Organic chemical found in certain foods that can combine with calcium to form calcium oxalate, an insoluble chemical the body can not use.

organic chemicals found in certain foods, especially spinach, which can combine with calcium to form calcium oxalate, an insoluble chemical the body cannot use.

Chemicals that occur naturally in some plants, such as spinach and chard, which bind to calcium and make it unusable to the body. Foods high in oxalates should make up only a small portion of an iguana's diet. For more information on diet, see the Food and Feeding page.