Hey guys and gals

I am planning on building an enormous enclosure from brick and glass..
And was wondering if I would supply running water and planted greens and plants and veggies and all an iguana needs would an iguana be able to survive and know what to eat?? and also would I be able to add any other reptiles like snakes and frogs and turtles and crocks and well anything you can think of? obviously only animals which need same conditions as iguana's do.

Would this be possible and which animals should a person never add to an iguana 'cage' ?

I have heard water dragons are a no no.

I would like also to hear if you think this is a good or a bad idea?

Cause I am planning to do something of the sort in about a year or so..

If I understand correctly, you are talking about a completely enclosed, self sustaining eco-system? Its an interesting idea but not really practical.
Unless you are using something the size of a large greenhouse it probably would not be functional. An iguana is going to be very destructive of the plants. Between what it eats and what it destroys by clambering around the plants are in for a very rough time.
As for the iguana knowing what to eat, they could figure it out but it would be up to you to make sure that there were no toxic plants in there. It also would be difficult to make sure the diet was varied as the animal may decide that it likes one item far more than another and not eat properly.
Sort of like locking a kid in a room with a choice between unlimited chocolate cake and broccoli!
And the mixing of animal species is really not a good idea. Iguanas are territorial and not ver forgiving of intruders into "their" space. Additonally some of the other animals may prey on the iguana. It would also be impossible to keep the food provided for the other animals away from the ig.

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

I agree with Merlin, Unless you are setting up at least acres of habitat, you wont be able to recreate an ecosystem like that....You would also need a body of water (ie: pond or lake) and very tall trees for them to bask in....and even the best UVB bulb is no match for true sunlight....nice idea, .......you COULD do it with say....dart frogs....they are so tiny that something like that is in reach of reality....not with an iguana though....sorry....

__________________
Warmest Regards from Lyn

It's possible, not practical for an ig. A self sustained, or even partially self sustained habitat would have to be setup very precisely. A good place to start is with an ecological standpoint, or to put it short, how will everything in the enclosure affect the enclosure and it's inhabitants as a whole. I plan on doing something like this one day, so this topic really gets me going.

It seems the main focus of this habitat is food production and "in-situ" care, which I think sounds good! When I was in Costa Rica I saw many many Iguanas, and around them was no food source, they would migrate to the beach during the day and lay out on the black volcano ash beaches or mingle in a large tree, there would be hundreds in about a mile strip. This leads me to my first idea, manipulation of environment. If you built it so that there was intense sun, midday, the iguana would probably move there and not trample around the veggie patch.

For food, how much does an Iguana eat per week? Take that amount and find out how many of each green would be needed to be grown per week to keep up with the iguanas intake. It would be a lot better to setup the habitat for a full season to allow the plants to establish.

Other animals would be a no-no. I've seen the IG's in South Florida go after anoles. Maybe a tortoise or tort but they would make the concept of this project go from doable to barely possible.

I would definitely pick all of the plants, foliage, and decor very wisely. There is a park in Georgia that has an outdoor Ig pin where they stay all year. It has a few palm trees which have been shredded and stripped of all their foliage so I think Ig's will go after pretty much anything green.

just some ideas, good luck with the project!

Hi guys
Thanks for the input.

I actually came up with this idea last summer just after installing an automated sprinkler system, I started a veggie garden about 3square meters or so.

You will not believe the amount of vegetables that come from such a little space. And something of a secret to leafy vegetables the more you remove the faster it grows back.

I was giving vegetables to my parents, Granparents and my 3 garden boys and for myself of course and then still wasted some so.

So I really think I will be able to grow enough for spike to survive.
Also what added to the Idea was I had a plant in spikes cage and she would eat the leaves off the plant.

I only realised when I saw her take a bite off it and all that time I couldn,t understand why the plant looked so miss treated and bare..

If you do go ahead with it, it would be interesting to see pictures of how things are coming along, and how the ig is doing out there.

Personally, with those resources, I'd create more of an enclosed play-place. Somewhere that your iguana could safely roam around in for a couple of hours a day when the weather is nice where you wouldn't have to worry. You can use the vegetables directly from the garden to feed the iguana when she is not outside, which would probably be incredibly healthy for her.

Interesting idea.

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

I completely understand what you are asking! I have always wanted to do the same you are thinking about, I have just never been able to come up with a plan that would be practical for all the species to co habitate comfortably!

You have garden boys I want to move where you are!!!!