Iguanas should eat and poop regularly – and any deviation from this can indicate issues. Iguana constipation and irregular pooping can indeed be caused by various factors. In this post, we will discuss how often iguanas should poop, how healthy iguana poop looks like, what are the reasons for iguana not pooping, reasons for constipation and solutions.
How often do iguanas poop?
A healthy iguana that also lives in optimal conditions should poop every day or two. Baby iguanas tend to poop more often, also because they tend to eat more than adults. Hatchling and baby iguanas, especially, can poop few times a day. And a healthy adult iguana should typically poop once a day. This will be often at the same time every day day.
Does iguana’s poop smell?
No, typically, healthy iguana’s poop should not have a strong if any smell at all. This is because iguanas are vegetarians, and their poop should not have much smell due to the lack of protein in the diet.
But the smell of iguana’s poop will depend on the gender – male iguanas tend to smell more during the breeding season, when they leave markings on surfaces. What is more, iguana’s poop will smell on various surfaces, and is not likely to smell in the water.
Is iguana poop dangerous?
Iguana’s poop is not dangerous – but it might be harmful for people and other pets, such as dogs and cats. Iguanas and other reptiles carry Salmonella bacteria in their guts and feces. These bacteria in the poop can cause Salmonellosis. So the poop is in a sense dangerous – but you should be fine as long as you clean everything properly and wash the pooping bowl with soap.
What is iguana poop?
Healthy iguana poop should be brown to dark brown in color and be in a shape of pellets. It should be soft and uniform. What is more, iguanas will excrete some urine and urates, which is urine in a solid form (to preserve water). Urates are in the form of white/yellow pellet. Older the iguana, bigger the poop will be in size.
What does iguana poop look like?
Iguana not pooping reason 1: Your iguana doesn’t eat enough
Simple as it might seem, if your iguana doesn’t eat enough food, it won’t poop much. Make sure that your iguana eats enough. Baby iguanas can eat twice a day, while adults – once a day. But each iguana is different.
Make sure to offer the main portion of food in the morning, so that your iguana can digest it throughout the day. You can also offer snack in the middle of the day.
Offer a small bowl of vegetables, greens, plants and sometimes fruits. Each iguana will eat different amount of food, so start by offering as much as your iguana can eat. With time, you will lean how much your iguana normally eats. Regular feeding greatly contributes to regular pooping in iguanas.
Sometimes, your iguana will eat less due to pregnancy (due to less space in the belly), parasitic infections and so on. Infrequent eating will also cause infrequent pooping. Treat the cause first.
Iguana not pooping reason 2: Your iguana is stressed
If your iguana is stressed, it will not poop for few days and even more. Your iguana can be stressed due to many reasons. These can include wrong cage setup and size, other pets, too many people around, breaking of the usual routine and more.
If for example, you fed your iguana at a different time, it might poop later. Then, maybe you have left your iguana with someone else – it will become stressed and will poop irregularly if at all for a some time.
Some potty trained iguanas will hold in the poop until you take them to the usual spot to poop. This is the case if your iguana is trained to poop in the bathtub only, and cannot access it itself.
Your iguana might also be stressed and poop irregularly if you have just brought it home. Give your new iguana some time to acclimatize and start potty training it as soon as possible.
Some iguanas tend not to poop for up to a week when stressed due to transportation and change of environment. As we have discussed in the article about stress in iguanas, iguanas tend to get stressed quite easily. Iguanas are lizards that love routines, and any small change in the routine will cause stress.
You can read about stress in iguanas and their reasons in this post (will open in a new tab).
Iguana not pooping reason 3: The temperature in iguana’s tank is not ideal
For your iguana to digest the food, it needs high basking temperatures. Iguanas much prefer overhead heating rather than belly heating. If the temperatures in the tank are wrong – low basking temperatures, no gradient, then your iguana will have issues with digesting the food.
This will also lead to constipation. Low temperatures will cause change in pH levels in the intestines and difficulty digesting fiber – food will rot in the stomach and guts instead of digesting.
- The basking spot temperatures should be between 96-100 degrees F (35.5-37.7 degrees Celsius). This is the temperature around 10-12″ under the heating bulb.
- Ambient temperature during the day should be between 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6-29.4 Celsius).
- There must a be cool spot for your iguana to cool down if it gets too hot, with the temperatures between 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit (25.5-26.6).
- Ideal temperatures for iguanas at night are between 70-75 degrees F (21.1-23.8 Celsius).
- Make sure to have two thermometers like this in the cage – one in the hot and one in the cool spot.
Iguana not pooping reason 4: You are feeding your iguana wrong foods
The problem is, if you feed your iguana low density and low nutrition foods, it will take longer to digest. Iguanas need to consume some fibrous food to promote healthy digestion. But not too much – it can be hard to digest as well.
Make sure not to feed your iguana low nutrition foods more than once a week for a change. Examples of low fiber and nutrition foods include iceberg lettuce, spinach and beet greens. Spinach in bigger quantities also prevents absorption of calcium because it’s high in oxalates. Avoid feeding your iguana more than 10% of fruits.
You can find a full list of best vegetables, greens, fruits and flowers for your iguana here.
Iguana not pooping reason 5: Your iguana is not moving around enough
To promote healthy digestion, iguanas need to move around. If your iguana’s activity is too low, then it might become constipated. Your iguana might become very lazy if you keep it in a small cage, restricting any movement.
If your iguana is only eating and laying around all day, it can be normal. This is what iguanas mostly do during the day, both in captivity and in the wild. But if you suspect that it could be the reason for iguana’s constipation, try to help your iguana move around a bit.
You can setup an iguana room (read here) for it to move around, climb and jump, or take it for walks in your garden while on the leash and so on.
You can find a list of ideas for iguana toys and activities in this post. Any physical activity will be helpful for your iguana and will also keep it mentally stimulated.
Iguana not pooping reason 6: Your iguana is impacted
As we have discussed in our iguana proofing article, iguanas are very curious lizards. If you let your iguana roam outside of its cage, it will try to lick and eat everything that it sees. That is why you must be careful with what your iguana can access.
Your iguana might become impacted with substrate, soil (yes, iguanas do tend to eat the soil from the plants), moss, rocks and other small objects.
If an iguana becomes impacted, it won’t be able to poop and the feces will accumulate and harden in the intestines (guts). This can lead to organ failure and death if untreated. This is why you must never have loose substrate and other items in its cage or house if it free roams.
You might be able to tell if your iguana is impacted by its belly (is it too round and full?), low activity levels. Could your iguana swallow something and is it eating but not pooping?
Iguana not pooping reason 7: Your iguana is gravid
Gravid iguanas tend not to eat or poop at the end of the pregnancy. This is because the eggs take most of the space in iguana’s belly. This leaves less space for a stomach and intestines to expand. If your iguana is gravid, it will be restless, will have a round belly, will be digging and eating less.
Your iguana might also have trouble pooping if she is egg-bound. That is when iguana cannot lay eggs due to various reasons. In this case, the belly of an egg-bound iguana will be bloated. You will need to take your iguana to the vet if you suspect that she is egg-bound.
Iguana not pooping reason 8: Your iguana is dehydrated
You will have to leave a bowl with water in your iguana’s cage at all times. This should be separate from a soaking/pooping bowl with water if your iguana is potty trained to poop in water. That is because most iguanas poop in the water, so the soaking water will not be clean for drinking.
Make sure to change the water as soon as it has been fouled. If your iguana becomes dehydrated, the feces in the guts will become dry and will form poop masses. The belly will become round and your iguana won’t be able to poop properly.
Other factors that can cause dehydration include parasites and very high temperatures in the tank. Gaping will be a clear indicator that your iguana is too hot. But mainly, you need to have thermometers in the tank to check temperatures.
How to treat constipation in iguanas?
- To help you iguana poop, place it in a warm bath 2 times a day until it poops. Make sure to keep the temperatures constant and add more warm water when water cools down.
- The ideal bath temperature is 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29.4 degrees Celsius). Keep your iguana in a bath for 15 minutes. But you can keep your iguana in a warm bath for up to 30 minutes.
- While in the bath, massage iguana’s lower belly gently. Massage towards the vent, and don’t apply too much pressure. Make sure your iguana is not gravid first, before applying any pressure to the belly.
- Warm baths and massaging can help solve some issues with constipation or impaction, when your iguana has swallowed some substrate or a small object.
- You can give your iguana few drops of vegetable oil, but not more than twice a day.
- If you suspect a serious issues, such as impaction with large objects, egg-binding or a parasitic infection, see the vet immediately.
- There can be a lot of serious underlying issues that need addressing – and constipation can only be one of the symptoms.
- For example, pregnancy can lead to egg-binding, when iguana can’t lay eggs due to the lack of a nesting site, for example. Other issues with pregnancy include peritonitis – that is when your iguana has not laid all the eggs because one egg got stuck in oviduct or got smashed, causing leakage of egg contents.
- This is why you need to make sure that your iguana has laid all the eggs. Even follicles that have not formed into eggs (which should dissolve) might not dissolve and cause peritonitis. The best way to check if your iguana has laid all the eggs is to perform an X-Ray.