I have 2 iguanas-I adopted them from a girl I worked with. She got them through some mail order deal, they were quite small when I got them, I'd say about 5 inches long, this was about the 1st of October.

Originally they were together in a small aquarium, and after a short amount of time I separated them into their own 10 gallon tanks. I then aquired a 46 gallon aquarium and placed the smaller (female) in it for about a week. I then added the male. All seemed well until recently I've noticed that the female is very dark. I really don't see her out and about and never see her eat. Eating was an issue with her for awhile, she was very skinny. I got her weight back up and she doesn't really look as thin as she was, however, I don't see her eating either.

I'm assuming from everything that I've read that I need to split them up. I have a new cage coming and plan on taking my aquarium to my classroom with the male iguana, he can handle the classroom.

Anyone have any other suggestions? Right now, I had her out earlier and since I've put her back in they are both on the other side of the cage (from where they usually hide in their cave) and they are just sitting there, like they are afraid to move. It just seems odd to me......

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!
thanks
shelli

Hi Shelli and welcome to HC. I don't know a whole lot about iguanas other than what my boyfriend has told me. He has 2. They are not in the same cage. He told me once that they get very dark when they are cold. Does the male seem to occupy the basking area without allowing the female time to warm up? Do you have other heating sources available? I have no idea if that is the answer to your problem or not but just something to maybe consider. Good luck. I hope she is OK.
Angel

Hi Shelli and welcome to Herp Center. Be patient for a few more hours until your post is read by some more of the staff and other members. Most of the staff are servants to iguanas. In the meantime here is a little reading for you.

http://www.herpcenter.com/showthread.php?t=6980

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Fran
January 9, 1940 - June 1, 2006 (R.I.P)

Hello,

Unless you guessed correctly, there is no way to determine what sex those iguanas are by the sizes you have posted. At those sizes, the igs are still babies and can't be positively sexed until they are at least a year to 1 1/2 years old.

Without knowing their sexes with certainty, they shouldn't be housed together. If you have a male and a female, they shouldn't be housed together as the male will try to breed with the female when he is ready and the last thing the world needs is more iguanas. (There are already too many looking for homes.)

The only possible way to house them together would be if you had 2 females that got along well.

The darkness being displayed sounds like stress to me. The fact that when they were seperated the skinny ig started eating again suggests that it felt comfortable and safe. The other iguana, the "male", was most likely the dominant iguana. The dominant iguana will normally pose a threat to the less dominant and will deter it from the food dish and good basking spots. When the less dominant iguana is placed in this situation, it becomes stressed and can even become ill.

Both of those iguana are going to require large enclosures in a very short time frame. Preparations should be made for this.

The 46 gallon would not be capable of housing 2 iguanas comfortably and won't be capable of housing 1 iguana for any extended period of time. The iguana will outgrow that enclosure rather quickly.

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if you want ideas for building an enclosure, here's the one I used.

http://www.herphabitats.com/articles/PVCKnockdown.html

it works for a year or so for babies. It's been great for me

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

hey welcome to HC! glad you joined us.

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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 and Bear

HI and welcome....I agree with Rich....those babies should be separated and stay separated....The one that is dark is definitely stressed and should never be placed in with another ig. Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions....Lyn

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

A 10 gallon tank is not sufficient for a hatchling iguana, ever. You cannot provide the proper heat gradient. I would start planning new enclosures ASAP.
Since you say you are planning on bringing one of the iguanas to 'your classroom' I am assuming that you are a teacher? If your school has a woodshop class it would be the perfect opportunity to go down to the class and see if you can get someone to build you a couple of big sturdy wooden tanks. Iguanas get very large and require alot of room when they are full grown, so it will pay off to start planning ahead today.

What else can you tell us about the way they are being kept? Knowing more will help us help you...

How is the tank heated?
What are you feeding them?
What is the flooring of the cage?
Do you use a UVB light?

You also need to take into consideration the way the iguana will be kept at the school over the weekends. Will you be able to set the lamps on timers, or be able to come in every day to prepare his food?
Most people find that iguanas do not make good class pets because their care is so complicated, but if you are willing to go the extra mile then i'm sure you can make things work.
You have already taken the first step by joining up here on Herpcenter!

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Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Hi Everybody,

Thanks so much! I'm impressed the response I got here.
Ok.....this is the deal.......I took the "dark" one out, her/his name is Rosie.
(the other one is Cain, the original owners named them Cain and Able....hmmm) Anyway, I took Rosie out and she was actually in the cave and Cain was on top of her! She was very dark. I took her out and put her in a warm bath and spent some time with her. I wrapped her in a towel and held her and rubbed her head for awhile. She fell asleep. I fixed up an ER for her, only temporary, it's a 10 gallon (sorry Lacey!) because that is all that I have right now until I get the other cage. (I guess it's a PVC/zipper cage.)
I did try to feed her some banana, she wouldn't eat. I placed some smashed banana in a dish and also cut up some figs and some iguana fruit treat and added some calcium. After I put her in the ER, I put her food in and I also put the towel in with her. She stayed in the same spot for hours. I've checked on her several times and she looks better already. She looked liked she was getting around a bit. I have brown paper on the floor (like grocery bag paper) and two small heat lamps on her right now. She also has a cave, and a branch in with her. The other tank had 2 heat lamps and 1 UVB. I will go this weekend and get some more lighting and heating for the new unit.

Lastly, yes, I did say that I was taking them to the classroom. I live right down the street from the school. We have the lights set on timers right now anyway. During vacations and such he will come home with me. This is only for this year. I am teaching Spec. Ed. and we use our pets as incentive for good behavior. It also is a way to teach responsibility and how to handle animals. I assign a weekly "zookeeper" that is responsible for feeding the animals. We a green tree frog named Sherman, a Betta named Bob and I just got 2 fire bellied toads, Bonnie and Clyde.

Ok, enough of that. Oh, you asked what I feed them....I give them kale, collard greens, a little banana, sometimes apple, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Romaine, carrots, Parsnips, green beans, watermelon or melon, blueberries, figs, I try to vary it for them. I really haven't found anything that they are wild about yet. I guess in time.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated and again, thanks so much to everyone. I am very grateful.

Shelli

Hello and welcome! I see you are already getting some good advice. Iguanas that are stressed from a move to a new home are frequently reluctant to eat. And most new igs will not eat if you are around and watching.
The diet needs an overhaul. Most of the diet should be calcium rich greens collards, mustard and turnip with a bit of fruits and vegetables. Bok choy, bananas, cabbage, kale and apples are an occassional if at all food.
For a good overview of what you should be feeding check out http://www.herpcenter.com/showthread.php?t=6822. There are other good care articles in the same group under "Iguana Center".
With regard to the reptarium cage that you have coming. It is not going to be anywhere near large enough for an adult iguana. It will also not stand up to a large iguana. They will tear right through the mesh. It will also be difficult to maintain heat and humidity. With the cost of heating bills these days most schools turn the heat off over weekends and holidays. This could be a problem with keeping the ig warm in a mesh cage.
What are the temps in the cages?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!