Vegatarian Lizards

Weather1 · 02-20-03, 01:19 PM

I am looking for a lizard that only eats veggies. No crickets, mealies etc...

Any ideas as to what kind will thrive with only veggies?

The reason I ask is I am moving and the only pet shop there sells crickets at over $2.00 a dozen so it will be real expensive to feed them.

Thanks

**Breeding my own is not an option as I will be breeding rats for my snakes and only want to deal with one breeding project**

norman · 02-20-03, 01:58 PM

arent mali uromatistyx veggitarians? maybe not, never really looked into it, but theyre pretty cool if you dont mind the whole turtle without a shell look.

eyespy · 02-20-03, 02:41 PM

Blue tongue skinks will eat canned cat food so even though they are not strictly vegetarian they do pretty well for folks who are not able to get feeder insects easily.

Or if you love lizards who love bugs, maybe somebody can recommend a vendor who can ship crickets to you at a reasonable cost. Since I'm in the US the one I use wouldn't be very helpful to you but I'm sure there are lots of folks who can help out.

Maybe post a request in the Food for Thought forum?

eyespy · 02-20-03, 02:42 PM

Oh, and there are folks who have gotten good results feeding adult bearded dragons Rep-cal pellets alongside a good varied salad diet. I wouldn't recommend that for growing beardies or if you ever plan on breeding, but a well-established adult seems to thrive on that diet.

lynsey_togofire · 02-20-03, 02:56 PM

well...i didn't hear the one suggestion i was waiting for...the most obvious. but in regards to this one you have to think about size...iguanas. they are strictly vegetarians, but also get rather large. if you get a good one, they can be very very sweet wonderful lizards, they just happen to get approx. 6 feet or so.

if you go for an iguana, just make sure that the base of their diet is Collard Greens, which can be found in any local grocery store and normally run about $.69 a bundle. for my iguana i made a salad of a mixture of Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, and Kale...then i added UNSALTED canned veggies to it. but the main part of the salad was the Collards. just remember that iguanas need a calcium

otassium level of 7:1 and the Collard Greens provide that balance. you may still want to invest in some calcium powder that you sprinkle on the food, just read the directions closely. hope that helps! and if you get an iguana let me know! i'll give you more of my vast knowledge of them! my email is: spritz7908@msn.com....or....jazminegrl@yahoo.com

Lynsey

lynsey_togofire · 02-20-03, 02:58 PM

where that :P is....supposed to say Calcium : Potassium ratio of 7:1 sorry....:P

lynsey

eyespy · 02-20-03, 05:09 PM

Well said, lynsey. I'm the slave to 2 green iguanas myself but was hesitant to suggest them because the iguana lifestyle isn't right for everyone. Not just the size, but the possibility of males becoming unpredictable and aggressive during breeding season means they aren't for everyone.

I do use collards as one of my greens staples but do mix it up a fair bit, there are many other nutrients iguanas need and collards are a bit weak in some of them. Adding small amounts of acorn or butternut squash to other calcium-rich greens gives a fairly good calcium to potassium ratio while keeping phosphorus within reasonable levels.

I love the book Green Iguana: The Ultimate Owner's Manual by James Hatfield III as a way of deciding whether your life has room for an iguana in it.

marisa · 02-20-03, 05:13 PM

I agree with Eyespy..... Collards are a definite plus but Dandelion Greens are even better than those. And the ratio of 7:1 is important but it doesn't matter if you go higher with the calcium. As with dandelion greens. I fed mine Collards but also dandelion greens. I believe Kale can inhibit calcium absorbsion, but I may have the wrong green.

You also *need* fresh winter squashes like Eyespy said, another main part of their diet. Butternut, spagettie squash, etc.

And that book is excellent.

Marisa

Weather1 · 02-20-03, 05:18 PM

Thanks eveyone for the interesting advice.

marisa · 02-20-03, 05:22 PM

No probs. If I was you I'd go for the Mali. I love my iguanas but frnakly I'd never have another one. It does take a certain commitment level, and its higher than even having a dog or cat. I thought at first thats what I wanted but now I see how much work it DOES take to raise even one iguana, and we have two.

Marisa

Katatonic · 02-20-03, 08:05 PM

Blue Tongue Skink or Mali Uromastyx sound like your options. Happy herping.

norman · 02-20-03, 08:51 PM

yeah i looked after a iguana for a couple of weeks and they are a handfull.but if it is going to be your only lizard then that wouldnt be bad. I do like iguanas and if you can take care of them they are fun lizards with a LOT of character.

snakedude_03 · 02-20-03, 09:12 PM

what about crested geckos!? they eat baby food(meat and fruit) and crickets.. there is a product made by t-rex i think and u could feed it just that called the crested gecko food or something?

Clownfishie · 02-20-03, 09:26 PM

I think that mali uromastyx are really cute

Funny looking, but in a cute way... hehe

And they are vegetarians, although I think that they don't mind the occasional cricket snack.

I don't know if it's the blue tongue skink, or another one, but there's definitely at least one of them that can be kept on a diet of moist cat/dog food...

snakemann87 · 02-20-03, 09:38 PM

id have to agree with those who said uromastyx, they are good sized, great tempered, easy to care for, and not to mention funny lizards that fit your veggie needs