Iguanas are mostly plant eaters that thrive on a varied mix of leafy greens, vegetables, and a smaller amount of fruit.

Core answer: what iguanas eat

  • Iguanas are herbivores (plant eaters) and, more specifically, folivores that naturally eat mostly leaves from trees and vines, plus some flowers and fruits.
  • In captivity, their staple foods should be dark leafy greens (like collard, mustard, dandelion, and turnip greens), with other vegetables and a little fruit added for variety.

Best staple foods (everyday base)

These are the “salad foundation” for a pet iguana:

  • Dark leafy greens: collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, beet greens, bok choy, escarole, romaine, Swiss chard, alfalfa hay.
  • Other vegetables: butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, parsnip, bell pepper, green beans.
  • Safe leafy weeds and garden plants (if pesticide‑free): nettles, chickweed, sowthistle, bindweed, hazel, beech, birch leaves.

These provide the high-fiber, calcium-rich plant material iguanas are built to digest.

Fruit and “treat” foods

Fruit is usually kept to a smaller part of the diet (often around 10–20%) because of sugar.

  • Good fruits in small amounts: figs (very calcium-rich), papaya, mango, berries, melon, pear, apple, grapes (crushed), kiwi, raspberries, strawberries.
  • Many iguanas love bananas, but they are low in calcium, so they are more of a rare treat than a staple.

Think of fruit like dessert for an iguana: nice to have, but not the main course.

Foods to limit or use carefully

Some foods are “sometimes foods” because of compounds that can affect calcium or the thyroid if overfed.

  • High in goitrogens (can affect thyroid if they dominate the diet): kale, cabbage, some other brassicas.
  • High in oxalates (can bind calcium): spinach, chard.
  • These can still be part of a varied salad, just not the main ingredient every day.

Many experienced keepers talk about building variety first and treating these “problem” veggies as rotation items instead of daily staples.

Extra notes for pet owners

  • Wild and green iguanas do not need insects or meat; feeding animal protein regularly can cause health problems because their bodies are designed for plant matter.
  • A healthy iguana diet focuses on a good calcium‑to‑phosphorus balance, lots of leafy greens, and a rotating mix of safe vegetables and fruits.
  • Fresh water should always be available, and offering a wide variety of plants over the week helps cover nutritional gaps.

TL;DR: Iguanas eat mostly leafy greens (collards, mustard, dandelion, turnip greens), plus other vegetables and a little fruit, with kale and spinach as occasional extras rather than daily staples.