Hey. my friend has a greenhouse in his backyard. hes into herps mainly WD's Iggys' and dart frogs. we thought of the idea of turing the greenhouse into a Igguana enclosure. its not like a huge one but one u see in someones backyard. was just wondering if anyone knows of anyone who has ever tried this and we need ideas on how to heat it during the winter. im guessing the temp doesnt drop to much as long as theres a bit of sun out. we thought it would be a good idea because there designed to hold hummidity and heat for tropical plants

Sounds like it could work, where are you located ???

__________________
Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Yeah, heating may be a problem at night if you're in the south but it is possible depending where you live.
If you're in the north...I don't see anyway it could work without a full furnace in that greenhouse...

Here in Oklahoma I have friends that have greenhouses and all of them have to use heaters in them at night except in the middle of summer. Once the sun goes down the temps will drop sharply. In the height of summer you are also going to have to have a way of ventilating it or the heat will build too much.
Also unless you are certain the glass in the green house is the type that will transmit UVB light you are still going to need a UV light.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I also just read that you can insulate the insides with bubble wrap. I don't know how well that will work though.

You'd have to make sure there was something between the ig and the bubble wrap or it wouldn't last long.

I just had this mental image of an iguana laying around popping the bubbles!

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Hee Hee! I love that mental image...

I have a nice big un-heated greenhouse here in Switzerland coming straight off the dining room: glass on 3 sides, cement roof and floor. But the temp ranges are EXTREME !!! In summer it is an oven in there and in winter it's an icebox. I currently use it as my painting studio but I paint in a bikini and sweat like a pig in summer and wear a ski suit and still freeze in there in winter (NO JOKE!!) Glass is TERRIBLY inefficient as an insulating material. I love all the light though!!!!!

Keeping it heated in the winter would be do-able: with floor heating pads and heat lamps: (Will cost a fortune in electricity bills, though.)
Cooling it down in summer could be more of a problem. (Air conditioning will cool, but also dry out the air A LOT) -- I don't know how much humidity iguanas need.

If your friend is serious, I'd recommend setting it up and monitoring the temps and humidity for a year (all seasons) before putting any live animals in there. He should also have a back up place to move the iguanas to if there is a dramatic change in weather.
Let us know if you find a way to make it work!!

__________________
Andrea

were in BC. maybeit isnt such a good idea. maybe just for the summer. theyd like the roaming space. would cost wayyy to much to heat. thanks for all the advice!

Some one may take a likeing to the look of the iguana and snatch it. That alone would scare me to the point I say no.

The other sticking point lies in the fact that there are plants in there. An iguana will trash all of the plants within a day.

The further a pet is from where you spend most of your time, the more likely you are to forget about the care of the pet... I will only keep a pet where I spend the majority of my waking time. This is even more necessary with an ig as you have to keep up interaction with it to keep it tame. There are many people who keep igs in 4 season heated sunrooms though.

__________________
~ Mark