Almost a month ago to date I got myself an iguana. The iguana I had gotten looked as if he needed to gain weight, and he has a bit since. Although I see him eating I still feel he needs to eat more as he seems so weak. I took him in as a rescue pet, and he is my first iguana so please tell me if I am doing something wrong as I clearly would like to know. So first thing first I have my iguana in a 36x18x43 cage until he grow a bit more to go into his 7x4x2 cage I have. His cage is at 78 degrees and a basking of 95 degrees. Humidity level is always around 75%. He has a reptisun 5.0 that's not even a month old. He has a running waterfall as well as a bowl that has flunkers calcium drops in it so he can choose between running and still water to drink from. He is fed collards daily. Mixed with other fruits and veggies including carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, yellow squash, mango, cantaloupe, collard greens, dandelions, mustard greens and banana. I'm trying to keep things mixed up till I figure out his favorites. I don't feed him any live prey at all, what I have read wouldn't be good for him. My main concern is that today was my first day weighing him and he only weighs 77 grams! I read that hatchlings weigh about 90, so im now very concerned. I now know his ideal weight should be about 1- 1 1/2 lbs for his length which is 23 inches. So at almost two feet he is really tiny. I am now scheduling a vet apt for him tomorrow to have my local reptile vet look at him.. But in the mean time anyone know how I can bulk him up more. What foods are fattier for him but also healthy at the same time. Also any tips or tricks about raising an iguana from you experienced with them already!
try adding more bananas and collard greens to his diet, and cut back on the carrots and mustard greens. Carrots can cause diarrhea and that could further cause him to lose fluids and weight, also the mustard greens bind calcium with secondary compounds and that basically pulls calcium from his body, just lower the amounts of these two... and remove the standing water because that is a breeding ground for bacteria which could cause him to get sick. he should drink from clean moving water... try doing these and see if he improves -JnM_Reptiles
