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Plant in habitat

21 15:01:38

Question

Zeus's Habitat
I have a young iguana (not even a year old) and I was wondering if it is ok for me to have this live plant in the habitat with him.  It is a pathos, I just put it in yesterday.  He nibbled a little on the leaves-as I was expecting him to-but not much since I keep him well fed.  He gets a variety of greens, some veggies and occasionally fruit (he loves blueberries!).  I'm not too worried about him damaging the plant since it is so large and since he is so small, but I don't know if it is ok for him to eat it.  I attached a pic of the plant in the cage if it helps (and I do plan on eventually expanding the cage since I know it won't always be big enough).  Thank you!

Jessica

Answer
Dear Jessica,

Thank you for looking to me to answer your question about edible/non-edible plants in iguana terrariums. Looking at your picture, I am truly amazed by what a nice enclosure you have! Your iguana is undoubtedly very loved and I can tell you are doing your research on iguana care.

Now, to begin, I have 2 separate topics to address. Firstly, I noticed that you are using a window as a lighting source in the habitat and I did not see an overhead light or heat source (forgive me if I am wrong). Yes, natural sunlight is positively the best source of light for an iguana, but if the iguana is getting filtered sunlight through the glass, it is not allowing the essential UVA and UVB rays through onto the iguana. Also, if you are using a diurnal (solar) cycle for the iguana, the temperatures are probably not staying high enough overnight. I strongly suggest adding an overhead light source and I recommend the Exo Terra "Solar Glo" Sun Simulating lamp because it provides very good UVA and UVB output as well as a considerable amount of heat. The bulb itself runs roughly $35-$40 but it has a 6 month warranty and is cheaper than trying to buy a UVA bulb and a separate UVB bulb and a separate heat source. Finally, at night, when the sun goes down, the iguana needs to sleep in the dark, but he also needs to stay warm. This is when a nocturnal infrared bulb can go in place of the UV daytime bulb. I urge against heat rocks because they often give burns.

Ok, the second topic is about the plants...(the original concern). Edible plants are a wonderful addition to an iguana terrarium because they create good air quality and give the iguana something to snack on in between feedings, not to mention that the actual act of eating leaves directly off of a branch is appealing to iguanas who were made to do this in the wild.

Now, the particular plant you said you are using is the pothos...and this is NOT a suitable plant. I did some research on it and I found this statement: "The plant is listed as "toxic to cats, toxic to dogs" by the ASPCA, due to the presence of insoluble calcium oxalates. Care should be taken to ensure the plant is not consumed by house pets. Symptoms may include oral irritation, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing." Now, your iguana is probably going to be fine if he ate a little of it, one time my iguana Trogdor ate every single leaf off of my poinsettia plant and we were really worried about him but he was fine. Anapsid.org has a useful list of good an bad plants for herbivores, particularly reptiles; SEE:

http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants.html

For a list of the "safe" plants, SEE:

http://www.anapsid.org/resources/edible.html

For a list of the "HARMFUL" plants, SEE:

http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants-ag.html
http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants-hn.html
http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants-oz.html


Now, my recommendation is to switch that plant with a different one on the "SAFE" plants list. My favorite plant to grow for iguanas is the hibiscus because they can eat the leaves and it produces great big flowers, which they go crazy for.

I hope this helps, if not, please follow up with any remaining concerns.

Sara J Gwerder
President
Raptor Rescue Iguana Sanctuary
Shreveport, LA
www.RaptorRescue.org