Green Iguana

[Perocore]

Just got back from "working" at a camp down in Missouri for two weeks. A lot of not-so-good things happened while I was gone (lost a gerbil and our 13 year old lab) but it's good to be back home. Now that I am home, I'm going in to hyper drive preparing for the newest member of the family- a baby! A baby iguana, that is. I have a tank set up already, cut out some out-door carpeting a lay that down in it, and I've got two hiding spaces and a food bowl. I have to go out and buy a water tub/bowl, and I also need to find a good bit of wood to use as a climbing and basking spot for the iggy. I had to buy a new UV bulb, but I already have the hood for the light, and I have a UTH, so now the heating/lighting system is all set up.

So now on my list is just to add the final pieces and stock up on collard green, kale, okra, dandelion greens, squash, sugar snap peas, and other goodies/staples. Then all that's left is to get the iguana herself! I say "her" because I'd prefer a female, but seeing as I'm buying a 2 month old baby, I really will have no idea. I'll be naming her Wyrm, since they remind me of dragons and Dragon is a little over used.

Worry not, iguana well-fare activists, I do have a whole empty room that will be used to set up a 12' x 6' x 5' enclosure for Wyrm once she out grows her tank. I am very well aware of her nutritional needs (vitamins, real sunlight, proper food, etc) as well as the fact that she may grow up to weigh 20 pounds and be 6 feet long (or more). I am prepared to deal with her needs, all of them.

So, anyone else have experience with owning green iguanas? Any pointers/advice you can offer?

 

[Munch]

Don't use pressure treated wood for building the cage.

 

[Perocore]

Noted, Munch, thank you

Note: I am changing the name choice to Fig Newton, Newt for short.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I have never had an iguana but good find haha! I like the name I might use that name on a future pet....

 

[Perocore]

I've had leopard geckos now and wanted to expand my reptile collection...fell in love with iguanas XD

Haha, well, here's my gorgeous "figuana" Fig Newton:

She lets me pet her head for a tiny bit before she decides to bolt. Very aware little thing though, I can watch her eyes follow my face, then flick to my feet when I move. She also watched my dog this morning and didn't freak, so that's good.

 

[Spepper]

Beautiful iguana!! Looks like she'll have a good, prepared home.

 

[Perocore]

Thank you! She's shedding right now, but underneath she's just a gorgeous shade of bright green. I was out on a walk and came across some really nice apple tree branches, so I brought them home, removed the bark, soaked 'em in bleach, and voila!

Now she has a little jungle gym to explore. She seems to rather like it, well, once she explores, which is usually around 3:00pm.

 

[ShredderEmp]

One of my friends has one that's like 4ft. long. Whrn I went on vacationI saw a bunch at the hotel we stayed at. They are super cool.

 

[Perocore]

I can't even imagine my tiny Fig being 4 feet long, yet!

Good news, Fig is now showing interest in food! She ate a slice of grape, and has been seriously checking out her dish lately. She's also a lot more active, but more calm about my presence. I'm assuming this means I'm doing it right, haha.

 

[Jaymz Bedell]

Looks like she has some scarring on her back from rubbing or burning. nothing too bad and it looks fairly well healed. sounds like youve done quite a bit of research. I have rescued/rehabbed (and then rehomed to appropriate homes) about 5 dozen iguanas over the years. one word of caution, i would limit the intake of fruits as theyre all very high in sugars and iguanas are foliovores, leaves not having nearly as much sugar as fruits and a lot of veggies. good luck!

J

 

[Perocore]

Jaymz Bedell, it's not actually scarring but just dry skin that she's since mostly shed off, revealing bright green healthy skin underneath! I've cut down on her fruits and included more collard greens into her diet.

Yesterday was the first day she's actually eaten all of her food! Also her colors have brightened up tremendously, and she's now just an excellent sort of green! She did get very dark when my sister (who was ignoring me telling her to back off) put her face too close to Fig's tank and didn't know what the aggressive head bobbing meant. I finally had to pull my sister away and let Fig have some peace. The next morning her colors were back to a happy bright green, so all is well! Yesterday was the first day that I've had physical contact with her! She's comfortable with having my hand very close, but doesn't tolerate touching much. This morning I was able to gently rub her back with one finger and she actually closed her eyes and relaxed for a few moments! So the taming is going very well, she just doesn't like other people (or cats/dogs) quite yet.

 

[Alejandro45]

Hi

Please change the cage a little.

I reccomend closing the top with wood or plexiglass and allow the humidity to build up. Don't worry about not having enough ventilation but worry more so about high humidity. This is important for all lizards not only tropicals but desert lizards aswell. Varanids, iguanas, cyclura, uros, chams, skinks...all the same.

Please also put a good diging substrate the soil from your yard is fine about 6 inch to start and 18 inch when he/she is grown. It allows a base for your cute little ig to dig and that is important for them mentally just like climbing is. Digging gives them a way to excercise and make a shelter to run into when then get startled. Just come to S FL and look on a canal bank and you can see babies and adults with their own burrows.

PLEASE make these changes they are super important and are not my idea but the work of many diffrent people and reptile breeders over the years.

Here is a excellent thread on cage building. And remember it does not matter what type of lizard it is a closed top cage with the basking light inside does wonders in the health and happines of reptiles.

http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Monitors/messages/1272637.html

Good luck with your cute little iguana!!

 

[Perocore]

Alejandro45, thank you for the information, and I understand your concerns. However I have done very thorough research of my own and have the tank set up in a way that is beneficial to my iguana and makes maintenance easy enough. I use a carpet substrate to prevent impaction, which I know can be a problem when using dirt or sand substrates. I use a wire top so that the UVA and UVB light can get through just fine, and so that she has enough ventilation. The humidity in the room itself is kept between 75%-90% so all of my tropical creatures stay plenty humid (I have leopard geckos and an A. versicolor in the same room). If I kept the basking light inside of her tank she would get horribly over heated and likely end up burning herself. I have the light kept at a safe distance that keeps her warm enough (a gradient of 75 to 90+ degrees during the day) and also so that the ever important UVB rays get to her.

I understand your concerns, but I have done a great deal of research to ensure that her current enclosure (which she will not be in long, anyways) is suitable for her. Most of my information comes from The Green Iguana Society as well as various other sources.

 

[Alejandro45]

Pet core... You wrote on your first post "any pointers/advice?"

I am giving you my advice.. And it's not just large reptiles in cages "advice". My experience is coming from watching these lizards eat sleep and breed literally in my own yard.

Impaction with substrates is common when dehydration is a problem and it becomes a problem when screen and mesh tops are used. Think of it this way light above a bowl of water will cause it to evaporate...when your iguana is underneath that light it is slowly dehydrating. The humidity under that lamp is very low and not good for a young lizard. Please if you don't believe me put a hydrometer in the cage the warm side for a week and the cool side for a week there is a huge difference.

Here in S Fl humidity is 70-80 in open air....humidity in burrows and in the hardwood hammocks were the iguanas go for shelter when it gets too hot or too cold is even higher and more stable.

About dirt I don't understand all reptiles know what dirt is they know how to dig in it and how to wor
k it into something useful a nest to lay eggs and a home shelter to run to when scared. Iguanas love to dig and here in FL they will make there own or just go down a crab hole. Your iguana is already in captivity why don't you give it something back from nature? I literally told you soil is good for there mental health and all you have to say you did plenty of research??

And iguanas bask at much higher temps than 90 degrees....a burn happens when they cannot heat up their body evenly..using lower wattage bulbs next to each other will give even distribution of heat and a happy lizard.

You listed the food items all greens..

Iguanas eat alot of protien....it's a major concern they love snails and it shows in there fecals.. If you search the web there is a whole article on feral iguanas eating native tree snails in key biscayne... And I have personally seen it.

The only reason I am even posting all of this is because I love iguanas I see babies every year in my yard and they are wonderful highly social reptiles.

it makes me sad to see that tiny iguana that was surley collected in my state and distributed to pet shops around the USA have now nothing that still so important to their metal and physical well being.

I can only hope that you care enough to at least try the changes pointed out just to see if your iguana reacts in a better way.

But in the end it is just your property and you can do watever you want with it....if it dies you can just buy another pet and everything I posted and all your research will just have been in vain.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

Slugs are like unshelled snails...Would iguanas eat slugs?
If they do,many organic gardeners might be quite happy to offer slugs free for the taking-
Or free SNAILS,for that matter-either are unwelcome in a vegetable garden.

 

[Perocore]

Alejandro45, thank you for the information. I will keep it in mind when building her permanent enclosure.

Louise E. Rothstein, I've been told (warned) that iguanas will eat anything that remotely looks edible. So they would probably eat slugs if they looked edible enough in the mind of an iguana...whether or not that's healthy is debatable, as some research shows that iguanas can become quite ill from eating animal proteins. The problem with getting snails from gardeners, etc, is that they likely use fertilizer and possibly pest control on their plants, and you never want to feed that to any sort of animal, even if they're exposed to it in their native habitat of South America.


Fig is still doing very well, and now the little monster (which I say affectionately) has developed a bit of attitude. She'll act aggressively towards my hand, but if I just leave my hand near her for a bit she settles down and relaxes and goes back to being chill and relaxed. She has also started eating very well, and is now regularly cleaning out her dish (aside from sugar snap peas, which she doesn't seem to like). So far she loves parsnip, grapes, and collard greens, will eat mango and papaya, and also nibbles at her juvenile iguana food every now and then (which I supply for extra protein).

 

[Furret]

What a cutie!!! Congrats on your new baby

 

[Perocore]

Furret, thank you!

Update on Fig!

She's started eating very well, and now she's just a little fatty! Seems that so far her favorite meal is a mixture of kale and watercress. She's getting ready to shed again, and has finally gotten into a habit of pooping in her bowl instead of where ever she happens to be.