ok Thanks!its the spiral bulb kind,i think the color is fine now!cause I think it was just the lght.looks like I need to buy a screen any recomendations?is there a site that sells em specially mad eor can I go to home depot to buy it?still having trouble with the thermometers.also I have the heating pad on the side of the tank...not sure if its warm enough for night though.......

right now my thermometer closest to the ground has a temp. of 76.6 farenheit.the one on the basking has a tem pof around 85 or so(for some reason the needle never moves) i have one analog on the basking area and a digital under near the ground.what can I do to increase the overall temperature?

I hope you saved the receipt because that spiral bulb is pretty much useless for your iguana. Take it back and get a 5.0 or 10.0 fl. tube or, better yet, invest in a Megaray (www.reptileuv.com). Your ig will thank you and you'll be rewarded ten times over by having an ig with good color and a constant shedder (meaning growth) with no Metabolic Bone Disease.

I commend you on your research.

Thats correct. The spiral bulbs are not sufficient for an iguana. You need 2 flourescent tubes the length of the tank. Reptisun 5.0 are the old standby but there are good reviews of the 10.0 as well. These need to be situated within 8-10 inches of the iguana's basking spot.
However since you will have to be buying everything from scratch I too suggest you look into the Mega rays. They will cost you about the same to set up but will put out a lot more UVB and the bulbs will last about a year or better where the flourescent will need to be replaced at 8 months.

You can get the screen tops at most pet stores or you can get some hardware cloth and make your own a lot cheaper.

For heat you can increase the wattage of the basking bulb. But I would pitch the analog thermometer as they can be off by 10-20 degrees. get another digital and make sure. You can get them in garden centers at the hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, WalMart, etc) for about 10 dollars that have a remote probe on them so they will monitor both areas.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

.....2 fluroucent tubes?one wont do good enough?how bout those mega ray,they produce heat and uvb so I only need to have 1 bulb right and not multiple lights?i might go buy a ceramic heater as well.oh yeah do baby iguanas eat alot?cause I filled up the bowl(seen in the picture) and it doesnt really eat it all,just some less then half, actually he did eat almost half.which mega ray is good for me?is this one good enough?
Mega-Ray® SB 100 watt Self-Ballasted Flood UVB Lamp - ReptileUV
sorry for all the question guys,but Thanks for the help!i want my ig to grow strong.
hehe as I was about to change his food bowl this is what I saw.....

ok I dumped the bulbs I had and iwent to purchase a new thermometer,but the battery was screwed up so I gotta return it agian.as for the ceramic heat emiter,i also bought one of those for night time use.but im gonna order the mega ray for day use.the heat emiter produces a whole lot of heat though its great for day use but idont know havent tested the night use,since at night it is a bit colder.humidity is a bit of a problem with more heat though.

i found a room that may be able to be emptied for when he grows bigger its like a little storage room on the side of the garage which is a perfectly good small size!(its not made out of aluminum or metal.its just a built in normal room built on the side of the garage.i would just need to make it suitable for him.Thanks for the help so far but I would like to know a couple more answers to my questions.thank you!

Greetings Ktulu-

You need 2 fluorescent lights to be effective. 1 Mega-Ray will do fine also. I would recommend the SB100, placed on one side of the tank. Kill all other heat sources during the day, the Mega-Ray will take care of it.

For heat at night, buy a Mega-Heat from ReptileUV. Targets the heat at the sleeping spot and is much safer than a Ceramic Heat Emitter.

Young iguanas will not eat a lot until they settle down and begin to trsut the surroundings. As long as he is eating something, and pooping everyday, you're good to go!

Good on you for taking the advice and revising your set-up! You are doing more for your iguana now than most keepers do in the iguana's lifetime. What you do now will add years to his health later.

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Regards,
Dominick
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"Do you watch too much television? Did you do so as a toddler? Evidence tonight that it could be the cause of learning disorders, like attention deficit and hyperact-Ooooh, a kitty!" - Keith Olbermann

hehe Thanks i am hoping this ig will last me years!this would be one of my biggest achievements in my life.if I take care of this I might even buy a bearded dragon which are supose to be easier to take care of.but first the ig.i think im gonna order just the mega ray sb 100 now,since my dad doesnt really like returning stuff.the ceramic heat emiter does the same but is more angerous I guess.but I will be checking the temperatures to see if it ever overheats.i guess I am done for now!Thanks!
actually I take that back,last question lol about how many months old do you think it is?cause its not exactly a baby.

Just a warning about the Ceramic Heat Emitter: Make sure that it is securely protected and the iguana can't touch it! Those things cause horrendous burns!!
When I used them in my snake's enclosures, I always had a protective cage around them. Just make sure the little guy can't squeeze inside -- I've heard of snakes doing that and frying to death...

Even if your Ceramic Heat Emitter is outside the cage, you'll want to be sure that it won't get knocked down or accidentally touched by people. They are great for heat, but the burns are BAD.

Good luck with your iguana... I hope your passing some of your good knowledge onto your little sister... actually everyone in the family should know what's right and wrong for the little guy.

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Andrea

I'm just taking a wild guess here (mostly because size is affected by previous care) but judging from the size of him, I'd say about a year old. Have you measured him yet? I find it very interesting to keep a growth chart. When I got Einstein in August 2006, he was 4" snout to vent length and 15.5 snout to tail length. Today, he's up to 7.5" snout to vent length and 26" snout to tail length at, I'm guessing, a year old.

Here's my little monster: