Hello. We just received an iguana from someone we know as they could not care for it. As far as I can tell, it appears to be a male and he is about three feet long. They included an aquarium (believe it is about 50 gals.), a heat light and a "log" with him. Obviously, the lighting is not good enough and the tank is too small. That is why I am here. Trying to find ideas on building a larger encloser, at a relatively low cost, information about what his diet should include (since he eats scrambled eggs for breakfast and it doesn't seem that it is right), what kind of lighting he should be given access to and more about his attitude. Heck, it took me almost a week to find out what it means when his head turns white!! He has already bit one of my sons! One of our biggest problems is that he was a free roaming pet at their home and that is not possible at ours, so I know that the enclosure must be built soon (he's not a happy lizard)! Will be spending time on threads new and old, as I have not been able to find answers to ALL of my questions yet. I look forward to it!

Hello and welcome to HCN! I don't have any experience with iguanas myself, but you'll find a lot of iguana care articles at this link:

http://www.herpcenter.com/a/


Hope all goes well for you and your new iguana!

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~Juliane~

Welcome to the HCN!

Oh wow, sounds like you have a real handful and alot of learning to do. First off NO EGGS! Iguanas are strict vegetarians. No animal protein AT ALL. Feed things like collared green, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, grated squash, chickory, cut bell peppers and things like that.

Next off, you are right that cage is WAY too small for a 12 inch iguana let alone a 3 footer. Check out our sister site www.herphabitats.com for caging ideas.

Also as you have read your lighting is inadequate. Iguanas need UVB light to help them properly metabolize calcium to prevent metabolic bone disease. read up about proper lighting at www.reptileuv.com

Good luck and welcome to ig-slavery, its a long difficult journey that you just embarked on.

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

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Welcome to HC, everyone included all the links... I feel left out. LOL

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Colleen

Welcome to the HC Network. I'd like to say thanks on behalf of your Iguana for taking the time to learn how to look after an Iguana the proper way.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Thank you, everyone, for your greetings. I am, definitely, working towards learning more about him (I am assuming he is male from is femoral pores (?)) and how to best take care of him. We are currently looking at available space and believe that, right now, he is going to end up being in a three level cage that will be about 5'Lx2'Wx6'H, as we already have most of the stuff that we need to build the enclosure. I just have to figure out his eating habits. Unfortunately, he runs for the eggs and eats them ravenously, but any other food (jarred iguana food that was given to me for him), he just nibbles at once or twice a day. I have tried carrots and spinach, as they told me he eats spinach also, but he hasn't touched those. I have found a few recipes for iguana salad, so I will be including that on my grocery list tomorrow. Hopefully, he will eat better. He has found his favorite windows, during the time that we have let him out. Now we just have to get the lighting thing taken care of and help him learn that he is not the dominate member of the relationship. Oh yeah, we also need to learn the kids a few things...like not to chase him! Again - thank you for your help and advice!

Hello and welcome to the HCN. Glad you found us.

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Ken
" The United States Marine Corps......sure we are a department of the Navy,,,,,,we're the MENS department "

welcome to HC! glad you joined us. there are plenty of ig keepers here to help you out. good luck with him. and its great that you're trying to learn everything so he'll be well taken care of. hope everything works out well for everyone.

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Professional Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
http://niksscalesandtails.com/



yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot (RIP) and Bear

I would try to wean him off of the eggs by putting less and less in with his healthy food until he doesnt realize they are gone. it might take a while for the transition but don't worry, once he is hungry he will eat. I have found that even the most stingy eaters will go for grated butternut squash or sweet potato baby food.
As for the cage dimensions 2 feet wide will not suffice. By the time he is fully grown he will not be able to turn around on a 2 foot wide cage. You might be able to get by with 3 feet though.

Good luck and thanks for taking him in, there are alot of iguanas out there who aren't getting the proper treatment.

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

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos