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Zoo Frustrations and Iguana Diets??

sciencechick

sciencechick

New member
I know this may be better asked in a different forum, but you all seem so nice and knowedgeable I thought I would try here first. Please excuse any venting that may pop up.

I have been volunteering at a zoo for the summer. It is fun, but it can be a bit frustrating.

One of the issues is the iguanas. I mostly deal witht he birds and some of the small mammals, but sometimes I help with the iguanas too. I had avoided it because their stupid water dish usually leads to me wearing half of it when i change it, but after reading up on diets I want to see if I can change thigns a bit for them when I can.

They get lettuce, grapes, and bananas when the guys do their diet. When my supervisor does it, they have been getting some more frutis and veggies and an egg. They also have a flake iguana diet they sprinkle over their food.

I have been reading a little and it seems like 50% lettuce and 50% fruits isn't quite right. What should they be getting? I keed reading different things for what should be a staple, and often what I do read we don't have often.

Today there were two more female volunteers. They seem to think the birds are for the ladies, so I would not be surprised if suddenly we have a bunch more women there for the summer on this one little assignment because the owner seems to be a bit sexist. We have been doing some cleaning up some cabinets (annoying the owner endlessly since half of his stuff is expired and thrown out while we try not to hurl at the cockroaches scurrying everywhere). So anyways, I may have more time or help to take care of the iguanas.

Also, any reccomendations for a really cheap dish for water that I could bring in? What they have now is terrible to carry but I am not sure what is safe for them. I can't spend all that much on stuff to bring in since I would want to do it for so many different critters :/
 
Oops, I forgot to mention that they do have a pre-prepared Iguana diet. The instructiosn on the bag say to feed primarly that though, but it just gets sprinkled on top as "vitamins"
 
They are nice and care about the animals, some of the people can jsut be stubborn. I haven't seen anything I know to be completely terrible. I am just there for the summer and I figure I can at least improve things for a couple months for some of them.
 
Ok, I was just curious. I would find out the proper diets and would bring it up to the manager of the area. Most keepers/curators are very receptive to constructive criticism, but then again, many aren't. I work at a zoo so I have to deal with these kinds of things from time to time. Best of luck.
 
I am having trouble finding the proper diets though. Any websites you can reccomend? I find some, but some reccomend things that others say should only be given sparingly.
 
sciencechick said:
I am having trouble finding the proper diets though. Any websites you can reccomend? I find some, but some reccomend things that others say should only be given sparingly.
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Wish I could help, but I work in operations and don't really have much to do directly with the animals. Though I spend enough time browsing the snake house to work there. :p
 
To be honest, all I know about iguana diet is they are herbivores. Everything else I know stems strictly from the vegetable portion of a bearded dragon's diet. The first time I took my beardie in for a check-up, the vet gave me a print-out from the Green Iguana Society that lists good and "okay" foods. These are a few of the staples, but the entire list can be found at http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm:
Collard, Mustard, and Dandelion greens; Butternut, Kabocha, and Acorn squash; Cactus pads; Green beans; Snap peas; and Mango.

Hope it helps. =)
 
sciencechick said:
They get lettuce, grapes, and bananas when the guys do their diet. When my supervisor does it, they have been getting some more frutis and veggies and an egg. They also have a flake iguana diet they sprinkle over their food.

I have been reading a little and it seems like 50% lettuce and 50% fruits isn't quite right. What should they be getting? I keed reading different things for what should be a staple, and often what I do read we don't have often.

Also, any reccomendations for a really cheap dish for water that I could bring in? What they have now is terrible to carry but I am not sure what is safe for them. I can't spend all that much on stuff to bring in since I would want to do it for so many different critters :/
Click to expand...


So far the diet they are on is COMPLETELY wrong. Iguanas should be eating about 45% leafy greens (NO lettuce), 45% vegetables, and only 10% fruit, eggs/other animal protien and commercial iguana food should never be fed to Iguanas. You want their diet to be high in calcium and low in phosphorous.

This is the best website for Iguanas, it has just about everything you need to know.

http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html

As for a cheap water bowl, I would use a rubbermaid container. It needs to be big enough for them to fit completely in.

My answer was a little vague I could go more in detail but that website will tell you everything, hope that helps you out.
 
Iguana diet needs to be mostly dark leafy greens with smaller amounts of "bulk" veggies. No egg or other animal protein at all, not even for babies. Small amounts of fruit can be added for treats.

Commercial foods are usually OK, but fresh is always best.

I buy 2 or 3 of the following each week:

Collards
Mustards
Dandelion
Turnips
Romaine
Watercress
Kale

They also get 1 or 2 of something else (you can find safe foods on lists on various other sites) and an occasional topper of water soaked zoo med iguana pellets. Fruits I choose are strawberry, watermelon, raspberry, mango, bananna.

In addition to the 2 sites already listed, look at the Iguana Den. (not sure of the addy but your browser should find it).

They also need lots of humidity. lots of water and lots of UVb.

Good luck getting the zoo staff to improve their diet--let us know how it goes.
 
I gave them some collard greens yesterday, and every last bit was gone. So, either they gobbled it up and left the lettuce or someone pulled it all off.

There wasn't anything but lettuce and spinach today, but I gave them some mango and papaya which they seemed to like, plus some asparagus and bell pepper.

I took a closer look at them today and they don't look great. They all seem to have dead skins tuck to them, on the spines and one had a big chunk stuck to his cheek. I sprayed them down a little. How can I help them shed?

I will be reading up on them this weekend and bringing some stuff in to my supervisor, though she doesn't really have a ton of power so it is on the two of us to just go do it. I will be doing them first thing before people grab it.

They were moving around a bit more today now that it is warming up. I want to try and make things better for them if I can. Thanks for all the help. I will post updates if things get worse or better.
 
sciencechick said:
I gave them some collard greens yesterday, and every last bit was gone. So, either they gobbled it up and left the lettuce or someone pulled it all off.

There wasn't anything but lettuce and spinach today, but I gave them some mango and papaya which they seemed to like, plus some asparagus and bell pepper.

I took a closer look at them today and they don't look great. They all seem to have dead skins tuck to them, on the spines and one had a big chunk stuck to his cheek. I sprayed them down a little. How can I help them shed?

I will be reading up on them this weekend and bringing some stuff in to my supervisor, though she doesn't really have a ton of power so it is on the two of us to just go do it. I will be doing them first thing before people grab it.

They were moving around a bit more today now that it is warming up. I want to try and make things better for them if I can. Thanks for all the help. I will post updates if things get worse or better.
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Spinach is another big no no for them along with the lettuce.

To help with the shed the need to be able to soak their entire bodies every day and spraying them 3 times a day is good too because they need lots of humidity.

They may be sluggish due to improper food and I'm guessing lighting/heat. Igs need a UV light (I use repti sun 10.0 flourescent tube) and they need to be changed every 6 months. They also need a basking spot to warm up in.

Good luck.
 
I read spinach as being a no no long term/ regularly. :/ They gave all the effin collard greens to the ostriches, I had no greens to give them expect lettuce and spinach. I don't intend to give spinach all the time but I thought they could use a break from iceberg/ romaine. Is it bad every once in a while too?

I am not there the whole day, I can spray them when I show upa nd when I leave. I will start doign that as soon as show up.

I think their lamps are OK, they have two.

I get so mad thinking about it, and I can't talk to anyone about it because they will not listen. I will do the best I can for their diet, but finding the right stuff won't be easy. Unfortunaly I don't think I can stop the lettuce. ALl I can do is grab the good stuff when they have it.
 
If I can remember, I'll ask tomorrow at work. I've got to talk with the herp curator anyway. It might take his mind off of the fact that the work request he turned in is going to cost him a thousand bucks to complete. Haha.
 
sciencechick said:
I read spinach as being a no no long term/ regularly. :/ They gave all the effin collard greens to the ostriches, I had no greens to give them expect lettuce and spinach. I don't intend to give spinach all the time but I thought they could use a break from iceberg/ romaine. Is it bad every once in a while too?

I am not there the whole day, I can spray them when I show upa nd when I leave. I will start doign that as soon as show up.

I think their lamps are OK, they have two.

I get so mad thinking about it, and I can't talk to anyone about it because they will not listen. I will do the best I can for their diet, but finding the right stuff won't be easy. Unfortunaly I don't think I can stop the lettuce. ALl I can do is grab the good stuff when they have it.
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I would stay away from spinach all together, Romaine is better than spinach but is also not great.

I've had this same problem and most of the time people will not listen no matter what, but try to be calm and respectful and let them know the facts. Also printing out stuff from the websites for them to see with their own eyes may help.
 
Iguanagirl8662 said:
I would stay away from spinach all together, Romaine is better than spinach but is also not great.
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Personally, I stay away from anything that isn't considered a "staple"--there's enough "staple" foods to give a variety that way, anyway... Which would mean staying away from spinach and all of the lettuces.

I've had this same problem and most of the time people will not listen no matter what, but try to be calm and respectful and let them know the facts. Also printing out stuff from the websites for them to see with their own eyes may help.
Click to expand...

YES. Print things out. Lots of things. Print out caresheets, food information charts, everything you can find that you feel they need to see. Print out several of each, from several different sources, and put it in front of them with the websites ON the printed pages so they can look for themselves if they feel the need.. If they continue to be stubborn, put up the charts and care sheets next to the iguanas, where other caretakers see them. If management isn't going to do a whole lot, maybe other volunteers will join you in making an attempt to do what they can?

As for the shed, I'd say do what you would for any other reptile with a stuck shed. Make sure they can soak in their water dishes. Mist often. Assist shed some of the looser stuck stuff when it wants to come off. Maybe even drape damp towels over the shed-covered spines when you have the spare time, to help loosen it... I also wonder if an iguana would use a moist hide tailored to a large lizard?

Again, I have no experience with iguanas and barely any with lizards, but these are my observations and thoughts. I hope it helps, and GOOD LUCK! You are a great person to be so concerned for the mistreated iguanas. =)
 
There are a few people that can help me out most days.

I will consider printing stuff up, but I kind of see that just annoying people and not making things better for the iguanas but making it tougher on me.

I will consider possibly doing a moist hide, but they get concerned about them hiding too much and visitors not seeing them :nope:
 
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