Listen Malaysian Fauna?? Just say NO to feeding the green ig animal protein; say NO to smashing your bunny; and please leave the Blue Ig wild

shock + horror ;(

in trying to become a member/voice in a local Malaysian forum, which is btw branded as dedicated to educating us and showcasing our Malaysian fauna, this author finds that the segments under the Malaysian Fauna (MF) sub-forum of 'Lizards' are still touting early post-dated green iguana (ig) literature from the 90's where animal protein was once fed(!)

a BIG NO-NO-NO NOW!!!

let's face it, anybody that cares about the green ig he is nurturing should never feed it animal protein. period. as animal protein is NOW significantly linked to causing kidney problems, renal failure, gout and interstital nephritis amongst other things in the green ig (since the early 90's in fact is when the NOW chapter started..ho hum).

side symptoms include loss of hind leg movement, swelling in the hind legs... and it continues depressingly on.

please MF members; get it right! do not use the excuse that some of you have been doing this (feeding of animal protein) for years now, and want to just keep doing it until you see the symptoms yourself, or ask how long before your ig actually becomes sick, or how much is too much, or whether igs in SEA have got sick before - all the literature being from other parts of the world so not applicable lah.
a green iguana in captivity is a green iguana in captivity; be it in Malaysia or Kansas city, what you need to feed them right, is what you need to feed them.
it is cruel and inhumane to keep on pushing animal protein, knowing eventually your ig will get sick. and your green iguana is not an 'experiment'. it is a living, breathing exotic that feels pain, and you undervalue your green friend by just not getting it - animal protein is officially out since about 1.5 decades ago.

2 quick references:
http://www.anapsid.org/adambritton.html

http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/hayes.html

so what is fact? and what is fiction? myths debunked here:
http://www.anapsid.org/factfict.html

so listen, the other excuse a moderator put forward in the same MF Lizard sub-forum was: "the food recommended is not easily available in Malaysia". another poor lazy excuse as many of the types of food recommended for the green ig can be found in our local markets and in the Cold Storages of the Malaysian world.
read this list http://www.anapsid.org/resources/vegetablenames.html
and note 2 things: NEVER feed your green ig what is marked with the red asterisk AND you can write directly to Melissa Kaplan herself if you have difficulty finding the 'right' name in our local Malaysian context. but malu lah kita.. just invest in a good cook book guide that shares the names in local languages.. or go to your local library and dig out the encyclopedia. you will find enough plant protein that you can nurture you ig with that you don't have to do the no-no animal protein bit.

but now i am waiting for the next obvious excuse (please read this in a whiny voice as that's how i hear it in my head): "Cold Storage?? some of the veggies and fruit suggested are imported... and will be expensive lah, i can't afford that!!!".

right, then don't co-habit with a green iguana.
they are exotic. they have special needs. duh!
they are an investment (both on-going financially; time wise; affection and dedication wise) and with just the proper balance of care and socialization, they will bring to you hours or maybe just moments of joy, as they eventually may come to you to solicit a pick-up/cuddle, or just snort gently in your ear as you play 'happy slave walking you around your apartment' once again.
"you mean? that's about all i get??". hmm, maybe you should get a dog 'bro'...

okay; now for THE push back on accepting what the iguana experts are saying, quoted from a MF forum moderator (Emystiong), him not wanting to accept that animal protein is factually bad for the green igs that he is keeping; this really cracked me up(!):
"As most of those information provided by those " experts" or seniors in the Iguana hobby for many many years in the hobby are all oversea based non or very few are even located nearby".

yes - first learn to write in English, then you may understand the foreign experts and advice better? oops, sorry, that was too meow kan?; and yes - they are still the experts foreign or otherwise as they have had the documented head-start to us here in Malaysia by the decades wei. live with it. accept it.
we are just starting down this exotic pet path, and even then we are already exhibiting a deliberate misunderstanding of what an exotic should be fed. gearing it to our own warped reasoning.

green igs: repeat after me... they ARE NOT merely things you buy so you can look macho (i think that's what you get your snakes for kan? to watch them eat the live feed). they ARE NOT merely to be kept to breed to start a business (is that the root of your stubbornness about the animal protein? spurts growth, makes them breed faster? who cares if they drop dead at 3 or 4 or 5 from kidney failure?). they ARE NOT just lizards so caaaan lah go against what nature built them to digest.

deep breath for the author is recommended now: inhale/exhale.

okay, now, let's talk about the poor 'smash the bunny' thread (started: Apr 18 2007, 10:31 PM) that i only discovered the day i resigned from the MF forum: May 26th - after a 5 day membership btw... too much unintellectual, unfounded testosterone based postings for me.
anyway this bunny thread went on with moderators fully participating... under the MF Leisure: Sadness Forum thread; titled: 'Which is the better way?'
allow me to quote; ahem:

does this ever happen on you ?
your pet lying in the cage getting weaker and weaker...which means by he is suffering to dead...
option 1 : u smash him to relief his suffer..let him die on the spot....
option 2 : let him die naturally...which means by he had to suffer till death arrive...
option 3 : pet him till he pass away...(almost same like option 2)

both of my baby rabbit pass away...not even 2 week in the house...damn...the first 1 I pet him till he return to god...the 2nd 1...I back home n found out that he cirit birit...then I claen him and went to sleep..after that...he return to god too...I thought of smash him to the wall and shorten his suffer of getting weaker n weaker..but I can't do it..damn...if u guys had expirience this event ...kindly gives your comment of any better idea bout this ?

(cirit birit = diarrhoea.)

and boy did his fellow MF moderators give their comments or better ideas or what?
everything from how do you 'smash a large dog then' to after you smash it (the bunny), 'will you consider letting us feed it to our snakes'. recycle Joe is highly recommended.

only 1 mod tried to suggest humanely a vet whilst bunny is suffering? and then a proper burial later as it was a "pet".

let's say this again here on my own Blog where there is no MF-biased-towards-themselves censorship: take responsibility! you post/you discuss, you brand, you influence bro, period!

and this is not what i want Malaysia known to be able to "boleh". not what i want (being Malaysian myself btw) to be our international 'brand' on how Malaysians really feel about their pets/animals in general.

and my final shock and horror... stumbled upon this posting in the MF Lizard sub-forum, this thread titled 'Blue Rock Iguana (Cyclura nubila lewisi)' - started: Feb 3 2007, 01:57 PM.

quotes and again note - full participation by moderators, that do not guide towards suggesting the inappropriateness of this suggestion (read this as in AN ANIMAL THAT IS DEEMED EXTINCT) but who instead lead this thread on like it's even okay to have this convo:

piesceslim (who starts the thread): Is it possible to buy Blue Rock Iguana /Grand Cayman Blue iguana (Cyclura nubila lewisi) in our country? Or anyone got lubang for it?
(Lubang = Malaysian slang for 'hole; way in')

daniel: even if u could get one into the country it would be expensive

uncle herp: Very, very expensive !!!! :)

piesceslim: How's expensive? Just curious to know. Are they breed in any farm of South East Asia?

Emystiong: (posted a picture of 2 bobbleheads)
Here's mine.
Something that rare I would say may never be offered legally to the average Joe bloke.
If not legal may be around RM10,000 mark or more just my guess anyway.

ba5tard: lolz... nice blue rock iguana (with reference to the bobbleheads)

so, in essence, a forum that advertises itself under it's Teh Tarik segment: "Members discussion on anything and everything-under authorization and discretion of Malaysia Fauna's Management"...

is a fully authorized management team that does not stand up for the rights of simple bunnies and the endangered Blue Ig - the latter btw where people are banding together g l o b a l l y to protect and recover them; with the whole world watching the official efforts at:
http://www.blueiguana.ky/

we in Malaysia boleh... buat lubang that is ;(

p.s. btw MF mods get the Latin and your facts right:

The Blue Iguana evolved more recently from ancestors of its nearest relative, the Cuban Iguana (Cyclura nubila). Cuban Iguana ancestors also made the crossing to Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, where they evolved into a unique subspecies, Cyclura nubila caymanensis, and to the southern Bahamas where they evolved into a new species, Cyclura cychlura.
The Blue Iguana was long thought to be another subspecies of the Cuban Iguana, and but recent genetic evidence has led to a revision, and the Blue Iguana is now considered a unique species, Cyclura lewisi. If Cyclura lewisi and Cyclura nubila caymanensis are artificially brought into contact, they can still breed and produce fertile offspring. Naturally, they have always been separated by at least 67 miles of open ocean.

so we live to die another day...