Unfortunately, many conscientious owners are misinformed in matters concerning proper nutritional, environmental, and medical care for their species of reptile. The goal of this quarterly newsletter is to educate the avid herpetoculturist in routine husbandry practices and to encourage communication between pet owner and veterinarian in times of health as well as in sickness. Hopefully we can improve both the quantity and quality of life of our scaled companions. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. P. Euler, VMD Iguana Nutrition Lizards are the second most popular reptile kept in the US today behind only turtles.
Many excellent references are available for the enthusiastic owner.
These include, but are not limited to, Iguanas by Fredric L. Frye, The Green Iguana Manual by Philippe de Vosjoli, and the bimonthly magazine The Vivarium. Perhaps the most poorly under-stood yet exceedingly important aspect of iguana care is nutrition. At the present time, we are unsure of the exact requirements of the various vitamins and minerals needed for proper reptile growth and maintenance. For that reason most reptile veterinarians recommend a varied home prepared diet as opposed to any commercial iguana foods currently on the market. Another important dietary consideration are the amounts of calcium and phosphorus in the diet.