I know you can't over feed an iguana. I'm wondering if they can just eat to be eating? Ozzy has tripled her intake. If I fill her bowl she will eat it. She is pooping 2 times a day. The first one of the day was a BIG mess and the second one was fine. Her lights go out at 7:45, so her last feeding was at about 5:30 or 6:00. the past 2 days I changed. Her last bowl of greens is 3:30 - 4:00. Her first poop was good yesterday and today. Gale
Re: over eating
Posted by roger on 8/3/2012, 4:48 pm, in reply to "over eating" 70.36.215.249
I suppose if it were not for defecation messes, you wouldn't think twice about how much she eats?
"Eat just to be eating". Like when we're not hungry, yet we still open a box of chocolates and eat them all? We've proven that humans often eat purrely for pleasure. But it's an inscrutable statement when applied to iguanas. It sounds just like "over-eating".
Time of year, hormones, and return to optimum heat/lighting increase iguana appetites, and we don't have all that figured out, and probably never will.
Decades of observing eating behavior show us that increased appetite is natural and doesn't lead to physical problems, and is common. For all we've ever seen, you treat increased appetite by feeding it without worry.
Roger
Re: over eating
Posted by Gale on 8/5/2012, 12:13 pm, in reply to "Re: over eating" 67.187.196.19
Thanks Roger. What your saying makes sense. I was thinking because I was feeding her in a smallish bowl and refilling it often she might think she was going to miss out if she didn't eat. I have given her larger portions less often for the past few days. Not feeding past 4:30 has seemed to make a difference on her poop consistency. She is getting the same amount of food. She is also pooping in the same place and not in 3 different places.
Re: over eating
Posted by roger on 8/5/2012, 4:35 pm, in reply to "Re: over eating" 70.36.215.249
The way to figure out how much she needs to eat is to feed her in relatively large bowls, and put enough food in so that when she's finished, there's some left. You can zero in on "just the right amount" pretty quickly.
