Schedule

It is cornmon to hear people say that reptiles have a slow metabolism and do not need to be fed every day. I've heard it recornmended that you feed iguanas three times a week, every other day, and on other similar schedules. I think that these incorrect ideas come &om those familiar with snakes and who extend their knowledge to other reptiles they know less about.

While it is true that a healthy, well-fed iguana can go a day or even several days without eating, their biology is geared toward having food every day. After all, for the most part, they live in places that have an abundance of plant life. When you are a browsing animal, you do not have an unsuccessful hunt. In the wild, iguanas normally eat every day; they should have the opportunity to do likewise in captivity. Your iguana might on occasion skip eating for a day or so, but you should offer food daily anyway.

• Iguanas seem to eat best in the morning, but I've found them to be adaptable to your schedule. One thing to avoid is feeding them at night or close to the time you shut the lights off on their enclosures. As you know, iguanas are diurnal animals, and they will not feed at night. This means that if you feed your iguana at night, the food will sit until the next morning, possibly becoming rotten and unhealthy to eat. It certainly will be less palatable than &esh food.

If your feed your iguana late in the day, within roughly the last hour before you turn off the encIosure lighting, he may have insufficient warmth to properly digest his food. This can lead to the food spoiling in the digestive tract, which can cause serious problems. Feed your iguana so that he has plenty of time to get digestion undelWay before his encIosure cools down for the night. Because iguanas seem to prefer to eat in the morning, this would be the ideal time to feed your ig.

No matter what time of day you feed your iguana, you should try to stick to a regular feeding schedule. You'll find your iguana will get very attached to this routine. Mine even act up on days that 1 feed them late or skip feeding: they throw their food bowls (incIuding uneaten food) all over the cage.

When you feed your iguana each day, you should remove any uneaten food and give the food bowl a thorough wash in hot soapy water.