Hello,

We will soon be adopting a 2 1/2 year old green male iguana named Iggy. He is being given up because he will get to large and they do not have time for him. this will be our first experience with such a larger reptile. We have a Red Ear slider that's also a rescue, she is 3" long and has a custom 75 gallon setup in our dining room. Iggy will be moving into our office. We started today empying it out to make room for the renovations that will be required for Iggy to join the family. Iggy will be getting a custom 8'x3'x7' tall enclosure. We started building the enclosure in our shop today and hope to be ready for him to move here in 2 weeks. We are building the entire untit to be self contained, housing all the timers, and an ultrsonic fogging humidifier. The plan is to be able to let Iggy roam while we are in the office in the mornings, evenings and weekends.

We are planning on using 2 Ceramic Heat Emitter's above the basking platform, as well as 2 day light bulbs. Also a 4' UVB light. The room is currently kept around 75 degrees, so I'm hoping that using the 2 Ceramic Heat Emitter's plus lightbulbs will get everything up to temp. If not, we will add a heater, no heat rocks! We are also going to run a dedicated 20 circuit to the enclosure location to handle everything.

I hope I have all bases covered.

-Brian

Hello,

Sounds like you have the bases covered except I would substitute the Ceramic Heat Emitter's with Heat Emitters from Mega Ray and a UV light from them as well.

The heat Emitters from Mega Ray are very unique. Like a Ceramic Heat Emitter, they produce no light and only heat. They are designed however for accidental contact. If your iguana were to accidentally come into contact with it, it would not get burned. Its a great piece of technology. (I use them in my enclosures and have actually grabbed one after having it running for 24 hours. It was hot, but I didn't get burned. )

The lighting you are considering has VERY low UV output. In 3 months, that light will be producing HALF of the UV that it emits when new which is roughly 35-45 mW/cm2 at 12". You will also need to replace it every six-nine months as the UV coming from it will be so low it will be useless to the iguana.

Now if you purchase a light from Mega Ray, you are looking at approximately 150-200 microwatts (mW/cm2) at 12". That light will push extremely high levels of UV for a year or better!

These are just suggestions of course and what I would do.

You can look them up here if this interests you: http://www.reptileuv.com

__________________

Thanks for the advice. We are installing a whole series of ceramic light fixtures up above a metal wire cover, so I can use pretty much any bulbs that fit in there. The 4' fixture could also be changed to simple have a standard bulb also.

Hello,

The HE's require the porcelain sockets like the Ceramic Heat Emitter's and depending on the watt of Ceramic Heat Emitter you would be using, are equal in price or cheaper than the Ceramic Heat Emitter.

I would use that fixture then JUST for light. You really do want to supply better UV than what the flouescents put out. The Merc. light will save you money in the long run and is also better for the ig. The higher UV output lets you know that the iguana is getting what it needs to assimlate dietary calcium.

__________________

I will just say Hi and welcome to Herp Center as it appears that Rich has your bases covered.

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

Welcome to HC!

You've Come to the right place for answers.

Steve

Hi and welcome to HC! Good luck with your new Iggy.

__________________
Josh Shrader

1.0 Ball Python (Monty)
0.1 Red-Eared Slider (Woody)
0.1 Yellow-Bellied Slider (Buz)

Welcome to Our World....glad you could join us....Lyn

__________________
Warmest Regards from Lyn