I am nervous about the current set-up I have for Rocky--our 3-year old iguana. I too am currently using one of those spiral bulbs in a clamped light fixture. Rocky is free-roaming, so I try to clamp it to an area where he spends most of his time, usually on his bench, or on top of our cabinet. I used to have the flourescent tubes in an old aquarium fixture, but it wasn't working out as far as mounting it to his bench. So I went with the clamp light and thought it was perfect.

But now I'm scared that he is not getting what he needs. I think this is his breeding season, based on what I've read in these forums, and he is acting a bit different. He isn't eating as much, he is only going to the bathroom every other day and he is very orange in color. I just hope he is not getting sick from a lack of UVB light.

What do other free-roamer owners do to ensure adequate lighting? I appreciate your advice as always...

Rocky's mom, Doreen

It does sound like he's in breeding season... behaviors change, colors change.

As for your question about lighting, spend some time investigating the Reptile UV systems. They're great lights and last longer than the flourescent tubes (the flourescent spirals are not adequate for igs, by the way).

You can find Reptile UV systems at: http://www.reptileuv.com/

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~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck

As a free-roamer's owner, all I can do is tell you what I've done and it has worked for the last four years (since he grew out of his terrarium). I basically set the whole thing up so that he knows where everything he needs to live is. His big perch that I've constructed has his heat and UVB lamps and his food. He'll climb down, go out and explore in the bathroom and stare at himself in the mirror for a good hour, then come back, climb up and sit back under the lights... get warmed up and repeat an hour later or so. I like to think he knows by instinct now where to get his warmth and food, so it's no problem at all.

I've never followed the whole "cater to and baby the iguana" thing 'cause Bud's always been self-sufficient as long as I turn on his lights and feed him. We've got a great relationship going and it works out well for both of us. I think if I'd ever hook up a timer for his lights and something that would feed and bathe him, he probably wouldn't miss me. =P But the thing about free-roamers is that you gotta find a way to set boundaries and limits to what they can do. I don't EVER let him go into the living room without me there to watch him. If he tries to climb up the curtains, I'll hold him back or put my hand up to block his site of them... he'll look at me like ", is that something I can't do?" and then move on to something else. I'd much prefer it this way than to keep him caged. They don't live in cages in the wild, so they really shouldn't in our homes either is just how I see it. Some iguana's aren't as mild-mannered as Bud is though. It all depends on the iguana's usual behavior and temperment.

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I'm not an Iguana owner hopefully in the future when space permits though. But how can free roaming be good for an Iguana? There is no controlled environment for heat, humidity or UVB.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Sure there is, in my situation, Bud has his perch where all of his heat is and he knows it. Most days, he'll sit under the lamps and be content, when he climbs down to go out exploring, when he starts losing his warmth, he'll come right back into my room and warm up on his perch again. The control is in one spot, and as long as he knows where that is, it works and has worked for the last 4 years that I've had him out of a terrarium.

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What about humidity? Or as stated before getting enough UVB.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Humidity is a challenge, but I like to think that he's pretty well covered as far as hydration goes. I've discussed the whole situation with the vet that I take Bud to and he's said that what I'm doing works 'cause Bud's in perfect health. As I said before, he gets his UVB from the lights on his perch that he sits on most of the day. He's got one heat lamp and one UVB. All is good for and with him or I'd be noticing something. As far as I or the vet can see, he's healthy and relatively happy.

The only thing I really need to do is to get a new bulb, 'cause I think this one is going on six months or so, but it's not showing signs of age.

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Five Finger Death Punch > All Other Metal Bands
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Hmmmm what do you mean by not showing any signs of age?
UVB is not visible to the human eye. The light may still light and produce,..well "Light", ..
but contain little or no UVB.
The only way to tell for sure is using a UVB light meter.
Which by the way are well worth their cost when they can save you having to replace bulbs unneccessarily.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I think it was my brother that told me when the bulb starts to show some brownish discoloration on the sides of the tube, then it's "showing signs of age". He's been pretty well right about everything else when it comes to iguana raising, since he had a Peruvian Rock iguana for like 10 years, heh.

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Five Finger Death Punch > All Other Metal Bands
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Never heard of anything called a peruvian rock iguana. Got any pictures?

As for the discoloration of the bulb all that means is that the bulb itself is getting old. Even though it is still producing visible light it may be producing nothing in the way of UVB light. The only way to judge UVB output is with a meter.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!