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Thread: What's the problem with bananas?

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default What's the problem with bananas?

    I've read a number of times that you shouldn't feed tegus too much banana because of its high potassium content? It is true that bananas do have a lot of potassium, but why is that a bad thing? Can someone please explain?

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    In a nutshell because someone else can explain it later

    Calcium and potassium have a delicate balance between each other, because potassium needs calcium in order to perform properly. Of course if our herps don't process enough calcium then they conform with MBD. The potassium steals the calcium from the body so the lizard can't use. The recommended balance is 2 parts calcium for every one part potassium.

    And bananas are one of the largest sources of potassium out there.

    Hope that helps.
    0.1 B&W Tegu (Remington Steel)
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  3. #3
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    Actually, it's two parts calcium, one part phosphorous.

    Potassium is part of a healthy diet, but everything in moderation. But bananas are high in phosphorous and the Ca:P ratio is only .3:1 (there's a decimal there). Phosphorous=P and Potassium =K on the Periodic Chart; perhaps that is causing some confusion.

    In humans, potassium and sodium have a balancing act (3:1), like calcium and phosphorous. Too much dietary potassium can displace sodium, causing lower blood pressure (which may good or bad) and fatigue. Since I have studied human physiology and not reptile physiology, I don't know how that carries over to tegus.

    I don't know how much is too much, but I've always heard that bananas should be fed to iguanas and other herbivorous reptiles as a treat or occasionally.[/b]
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
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    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
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  4. #4
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    Iguanas can eat bananas, though.

  5. #5
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    I always thought if the phosphorus was higher than the calcium it limits the obsorption of the calcium and therefore making the bones of the tegu weak. I read more but I don't want to open that can of worms.

  6. #6

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    yea..can anyone say for sure how much is too much? i mix it in with ground turkey once or twice a week, but i add calcium to his food about 3 times a week and reptivite once to counteract
    I have to return some videotapes...

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  7. #7

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    Chaim (Columbian, 17") loves bananas, but I have discovered he also really enjoys plums, which are less likely to mess with the calcium balance from what I have read. Have you tried plums?
    I enjoy the company of large and dangerous creatures.

  8. #8
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    There really isn't a too much. Iguanas can eat bananas, tegus can eat bananas, beardies can eat bananas, heck so do people and the dogs and horses I've owned. In reptiles, the overall balance of the diet should be a Ca:P ratio of 2:1...twice as much calcium of phosphorous. There are greens with a Ca:P of 3:1, so a bit of banana isn't going to kill that balance or overdo the potassium balance either (K:Na). No one can really say x amount is too much because it depends on the rest of the diet, supplementation, etc.

    Angelrose, you're right and I think this thread is going in the same direction. The OP asked about the potassium content of bananas, but it seemed to get into a phosphorous/potassium confusion. I hope I didn't say anything that added to the confusion, or was "wormy". :wink:
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
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    a bunch of creepy bugs
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  9. #9
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    LOL, laura! You hit it right on the nose. Looking at it now, I was opening that can of worms. Darn!

    I'll try to redeem myself by showing a visual:
    Calcium, Ca mg 5 45 0.047
    Iron, Fe mg 0.26 42 0.001
    Magnesium, Mg mg 27 45 0.475
    Phosphorus, P mg 22 45 0.171
    Potassium, K mg 358 45 1.911

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    OK, I'm lost.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

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