My ex-girlfriend got me a 2 week old juvenile iguana for my birthday. I've had him/her now for a little over 3 weeks and built it a 4' tall, 4' wide and 2' deep cage just recently. It seems to be very comfortable and climbs around in the trees and basks on the vine, but anytime I go to put fresh water or food, it gets scared and occasionally will scatter fast when I gently try to pet its side. Overall, the diet, temperatures, habitat, and general health seems to be great. It just doesnt seem to warm up to me. Does anyone know if that's pretty normal and just give it more time?

That's really pretty normal. It can take a bit to get one hand tame, you are bigger, and considered a predator. If you have given him/her a little time to get used to the new area, start taking him out to handle for short periods of time and end it on a good note before returning him to the cage. Read some of the other posts, others have asked asked similar questions and there is a lot of good advice given here.

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Kat

Welcome to the site...and welcome to iguana slavery.

All healthy juvenile iguanas are jumpy. It's a matter of survival. For all they know you are probably a predator planning on eating them.

With that said, do you have a uvb light in conjunction with your daylight and nightlight that you have labeled?

What is your substrate also? Most particulate substrates are dangerous to iguanas.

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"What is now proven was once only imagined." - William Blake

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Welcome to Herp Center!

You do, indeed, seem like a predator to your iguana. Time, consistency, and effort, will help socialize your baby. Please do read through some of the other posts... you'll find a lot of good advice there.

Can you please be more specific about diet and temperatures? We often hear exactly what you've indicated, only to learn that they're not quite right for an iguana.

Again, welcome!

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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

I do have a uva light but not a uvb, how important is that?

Diet consists of:
Green vegetable: fresh snow peas, green beans, colored greens
Orange vegetable: squash (banana and zucchini)
Fruit: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
Some fresh alfalfa stock

Its not all these things at once, I pick 1 from each type. I change it every once in a while. I chop it up separately pretty small and put it in a small dish.

The temperatures are in low 90's during the day and low 80's at night.

The substrate, I'm not exactly sure. I got it at a common petsmart. Says it number one seller for iguanas and other lizards. he seems pretty satisfied in there climbing around and exploring.

Here is a link to our diet page: Iguana Diet - Reptile Information - Caresheets Database

The diet needs a bit of an overhaul. The leafy greens should form the base of the diet. Staple squash are winter ones: acorn, butternut, etc. Zucchini and yellow crook neck, etc. are occasional squash. Most fruits should be used as occasional treats.

You're doing good by rotating foods and chopping things up small.

UVB is ESSENTIAL. Without UVB, your iguana will get very, very sick and eventually die. At Herp Center, we recommend using the Mega Ray family of lights.

If your substrate is made of pieces or particles (particulate substrate) get rid of it. Any particulate substrate is potentially fatal... your iguana may accidentially eat it and become impacted (intestinal blockage). If this happens, you will need a vet and surgery. Very costly and unnecessary when simply removing the substrate removes the associated risk.

We recommend using newspaper, vinyl sheeting, tile, paper towels, etc.

I would also like to suggest that you find (and read, lol) a copy of "Green Iguana: The Ultimate Owner's Manual" by James W. Hatfield.

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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

Steph has all the right things down.

I'm happy you built him a nice home. Most people try to cram an iguana into a 10 gallon tank. If you don't have a humidity reader, get a good digital one. You can find one in any garden center, wal mart, lowes, etc.. for about $10. Humidity is important too. Remember they are tropical. I noticed your cage is screen, which will keep zero humidity in. You may want to consider covering up some of the sides with plastic if this is the case. Eventually he'll need a newer and bigger home. Wood is our #1 choice. It will keep in the heat and humidity.

What is your top made out of?

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

It sounds like you're actually doing pretty good so far. Definitely get a UVB bulb.

You'll also need to keep track of the humidity in the cage. You can do this by getting a hygrometer. This is especially essential as it looks like you might have screen mesh around the tank? On a second look, it might be glass. If you've got the mesh, it'll be harder to hold in humidity, so you'll have to monitor it daily and make sure it's at the right level.

It sounds like you're good at building things, so please don't panic when I say that as an adult, he'll need a cage roughly twice as large (at least, the more room, the better ), and probably you'll need it within the year.

I know it's a lot of information to take in, but once you've got things situated correctly, it's all maintenance from then on out.

Really, you're doing a tremendous job already. The majority of new iguana owners keep babies in small tanks or have a really bad diet or don't have any lighting at all when they first get started. You've got everything basically right, just a little tweaking here and there and it'll be perfect.

I can't wait to see more pictures. And welcome to your new state of iguana servitude. You're joining a whole host of us.

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

Punctuation. It saves lives.

Thanks for all the help. The cage is all wood and has a screen mesh front and sides. The fountain plus the heat helps keep the humidity nice and I try to keep cool breezes from flowing through. I'm already drawing blueprints up for the "big one," hahahahaha. The iguana was definitely a surprise gift and not a part of my budget, so I'm trying. Hopefully after moving into my new apartment I'll be able to put a few dollars back each paycheck to build it. This project, wood, paint, trees, lamps and bulbs cost just under $200 to make. The next one will probably cost just under double that. Those UVB bulbs are expensive, hopefully I can catch a break on that.
I'm not too worried about the seasonal food as mentioned above since I live in Texas and he's indoors. But, I will try to incorporate more leafy veggies. Having a little trouble finding some mustard greens though. I don't think it cares too much for collard greens (or however its spelled).

Here is a website that has a list of veggies and fruits that have required Ca:P for iguanas. Most of the listed vegetables you can grow in flower pots throughout the summer. I grow collards year round, just keep the plants full shade and they will do fine.

The Iguana Den - Iguana Diet - Vegetable Cal:Phos Ratios

http://www.anapsid.org/pdf/icfs.pdf