also I live in brooklyn and it gets cold here in the winter and I need to build a bigga encloser for my iggy and I dont know out of what to build it

I would suggest building it out of something with solid walls, like plexi-glass.

Can you tell us about your iguanas heating/lighting/diet?

Have you been able to determine if it is male or female yet? How long I it from the tip of it's nose to its vent(base of its tail) You may need to start worrying about a laying box and such if it is a female.

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"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

iggy is bet 6-8 inches from its nose to the vent...i never determined if its male or female how would I know..?

Check out the care sheet First and foremost.

Here's a bit on sexing compliments of Rich on THIS thread.

"When sexing an iguana, there are several things to look at. The first thing is to check for hemipenal bulges. They will be located near the iguanas vent. If there are bulges located there, you have a male. You also look at their femoral pores. If there are easily visible femoral pores, you likely have a male. You can also look at the jowls of the iguana. Males have more pronounced jowls. There are several things like those listed above that need to be taken into consideration."

Has anyone told you about UVB lights yet? They are a vital part of iguana ownership that most people don;t reealize until a problem occirs.

__________________

"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

At 6-8 inches it may be a bit small to sex yet. If you can post some pictures of it we may be able to make a guess but at this size it would still be a guess.

You have already said that you haven't been able to spend as much time with the iguana as you should have. It takes a lot of time and work to get an iguana used to you. They are a wild animal and in their eyes YOU are a potential predator with iguana steak on your mind! It takes daily handling and interaction for them to get past this idea and settle down. You HAVE to commit the time and effort needed if you ever want to have a manageable pet. And with an animal that is going to get the size of an adult iguana you do WANT it to be manageable! Males in particular can get HUGE! One of the keys in working with an ig is that it can NEVER back you down and make you go away. When it tries to bite or tail whips you do NOT leave it alone and go away, proceed, with caution, but pick it up and handle it for a bit. If it acts up and you go away it has trained YOU to do what IT wants.

For an enclosure you are going to need something BIG! 5' wide 3' deep and 6' tall is about the minimum for an adult ig. If you are going to have to expend the money to build an enclosure you might as well build for the adult size and save the money that would be wasted by repeatedly building ever larger enclosures. Do it once and be through. I prefer solid sided cages as they are much easier to heat and humidify. The simplest is simply a large wooden box with a plexiglass or glass front door.

What are you using for lighting? As stated UVB lighting is a must have!

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

i have a uvb 2 heat lamp and a night glow heat lamp..i will take some pics of iggy and his tank and post them hopefully tonight

iggy718, do you have any care books? Specifically, do you have "Green Iguana: the Ultimate Owner's Manual" by James W. Hatfield, III? That is the BEST book on iguana care you can find AND it has instructions on how to build an adult-sized enclosure. I'd suggest getting it and READING it right away.

There is no drive-thru, fast-food way to get a tame iguana. Merlin is right... you have to take time every single day to pick up and handle your iguana. There is no short-cut around this. And you'd better start now or you will have an iguana that is unhandleable.

It's not too late, you just need to do it.

__________________
~~Steph

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

ok I will do soo thank you for all you help everyone

what do you guys/girls think of this home for my igg is it good should I buy it?


Reptarium Cages for Less

A total waste of your money. The mesh will make it difficult to control heat and humidity and an iguana's claws will shred the mesh material. Also it isn't nearly big enough. The maximum size is 2.5 ft long by 2.5 ft wide. For a lizard that is going to be 6Ft long! If you want a mesh cage you would be better off building your own out of PVC pipe.
But it is going to be a bear to keep warm!

Thats the bad part of keeping iguanas. There really aren't any commercially available enclosure suited for them that doesn't cost in the thousands of dollars.
We have to build our own or have it done.

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