BECAUSE OF MY RECENT BOUT WITH BREAST CANCER, I will no longer be publishing the printed newsletter. But I am compiling a list of the 120 newsletters with scores of articles of interest to all iguana owners. Back issues will be available and the information contained in them is essential and current. To obtain a list of the back newsletters, please send $2.00 (for the list and a sample back issue) to:
Iguana Iguana Newsletter
23852 PCH #123
Malibu, CA 90265
Make checks payable to: Windemere Designs
WRITE TO KAYTEE PRODUCTS INC.
Almost the most egregious thing I have seen in relation to pet food products appears on the label of a bottle of dry iguana food produced and sold by one of the largest manufacturers of pet products, Kaytee Products, Inc. (Check other iguana food products for similar ingredients and bad advice.)
I was getting dog food at my local PetCo (which has agreed not to sell iguanas anymore!), when I noticed a sale table of pet items. Always looking for a bargain, I perused the scruffy leashes and collars, dog-eared books, bird feeders, etc. and found a bottle of "iguana food" on sale. I instantly grabbed it to look at the ingredients list.
As I expected, the first item on the list (amounts of ingredients are always listed by the highest content item first) was corn - not a recommended food for iguanas because of the low calcium/high phosphorous content and not easily digestible. The list of ingredients made me pretty mad but the real reason I bought the jar and brought it home was because of something written on the label.
Besides the dubious claims of how superior it is for your iguana, the label helpfully tells the consumer that inadequate levels of nutrition may lead to metabolic bone disease. It goes on to claim that Kaytee Iguana Food provides "the proper nutrition for your pet".
However, because this product has Vitamin D added, the label tells us that "the need for ultraviolet light is diminished" but that "broad-spectrum lighting is still recommended to maintain the psychological health of your iguana." So the purchaser is led to believe that this food will provide all the needed vitamin D so don't bother to add ultraviolet lighting to your enclosure (but don't forget a light bulb so your iguana is not in the dark - thanks!).
What they are really doing is telling us that if you give an iguana their crude Vitamin D and then expose him or her to ultraviolet light, you will increase the level of Vitamin D to toxic levels and cause hypervitamintosis and metastatic organ mineralization (hypercalcification) and as we learned last month with Nicholas, hypercalcification can lead to a painful existence and ultimately, death.
They also suggest that this food has "adequate" fiber content (only 12%!) but then suggest you mix with vegetables and fruits to "encourage consumption"! So, basically, this product is not only entirely useless but dangerous.
BUT - here is the most egregious statement and one that must be denounced. I quote: "Feed Adult Iguana Food to animals over four foot in length OR WHEN SLOWER GROWTH IS DESIRED." This label is suggesting that you can starve an iguana to keep it from growing too large! Just what the ill-informed, perhaps expedient iguana purchaser needs to hear. Feed this inadequate food for a smaller iguana! I see this statement as criminal.
The suggested amount to feed is also outrageous. The bottle holds 6.5 ounces of "flower-shaped nuggets". The label says to feed one tablespoon per foot or slightly more in a twelve hour period. At two tablespoons per dry ounce - 6.5 ounces is 13 tablespoons or less than three days worth of "food" for an adult iguana of four feet in length. Ridiculous and unbelievable. No one is going to adequately feed an adult iguana with this expensive store-bought food if they have to buy a bottle every couple of days. This product is also very hard and rough, not a good thing for a soft, herbivorous iguana mouth.
Call, e-mail and write letters to this company and complain loudly. Tell them that you are outraged. And thanks for taking the time to speak out.
Sandra Stafford, Editor
IGUANA IGUANA Newsletter
WRITE, E-MAIL, CALL:
Kaytee Products Inc., 521 Clay Street, Chilton, WI 53014
Call: 800-KAYTEE 1 or 920-849-2321, e-mail to: customerservice@kaytee.com
BEGIN AN IGUANA JOURNAL
Keeping a record of your iguana's growth will insure that your iguana grows properly and is healthy throughout the year.
Make sure that before you get an exotic, wild creature that you commit to spending the money on vet visits and that you will create the proper living conditions for your new friend.
Letting any animal be sick or injured for any period of time before getting professional help is shameful and unfair to the creature you have chosen to share your life.
I get kind of crazy when I read an e-mail from a well-intentioned
individual who claims to LOVE their iguana but has them in a sub-standard
enclosure that is way too small, feeds them commercially prepared dry pellets
and hasn't given any thought to where an iguana actually COMES from. Iguanas
don't come from a pet store like vegetables don't come from a grocery store...
Iguanas are from the rainforest, live in a very warm, humid climate, and
live in trees. I personally consider it to be cruel and thoughtless to buy
an animal without any concern for that animal's needs and health.
Owning a wild animal (iguanas are NOT domestic animals...they are wild
creatures) requires a commitment to the animals needs. A wild, thrashing
iguana is not mean or nasty but fearful of a huge predator (you)
that the iguana thinks is going eat him. Thrashing, biting, and hissing
is a defense mechanism...don't take it personally! Don't expect too much
at first. Be patient with your iguana and don't misunderstand it's natural
fear of you.
Stress is a killer. Don't keep your iguana up all night with lights on
and music blaring. Put his enclosure in a quiet place so he can rest
at night, in a warm place, in the DARK. Make sure your enclosure has sight
shields on the lower part so your iguana can have some privacy and not feel
continually threatened. Stress causes a weakened immune system and the potenial
for illness.
If your iguana is ill, don't wait to take him to the vet until it is
too late. Not only does waiting make the visit more expensive but doesn't
give the vet much chance to save your pet...the one you LOVE so much. If
you can't make a commitment to regular veterinary care for your reptile,
don't get one. It is cruel to allow a creature to be in pain and to suffer
because you don't want to spend the money to take a sick animal to the vet.
Thanks,
Sandra Stafford, Editor
PET STORES, SALMONELLA
Many pet stores are good, honest, and informed. Many, many are not.
The pet industry should be policing itself and eliminating the inaccurate
information, inadequate housing, uninformed employees, and, as much as possible,
dangerous or useless products.
Are we, as humans, so self-centered that we think we can take
an animal out of its natural environment, stick it in an inadequate enclosure,
starve it, bake it or freeze it, and basically torture it, just for our
own enjoyment?
I am not against owning and caring for an animal. I have raised
and cared for hundreds. I think children gain invaluable lessons about responsibility
and compassion raising animals. But the goal is to make that creatures life
a healthy and contented one. To achieve that goal, one must educate themselves
about the needs of that animal and pet stores should be held to the same
standard. Just because they view animals as inventory, doesn't mean the
needs of the animal are secondary to the $$$cash$$$. The bottom line should
not be profit but well-being of the animal...
...and the well-being of the customer. As we all know now, Salmonella
bacteria can be dangerous for young children and pregnant women. Pet stores
and schools need to be made aware of this potential health hazard.
Salmonella bacteria can be contracted through the handling of
pet store reptiles. Pet stores should have waterless antibacterial soap
or spray for customers who handle reptiles.
If a pet store you frequent allows customers, especially children,
to handle their reptiles, encourage them to have waterless antibiotic soap
on hand.
If your children are exposed to reptiles in the classroom, make
sure the teachers are aware of this product, as well. Studies have shown
that even the spray-on antibacterial liquid can eliminate up to 95% of bacteria.
To prevent exposure to Salmonella bacteria, wash your hands well with
antibacterial hand soap after handling any reptile or reptile waste, buy
a non-wooden cutting board to use to prepare your iguana's food and keep
it for that purpose only. Buy two sets of food dishes, water dishes, substrate
carpeting, and iguana pools. Alternate them. Clean one set and put out into
the sun to dry thoroughly. Use a laundry room or extra bathroom to clean
reptile equipment. Use common sense, care, and cleanliness to avoid any
problems with Salmonella bacteria.
Back to Iguana Iguana Home Page
Previous Articles in IGUANA IGUANA
Go to Tips and Tricks
Go to Questions and Answers
Go to Make Your Iguana A Rainforest
Go to Games and Puzzles
Best and Worst
Iguana Hall of Fame
Favorite Ig Names
Iguana Nutrition
A Day in the Life of an Iguana
IGUANA IGUANA NEWSLETTER WILL NO LONGER PUBLISH THE PRINTED
NEWSLETTER.
IGUANA IGUANA HAS PUBLISHED 120 NEWSLETTERS IN TEN YEARS. For a price list
of back issues or to get a printed sample issue of IGUANA IGUANA Newsletter,
SEND $2.00 to: IGUANA IGUANA, 23852 Pacific Coast Hwy. Ste.123, Malibu,
CA 90265 with your snail (regular) mailing address.
Make checks payable to: Windemere Designs
GIVING YOUR IGUANA BETTER HEALTH
Printed issues ofIGUANA IGUANA 
Newsletter contain
sample articles, like:
From Monster to Mouse and Back Again, Living with a (part-time) Mini-Monster, From the Mail BAg - What I Go Through Living with a Crazed Male Iguana (with photo essay), Nails are for Clipping, Spotlight on Vegetables - The Rutabaga, Ask Dr. Spike - When is it too hot for my iguana to be outside?, Keep Cool!
Taking a Bite Out of Summer, Reviewing Your Iguana's Health, A Pool for Your Outdoor Enclosure, Adding Humidity to the Outdoor Enclosure - A Mist System on a Times, An Iguana Picnic, Ask Dr. Spike - Why does my iguana eat dirt?, Happy Summer!
Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do?, Breeding Season, Castration - Surgery and Chemical, The Presto Salad Shooter for easy meals, Ask Dr. Spike - My male iguana turns orange. What does that mean?
Dehydration - Dying of Thirst, Organ Damage Caused By Dehydration, Dehydration - Observable and Clinical Signs, Signs of Viseral Gout, Summer Fruit, Conversion Chart, End of Summer Iguana Salad, Lizards Living Large in Florida, Humidity in the Enclosure, Ask Dr. Spike - My iguana eats his feces - Ugh!, Happy End of Summer!
Skeletons in the Closet - Building a Closet Enclosure, Electrical Work in the Clsoet, The Third Eye, FallBack - Change your timers, Ask Dr. Spike - there are strange things in my iguana's poop!, Lots of Halloween Iguana Hats, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! and Happy Iguana Halloween!
Many Reasons for Giving Thanks, The Proper Way to Hand-Feed An Iguana that isn't Eating, Preparing the Blended Food, From the Mailbox - I Lost My Iguana in the House!, Autumn Torte Recipe and Fig Dessert for You and Your Iguana's Thanksgiving Dinner, Happy Thanksgiving!
