What Do Mophead Iguana Lizards Eat?

Mophead lizards, or mophead iguanas, are fairly popular pets. Unfortunately, their care and diet are not as obvious or easy as other pets, for which pet stores often carry bagged, live and frozen food. A common misconception is that iguanas eat insects or fruit. Iguanas are strict herbivores.

  1. Dark Leafy Greens

    • Rather than crickets or fruit flies, or even fruit, bearded iguanas require dark leafy greens to get the proper nutrition. These should include plants like mustard, dandelion, collard, and turnips. Spinach and dark lettuce are acceptable as treats. Cabbage, which contains entirely the wrong set of nutrients, is not. Neither are most vegetable plant's leaves. Ask at the pet store or veterinary office if you're unsure about a plant. Dark leafy greens should constitute about forty percent of the lizard's daily food intake.

    Calcium and Phosphorus

    • The two main components of an iguana's diet are calcium and phosphorus. The calcium should not be obtained through shell shards, insects, or other live foods, but through dark leafy greens rich in this element. The same applies to the phosphorus. However, be sure not to overfeed the lizard on dark leafy greens. Balance them with other dietary necessities, such as very small amounts of fruit and starch. Also, balance the lizard's diet by rotating the type of leaves it is getting. For example, feed it dandelions and turnip greens one day, with a piece of orange mixed in, and collard greens and mustard the next, throwing in a bit of cooked and cooled oatmeal for some starch.

      Starches, fruits and other treats should constitute a maximum of five percent of your lizard's diet. The remainder of the iguana's diet should be dark leafy greens and fresh vegetables of any kind.

    Starch

    • Starchy foods, like potatoes, oatmeal or rice, are an acceptable form of nutritive additive, but should not be given alone. Starch in an iguana's diet will cause rapid growth due to the nature of the sugars, and how the iguana's digestive systems break down the sugars. Rapid growth is the only reason to feed iguanas large amounts of starches. Otherwise, starch should be avoided beyond their small five percent of the normal diet, since long term use might damage the iguana.

    Fruit as Hydration

    • Citrus can be fed to an iguana to help with hydration if it isn't drinking enough water. Fruit should not be fed to an iguana on a regular basis as it will not be digested properly.

    Adding Protien

    • Do not add protein to your iguana's diet. This could potentially kill the iguana. Everything an iguana needs to survive and live a happy, healthy life is present in dark leafy greens, fresh vegetables, and just a bit of fruit and starch. Beyond that, they shouldn't need anything to assist their health besides plenty of fresh water.