Reptile Diet Composition

• For information on lizard feeding, see Lizard Feeding.

Composition of various plant foods used in reptile diets

Poor Ca:P ratio (<1) indicate a food item that is not suitable for reptiles

Food Item	Dry Matter %	Protein %	Fat %	Energy Kcal/g	Calcium %	Phosphorus	Ca:P Ratio
Alfalfa	-	16	37	3.9	1.29	0.21	6.1
Iceberg lettuce	-	1.2	2.5	0.14	0.04	0.03	1.3
Carrots	10	0.7	-	0.23	0.05	0.03	1.3
Broccoli	-	-	-	-	0.10	0.07	1.5
Grass(lawn)	33	2.4	1.2	1.6	0.10	0.09	1.1
Clover hay	-	11	1.9	-	1.00	0.20	0.5
Fennel	-	2.8	0.4	-	0.10	0.50	2.0
Cabbage	-	1.3	0.2	-	0.04	0.04	1.2
Collard	-	-	-	-	0.20	0.07	2.8
Dandelions	-	-	-	-	0.19	0.08	2.8
Endives	-	1.7	0.1	-	0.08	0.03	2.4
Kale	-	-	-	-	0.18	0.06	2.9
Spinach	-	3.0	0.3	-	0.09	0.06	1.7
Parsley	-	-	-	-	0.20	0.13	1.5
Radishes	-	-	-	-	0.04	0.03	1.6
Turnip	-	1.1	0.9	-	0.06	0.02	2.9
Watercress	-	2.2	0.3	-	0.22	0.05	4.2
Mustard cress	-	-	-	-	0.07	0.01	1.0
Blackberries	-	-	-	-	0.06	0.02	2.6
Cranberries	-	-	-	-	0.02	0.01	1.4
Blackcurrants	-	-	-	-	0.06	0.04	1.4
Red currants	-	-	-	-	0.04	0.03	1.2
Damsons	-	-	-	-	0.02	0.02	1.5
Figs	-	-	-	-	0.28	0.09	3.0
Lemons	-	-	-	-	0.11	0.01	9.2
Oranges	13.9	0.8	-	0.35	0.04	0.02	1.7
Raspberries	-	-	-	-	0.04	0.03	1.4
Lettuce	4.1	1.0	0.4	0.12	0.02	0.03	0.9
White grapes	20.7	0.6	trace	0.63	0.02	0.02	0.9
Tomatoes	6.6	0.9	trace	0.14	0.01	0.02	0.6
Bananas	29.3	1.1	0.3	0.79	0.01	0.03	0.3
Apples	-	0.2	0.6	0.57	trace	0.01	0.6

Composition of various protein foods used in reptiles

All invertebrates require nutrient loading or high calcium dusting prior to feeding to reptiles to improve Ca:P ratio.

Food Item	Dry Matter %	Protein %	Fat %	Energy Kcal/g	Calcium %	Phosphorus	Ca:P Ratio
Mealworms	38	47	35	-	0.23	0.71	0.3
"	42	53	35	6.6	0.06	0.53	0.1
"	38	55	31	5.4	0.07	0.71	0.1
Locusts	31	62	19	-	0.10	0.75	0.1
Crickets	38	55	30	-	0.23	0.74	0.3
Earthworms	22	20	5.8	-	0.59	0.85	0.7
Chick muscle	26	21	4.3	1.2	0.01	0.20	0.1
Whole egg	25	12	11	1.5	0.05	0.22	0.0
Day old chick	-	15	4.4	1.0	0.44	0.40	1.1
"	-	17	6.7	1.7	0.38	0.28	1.4
Mice 1-2 days	-	-	-	-	1.6	1.80	0.9
Mice 7 days	-	-	-	-	1.4	1.29	1.1
Mice adult	-	20	8.8	2.1	0.84	0.61	1.4
Hills canine r/d	24	26	7.0	2.4	0.50	0.36	1.4
Hills feline r/d	23	35	8.5	3.5	0.94	0.47	2.0
Mazuri primate	-	25	7.5	3.8	2.2	1.46	1.5

Commercial Reptile Diets

Manufacturer and Diet	Protein %	Fat %	Fibre %	Ash %	Calcium %	Phosphorus	Ca:P Ratio	Vit D IU/kg
Zeigler IGUANA	20	3	10	9	1.5	0.7	2.1	2,000
Zeigler CRICKET LOADING	19	4	5	-	8.0	0.6	13.3	-
Pretty Bird JUVENILE IGUANA	18	15	1.5	4	0.8	0.4	1.9	2,200
Pretty Bird ADULT IGUANA	12	3	9	5	0.7	0.4	2.0	2,000

Comparison of commonly used supplements in reptiles

	Vionate /g Ciba Geigy	Callo-cal D/ml C-vet	Nutrobal/g Vetark	ACE-high/g Vetark	Avimix/g Vetark	SA37/g Intervet
A (IU)	200	-	500	2,530	1,177	769
E (IU)	>1	-	20	122	54	380
D3 (IU)	22	70	150	20	118	77
Calcium (mg)	95	>1	208	10	142	10
Phosphorus (mg)	64	0	5	5	5	10
Ca:P ratio	1:48:1	-	46:1	2:1	30:1	1:1