My New Iguana

[pixiefrogman]

This is my new iguana, Ed (exciting name lol). He is in a 4x4x3 iguana cage. So far he's real skiddish and aggressive, but I'm working on taming him everyday. I tried to get a good pic of him without him getting spooked. Wish me luck with him!

-TJ

P.S. he does have a UV heat lamp, you can't see it because the box is blocking it.

[Deku]

Thats a small cage for an adult. Bare minimum for an adult iguana is 6ftx6ftx6ft. Personally Id say Id rather give em twice as much room as their body. Considering they can grow atleast 6feet or so(including tail) soooo yeah... Also they need a highly varied diet, so just keep that in mind. As for taming, that will be alittle hard if he was mistreated I guess. It may go away after time. Just wear gloves and protection gear. Dont take this lightly, they have a huge thick tail which could do alot of damage than you would think. Also they have razor sharp claws and a strong jaws.

They are mainly vegetarians but I think they need some protein in their diet. As for lighting make sure you dont go for "basking" lights like zoomeds. Zoomeds basking light does not produce enough uv to keep a lizard/turtle/snake happy. Go for either full spectrum lights or vapor lights. Both cost a ton of money but these animal require it. They need it atleast on for 12hours a day. Make sure you dont feed romaine or iceburg lettuce. They do not contain any nutrients whatsoever. Its just like giving it water. Its a filler. Make sure to mix in its diet with stuff like say:
Squash
carrots
Pumpkins
tomatoes
kale
bananas
apples
etc etc. They need alot of assorted veggies in every feeding(doesnt have to be daily). I knew one who absolutely loved avocados and mangos(in puertorico). So you should give that a whirl. You should also feed it stuff like crickets and worms ever so often. To get that full diet.

Good lucks.


Ps. Give it more climbing spaces if possible and let it roam around a room a few hours every other day this will provide it some relief in the case of being cooped up in a cage. Make sure the room itself is warm and is no less than atleast 72-75 degrees. Also make sure to give it a water dish(Idk if you have one) that is large enough for it to soak in. It may or may not use it for soaking but I know some reptiles like that(Iam not sure about iguanas in that case). I only know caging requirements, lighting requirements and food requirements.

[pixiefrogman]

Thanks for the advice. I fully intend to get him a giant custom cage, but I didn't want to get one right now because he's still small.

[Deku]

Thanks for the advice. I fully intend to get him a giant custom cage, but I didn't want to get one right now because he's still small.

When he grows atleast to 2feet of length you should think about the large cage then. By that time it should be placed in that cage. When their babies they are active as heck, but when adults they are mellow but still they need a large cage. Id suggest even with a large cage youd let it get excersice daily or every few days out side of the cage in a seperate room with no other pets and nothing it can crawl in and hide(vents, corners, etc). Remember they are avide climbers so seal off any holes in the room they may be able to crawl into and escape or possibly die in that hole. Soooo yeah, but they should still have a place to escape its domain in. You know?

Good luck.

[Ebony]

Nice Iguana TJ, Congratulations

[pixiefrogman]

Kevin: Yea, I'll most likely be purchasing a giant cage by the time he's a year old. The reason I bought this cage was because someone sold it to me for $25, I had to buy it. And yea I do and I will continue to take him out of his cage. When he gets older I'll let him roam my room, and part of my house. But I have to be careful, my mom has 4 small dogs. Thanks for the tips!

Ebony: Thanks!

[Deku]

Kevin: Yea, I'll most likely be purchasing a giant cage by the time he's a year old. The reason I bought this cage was because someone sold it to me for $25, I had to buy it. And yea I do and I will continue to take him out of his cage. When he gets older I'll let him roam my room, and part of my house. But I have to be careful, my mom has 4 small dogs. Thanks for the tips!

Ebony: Thanks!

Sorry I just worry alot about iguanas. ^^;;; You know iguanas are pretty much THE hardest reptilian to keep THRIVING, there is a difference between alive and thriving. But you seem to be doing good. Also I forgot you can feed it cauliflower, dandelions, I heard brocolli idk about that though. You just need to give it a wide veggie diet and some protein. As for the cage, nice find. If its just like 5inches or so then yeah thats too small for a large cage. Oh remember to go for mercury vapor lights. Remember that an iguanas skin is darker and thicker so they need lots of radiation. Just make sure you look em up. Theres a guide I think the site is uvguide.uk.co or something like that? you may have to do more research on that. Ill try finding it later.
Good luck! and post some pictures!!!!!!

[pixiefrogman]

Yea I have a 125 watt UV mercury vapor bulb on the cage.

[Deku]

Yea I have a 125 watt UV mercury vapor bulb on the cage.

Yea, when its a full grown adult aka 6ft long. You need atleast 6 lights on top of the basking area, for it to fully sun itself. no kidding