No, Iguanas cannot eat avocado. Avocados contain chemicals like oxalic acid that can make your iguana sick or cause long-term injury.
Throughout this guide, we’ll explain:
- Can Iguanas Eat Avocado?
- Why Is Avocado Bad For Iguanas?
- What Foods Are Toxic To Iguanas?
- What Food Is Safe For Iguanas?
Iguanas should not eat avocado. In the wild, iguanas are known for eating insects, and avocado is considered a fruit. Approximately 80-90% of their diet consists of leafy greens, while 20% of their diet contains fruits.
Giving your Iguana an excessive amount of fruit will lead to them becoming dependent on the food. To avoid this, make sure you give them greens such as dandelions and alfalfa.
Why Is Avocado Bad For Iguanas?
Oxalic Acid
While Avocado is considered a superfood for humans, its oxalic acid can be fatal for iguanas. Oxalic works by breaking down the calcium in an iguana’s body. Calcium is so important because if it is bound, your chameleon won’t be able to utilize it. This can be a severe issue because it will lead to bone structure issues resulting in fragile bone structure for your iguana.
What Foods Are Toxic To Iguanas?
Foods That Have High Oxalates
Oxalates contain Oxalic acid, which is dangerous to your iguana’s health. If over consumed, oxalic acid will lead to metabolic bone disease. To diagnose whether your iguana is injured, take time to inspect its movements.
If you notice that they are moving around less, then you can see that they are suffering from pain. At this point, you need to take them to a vet and determine if it’s a bone density issue.
Goitrogens
Goitrogens are substances that can impair your chameleon’s thyroid. It does this by stopping the organic binding and reducing its iodine intake.
Also, Goitrogens receive their name from “goiter,” a term used to explain an enlarged thyroid gland. Plants and foods that are rich in goitrogens are responsible for the development and persistence of goiter and the diseases associated with it.
What Foods Are Safe For Iguanas?
When feeding your iguana, you’ll want to give them foods that are high in calcium and have minimal phosphorus. You can feed your iguana food such as:
Leafy Greens
In the wild, iguanas are natural-born herbivores. As a result, they are able to Greens are the main part of an iguana’s diet. When eating, iguanas ferment the food to get the maximum nutrition out of it.
Fiber is required to complete this process, and greens offer the most fiber out of any food group. If your iguana doesn’t eat enough fiber, chances are it will have gastrointestinal problems.
Vegetables
In a 1982 Van Devender study, about 33% of younger iguanas were found with flowers in their stomach. However, adults during this observation did not consume flowers. This means that as iguanas grow, they become more dependent on leaves as a source of nutrition.
Still, a captive iguana needs to have vegetables in order to have a diverse, nutrient-rich diet. The best vegetables you can give your iguana are pumpkin, okra leaves, and carrots. Always remember, if the food is too large for your iguana to consume, you can always chop it into smaller pieces. That way, it’s easier for them to digest.
Vitamin Supplements
There are times when you’ll need to add extra nutrition to your chameleon’s food. Vitamin supplements are essential to their diet when you want to obtain all of the nutrients.
When purchasing vitamin supplements, you’ll want to make sure that it’s rich in Vitamin B. The Vitamin A you’re feeding to your chameleon should be in beta-carotene form. Usually, a healthy iguana diet will have more than enough vitamin A.
However, too much Vitamin A via supplements can lead to overdose. If Vitamin A is used through beta-carotene, your iguana can process the excess vitamins they don’t need.
Fruits
Fruits aren’t essential, but they do take up to 9%-15% of an iguana’s diet. However, most of the food bought in a store has less nutritional content than food that’s produced in the wild.
In addition, fruits have low fiber, making it a concerning health decision for iguanas. If anything, fruit should be used as a moisture and flavor enhancer. However, you can feed your iguanas fruit in moderation. Expect to feed your iguana fruit every 2 weeks.
Here are some fruits that you can give to your pet iguana:
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Papaya
- Pineapple
- Figs
- Berries
Final Words
Under no circumstances should you give your iguana a piece of avocado. If you want to get the most nutrition for them, give them a balanced diet that contains greens, vegetables, and fruits on occasion. Doing this will add more longevity to their lifespan and help them remain healthy throughout their life.
Also Read
References
https://kidneystonediet.com/are-avocados-high-in-oxalate/
https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-oxalates
https://www.safarivet.com/care-topics/reptiles-and-amphibians/iguana/