Hello,
First things first:
Iguana Caresheet
Now I am going to pick apart your post to list corrections to the husbandry.
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My son received a green iguana as a birthday present.
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Iguanas should not be given as gifts, though they often are. The misconception of that cute little lizard is that it will remain as the cute little lizard it was purchased as. It will actually turn into a 5-6 foot lizard, and it will not be nearly as cute and friendly as it is now. (Of course this can be changed with socialization and your interpretation of cute. I personally think my ig is beautiful. lol)
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We have him in a 10 gallon aquarium with a red uv light at night and he is in front of the window full sun during the day at at least 90 degrees.
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Every bit of that needs some correcting. I will start with the tank. That is way to small for an iguana. The smallest tank he should be in right now is a 55 gallon. Iguanas need room to move and stretch. Though he is tiny right now, he will be much larger in 6 months from now. I suggest upgrading the tank asap.
Now, when thinking of upgrading the tank. You may want to consider upgrading it to his adult size enclosure. It can get expensive if you upgrade as he grows, so going straight to the adult size would save you a great deal of money.
The smallest dimensions you should have for an adult enclosure is:
6 feet high, 4 feet wide, by 4 feet deep
As you can see, that is a large tank. That is not as large as it appears when there is a full grown iguana in it. In all actuality, I suggest an enclosure that is 6 feet high, 6 feet long, and 4-5 feet deep.
That red light is not UV emitting. A quality UV light, that produces true UV, can be located here:
Reptile UV
That is the absolute best light on the market!
That window, and the glass of the aquarium, are blocking all of the beneficial UV. In addition to that, you are not offering a cooler end of the enclosure for the iguana to retreat to in order to thermo-regulate. You will need to supply a heat gradient to the enclosure the ig is in with artificial heating and lighting. This is another reason a 10 gallon tank is not a good idea. That is almost impossible to create in such a small tank!
(If you are using a radial thermometer,or a flat one that adheres to the glass, that 90 degree reading is most likely inaccurate. (Especially if you are having the thermometer facing where the sun comes in!) The ones that are flat are actually reading the glasses temp and not the air. The radial ones are ok, but if direct sun or artificial heat are hitting it, it will not output accurate readings. The coil mechanism inside will be heating up from the heat source, and not the actual ambient temperatures.
Once you have your ig adjusted, you can take him outside for some unfiltered UV. When in the house though, you need to provide his heat, humidity, and UV. (Use caution when taking an iguana outside. They are fast and can move up trees as fast as we can run on solid ground. There are harnesses and leashes designed for iguanas.
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It is a small one and I do not know the sex. This iguana is not moving very much and appears to be cold to touch.
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You won't be able to sex him/her with certainty until the iguana is a 1 to 1 1/2 years old.
He is cold because he is not getting the proper heat gradient. This is not good and can cause problems with his digestion, as well as other ailments and sickness.
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It has eaten squash and kale and seems to be drinking put I do not see were it is going to the bathroom.
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He may be eating and drinking, but if the temps are not adequate, he is not digesting. Since he is not digesting, it will not produce a bowel movement! If the iguana is not digesting the food, he can also become ill as the food sits in his stomach.
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We are using reptile bark for the flooring.
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That's a severe impaction risk and should be removed. I suggest either repti-carpet or linoleum.
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We also were given a heat rock and the pet store told me to unplug it because they could burn their insides.
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They are right. In fact, just cut the cord right off of it and use it as a tank decoration. Those have caused thermal burns in various species, including iguanas.
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WE have a rock cave in there that he can go into.
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There is no harm in that, but most igs don't hide in caves. They are normally found at the highest point of the enclosure basking in the heat and UV you are supplying.
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I am very concerned that he is not moving much. when I pick him up he stays right there and just opens his mouth at us like he is mad.
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He isn't active because he is cold. He is cold blooded. Without you supplying the proper temps, he will remain dormant and eventually whither away and die. Inadequate temps are the root cause of many different problems. It also prevents digestion, which means he isn't getting the needed nutrients required to survive.
His mouth being open, aka: "gaping", can be caused by a few things. Since it happens when you are holding him, I suspect it is his warning. You are much bigger than he is. You are a threat to him because of this. (Thats what he percieves anyways.) He is most likely warning you that he is prepared to bite if you do anything he isn't comfortable with.
Gaping can also be when the iguana is cooling himself. If temperatures are higher than needed, or he hasn't moved for a long period of time, they will gap like a dog pants to help cool themselves. It is their form of sweating.
This also occurs with respitory infections (RI). In addition to the gapping, you will hear some noises when the ig breathes. (It's very similar to a chest cold in humans. If not taken care of properly, it can kill a reptile.)
Iguanas are not simple nor cheap reptiles to care for. They have specific needs that we need to supply. The iguana caresheet I posted should help you get started. You can also check out:
http://www.iguanacenter.com
I highly suggest grabbing some literature as well. James Hatfield III has a great book called "The Ultimate Iguana Owners Manual." (Preferred reading.)
Melissa Kaplan also has one out called "Iguanas For Dummies". It too is good. (Not as good as Hatfields by opinion.)
Feel free to keep posting questions though! lol many of us are Iguana slaves.
(male or female, it doesn't matter it can still be rough!)
