.

The Last Protein dishes I made consisted of.

Broccoli leaves
Raddish leaves
Rocket Leaves
Water Cress
Pea shoots
Spring Greens
Curly Kale.
Dandelion Leaves
Spinach Leaves
Turnip Greens (salvaged what was left from my herb plots)
Leeks
Sweetheart Cabbage
Pack Choi.
Chicory
Flat Leaf Parsley
Curly Parsley
Tarragon
Spearmint
Basil
Dill
Corriander.
Red gem lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Little gem lettuce
Alfalfa pack (I froze some midsummer) now ready to be used. (if no alfalfa) I will use dry alfalfa powder.
Or good multivitamin dusts.
In the summer, the lettuces will be switched for nettles, clover, and various thistles.

vegetables.
Parsnip.
Turnip
Raddish
Broccoli
Carrot
Butternut squash
Sugar snap peas
Runner Beans
Mangetout
Green Beans
Kidney beans
Haricot beans
Chick peas
Garden peas
Dwarf beans
Butter Beans.
Cucumber.

Fruit
Bannana
Apple
Papaya

(Beans are fab sources of plant proteins, especially when combined to yeild a more complete protein/fat result)

These dishes are a little different, because all of these foods are mixed up together, with the only difference being, the root vegetables are split into
3 parts per tub. 18, that's 9 per dish, mixed in with all those greens. In the winter months I also use a sprinkle of the herbi mix when greens are low and my varieties become half, (see supplements) You must combine foods together to yeild more specific results, Susan Donoghue noted that for normal growth to take place, 22% of reccomended daily value protein AT LEAST was needed. (see references)

This is a great book for both the new and experineced owner, it covers a lot about various vitamins and minerals, along side many other plant foods, it also contains insight into other animal feeds and values. I have a short chapter in there discussing iguanas too.

What is the reccomended nutritional daily values of the green iguana? Updating

I read on the internet lettuce is useless, why do you reccomend feeding it?

Many questions arise surrounding this for me, and naturally I can see the concern.

Historically in the past iguanas have met there demise by only feeding lettuces, the myth that lettuce arries no nutrition has no baisis in any modern day fact, they all carry nutrition, including ice berg lettuce, the problem ultimately is, if you feed enough of just one food item, you are going to hit problems down the line, lettuce is no more harmful than our staple when used in moderation, Ice berg lettuce for example, according to the nutrition fact data base It is a good source of Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Iron and Potassium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate and Manganese Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2476/2#ixzz3zD23bhHp

Depending on the type of soils lettuces are grown in they can yeild a fairly decent ca:p ratio too.

Unfortunately lettuce has gained an undeserved reputation as a killer food when the reality of it is, all foods are quite capable of doing this in the right quantities, in a varied enough diet, mixed with other greens, it is not harmful I garuntee you.

Many have also said that it is just water, lettuce if it was just water, it would just be water! it is that simple, in actuality lettuces like any other vegetable, and life form are compiled up of around 80- 90% water, like all life frms carry proteins as they are the building blocks of life.

Owners must be aware that more nutrition does not always mean healthier, many of these animals consuming too much of anything can spell death, lettuces can add bulk to a diet without the nutritional antagonists, but yes, if you are just feeding lettuce, that is a little bit silly!

I know in varying zoos and conservation parks lettuce vareities are hung around to offer grazing oppurtunities for there iguanas, the photo here is of the lesser antillean iguanas (cousin and endangerd) in chesterzoo, I have seen Durrell conservation trust do the same too, remember it is all about variety, not one food item is good on its own.

Preapring Your iguanas food.

So now you know what can be fed, how do we prepare it, store it, and feed it.?

Every week I aim to feed on average 24 foods, many of these foods however I will have grown myself or foraged to keep part of it as natural as I can, iguanas in the wild will shred through big thick leaves and take what they require, unfortunately they can not do this from a food bowl so we must make sure that the foods we are feeding are finely chopped.

For baby iguanas the rule of thumb is to make little bite sized peices, no bigger than the space between the eyes, and finely chop or shred the food before offering.

Adults appear to be able to take a lot more but if your usure finely chopping the food or shredding it will work on the same principle.

I store my food in air tight containers, once all finely chopped and mixed up, I will fill it up with fresh clean water, so that the food can sit and soak in more moisture before fridiging it up, then I can just fill the food bowls up as appropriate.

Every day I will empty the contents of the water and refill it with fresh.

When feeding time comes I will give it a soak down with clean water, rinse it before feeding which helps keep them hydrated. as the food will have absorbed in more moisture. (see hydration + Humidity)

Foraged foods should only be collected from areas you know there has been no chemicals sprayed. Foods such as Dandelion, Clover, Sowthistle, purslane, nettles, plantains, milk thistle, cats ear, buddlia leaves, should all be rinsed and soaked before feeding, I mix mine up into a second container, for secondary feeds on the same principle as above.

This helps ensure healthy kidneys and overall hydration, osmatic action , osmoregulation. Hydration is critical to all functions, and naturally in tropical South America, a decent amount of there oral moisture intake will come from there food. .

In rare cases where you may have to use dry food diets, mix it up with the main bulk greens and soak them before adding on a food dish.

If you have a fussy feeder with supplements you can hide the supplement in a flower such as nasturtiums hibiscus, or petunia.

Any food that has gone off, or looks bad and you wont eat it, you should not expect your iguana too either.

Natural Food Items

Although iguanas are arboreal, they have been known to descend to the ground for food. They also pass from tree to tree, ignoring many edible leaves, to find the ones they presumably find desirable. Feeding activity has been observed as more frequent during late morning and early afternoon (Dugan, 19-80). These factors of the wild feeding patterns of green iguanas can be incorporated into feeding enrichment in captivity. Iguanas are commonly offered their daily diet in a bowl placed on the floor of their enclosure. This is fine, as evidence suggests even wild iguana will reach the ground in search of food, however, it could be improved to provide more mental stimulation and to encourage natural behaviours. Food can be placed in piles or bowls at levels, such as on shelves, throughout the enclosure. Leaves could also be hung from branches to mimic eating from a tree or, as an even better option, real plants such as a hibiscus plant could be provided for the iguana to pull leaves and flowers off of. Offering and replacing food at a late morning time seems most appropriate to fit in with their wild feeding habits.

D. van Marken Lichtenbelt, Oecologia (1993) and AS Rand et el (1990) recorded some of the native plants eaten by I.iguana in the wild, including:

Trees:

Genipa americana (leaves and fruit)
Sapium biglandolsum (young leaves)
Ficus sp. (leaves)
Coutarea hexandra ( leaves)
Pouteria sp. (leaves)
Cecropia peltata (leaves)
Bursera simaruba (leaves)
Tecoma stans (leaves and fruit)
Spondias mombin (leaves)
Acacia tortuosa (leaves, flowers and fruit)
Bourreria succulenta (young leaves, flowers and fruit)
Bursera bonairensis (leaves)
Caesalpinia coriaria (leaves, flowers and fruit)
Capparis flexuosa (young leaves, flowers and fruit)
Coccoloba swartzii(indefinite)
Condalia henriquezii (leaves)
Cordia alba (leaves, flowers and fruit)
Guapira spec. (young leaves, flowers and fruit)
Haematotoxilon brasiletto (young leaves, flowers and fruit)
Machaonia otonis(leaves and fruit)
Malpighia emarginata (leaves, flowers and fruit)
Metopium brownei (young leaves, flowers and fruit)
Randia aculeata (leaves, flowers and fruit)
Trichilia trifolia (leaves)

Shrubs:

Antirhea acutata (fruit)
Capparis odoratissima (young leaves and flowers)
Commicarpus scandens (leaves)
Cordia currassavica (young leaves)
Erythalis fructicosa (flower and fruit)
Annona acuminata (fruit)
Pisonia aculeata (leaves)
Capparis frondosa (leaves)

Vines:

Gouania lupuloides (leaves)
Cardiospermum grandiflorum (leaves)
Centrosema plumieri (leaves)
Pithecellobium oblongum (leaves)
Merremia umbellata (leaves)
Stictocardia tiIiifolia (leaves)
Merremia quinquefolia (leaves)
Operculina pteripes (fruits)
Citrullus sp (leaves)
Cucumis sp (leaves)
Momordica charantia (leaves)
Amphilophium paniculatum (leaves)
Ceratophytum tetragonolobum (fruit)

Herbs:

Laportea aestuans (leaves)
Cyperus sp (leaves)
Chamaesyce densiflora (leaves)

Climbers:

Ipomea sp (leaves)
Serjania curassavica (young leaves)

Cactus:

Cephalocereus lanuginosus (flower)
Cereus repandus (flower)
Lemairocereus griseus (flowers)

Other Plants identified or observed David J Baer

Annona Acuminta
Ceiba Pentandra
Cordia Alba
Capparis Frondosa
Stictocardia Tillifolia
Lanchocarpus Pentaphyllus
Miconia argentea
Cercopia Peltata
Pisonia aculeata
Ximenia americana
Gouainia lupuloides
Coutarea Hexandra
Pouteria Sp
Cardiospermum grandiflorium
Laportea aestuans
Cissus Sicyoides

References:

The Diet of a Generalized Folivore: Iguana iguana in Panama, AS Rand, BA Dugan, H Monteza and D Vianda. Journal of Herpetology 24(2):211-214, 1990
An Isotopic Study of Diet and Muscles of the Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) in Puerto RicoNo Access, Y. Govender, M. C. Muñoz, L. A. Ramírez Camejo, A. R. Puente-Rolón, E. Cuevas, and L. Sternberg, Journal of Herpetology June 2012 : Vol. 46, Issue 2 (Jun 2012), pg(s) 167-170
Optimal foraging of a herbivorous lizard, Green Iguana in a seasonal environment, by Wouter D. van Marken Lichtenbelt, Oecologia (1993) 95:246-256
Dietary Fiber Influences Nutrient Utilization, Growth and Dry Matter Intake of Green Iguanas (Iguana iguana)1997 David J. Baer Jour nutri.
Kathleen M. Kelley, Postdoctoral research associate
Current address: Dept. of Horticulture, Pennsylvania State University, 301 Tyson, University Park, PA 16802.
Bridget K. Behe, Associate professor
Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1325.
John A. Biernbaum, Professor
Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1325.
Kenneth L. Poff, Professor 2002
Boutilier, RG, Stiffler, DF, Toews, DP. Exchange of respiratory gases, ions, and water in amphibious and aquatic amphibians. in: Feder ME, Burggren WW (Eds.) Environmental Physiology of the Amphibians. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL; 1992:81–124.
Donoghue, S. Growth of juvenile green iguanas (Iguana iguana) fed four diets. J Nutr.1994;124:2626S–2629S.
- PubMed
Donoghue S, Vidal J, Kronfeld D: Growth and morphometrics of green iguanas (Iguana iguana) fed four levels of dietary protein. J Nutr (in press)
Allen, ME, Oftedal, OT. The Nutrition of Carnivorous Reptiles. in: Murphy JB, Adler K, Collins JT (Eds.)Captive Management and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles. Soc Study Amphib Rept, St Louis, MO; 1994:71–82.
Stevens, CE, Hume, ID. Comparative Physiology of the Vertebrate Digestive System. ed 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England; 1995.
Donoghue, S, Langenberg, J. Nutrition. in: Mader DR (Ed.) Reptile Medicine and Surgery. Saunders,Philadelphia, PA; 1996.
Iverson, JB. Adaptations to herbivory in Iguanine lizards. in: Burghardt GM, Rand AS (Eds.) Iguanas of the World. Noyes, Park Ridge, NJ; 1982:60–76.
McBee, RH, McBee, VH. The hindgut fermentation in the green iguana, Iguana iguana. in: Burghardt GM, Rand AS (Eds.) Iguanas of the World. Noyes, Park Ridge, NJ; 1982:77–83.
Bear, DJ. The nutrition of herbivorous reptiles. in: Murphy JB, Adler K, Collins JT (Eds.) Captive Management and Conservations of Amphibians and Reptiles. Soc Study Amphib Rept, St Louis, MO;1994:83–90.
in: Mader DR (Ed.) Reptile Medicine and Surgery. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA; 1996.
Scott, PW. Nutritional diseases. in: Beynon PH (Ed.) Manual of Reptiles. Br Small Anim Vet Assoc,Gloucestershire, UK; 1992:138–152.
Klingenberg, RJ. The box turtle: A practitioner's approach. in: 1996 Proceedings, 3rd Annual Meeting of the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veternarians. ; August 24–27, 1996:37–39.
Stahl, S, Donoghue, S. Pharyngostomy tube placement, management and use for nutritional support in the chelonian patient. in: 1997 Proceedings, 4th Annual Meeting of the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians. ; October 24–27, 1997:93–97.

Green Iguana - The Ultimate Owner's Manual
by James W. Hatfield, III
Trade paperback, published August 1996,

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/reptile/nutrition.html

Iguanas for dummies Melissa KaplanTrade paperback, published August 2000

Reptile Medicine and Surgeryby Douglas R. MaderHardcover, published November 2005Biology, Husbandry and Medicine of the Green Iguanaby E.R. Jacobsoned., 2003
Author(s) :Burghardt & Rand Iguanas of the world 1982
jn.nutrition.org/content/128/12/2587S.full
Arcadia guide to reptile and amphibian nutrition. John Courtney Smith

The Natural Iguana

Foraging and growing your own food can help increase your varieties

Even with a scrap of garden you should be able to grow some varieties of flowers plants or weeds

Why is variety feeding important?

That is a very good question, I aim to feed a variety for a few reasons.

2. Nutrition even now is a poorly addressed topic, new things are being discoverd every single day, so quite literally what turns out right today can turn out to be wrong tomorrow, this is even more of a reason to be feeding a variety of food items.

3. Wild iguana diets are often varied.

4.Each food has its benefits and downfalls, feeding a variety combined and rotated together can yeild over-all better nutritional results.

5. 90% of iguana illness is often linked to poor diet.

6.Each food has health and healing benefits, the more foods your feeding the more health and healing benefits they get.

7. The food they eat doesn't become boring.

8. Colour motiviation, sensory stimulation, occupational enrichment.

9. They don't get addicted to the same foods.

10. It keeps there lives interesting and more natural.

Nutritional Antagonists!

Vegetables can be bad?

Vitamins

Dry foods!!!

Vitamins and Minerals.

The baisics

Vitamins

Minerals

This is a great book for both the new and experineced owner, it covers a lot about various vitamins and minerals, along side many other plant foods, it also contains insight into other animal feeds and values. I have a short chapter in there discussing iguanas too.

What is the reccomended nutritional daily values of the green iguana? Updating

Copyright.

Shaundixon1@hotmail.co.uk