Make Your Iguana a Rainforest!
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS EVER WANTED TO OWN A SMALL dinosaur, an iguana would
make an excellent substitute. However, it's important to remember, destined
to grow to five or six feet, the iguana is a wild creature ...some are easily
tamed, some not so easily. Iguana ownership can be a labor-intensive passion
which becomes much easier when you fulfill your pet's requirements.
WITH THEIR necessary requirements met, an iguana can live for 15 years
or more and grow to an impressive 5 to 6 feet in total length. Obviously,
this is an animal you must plan ahead for, if you are to raise one properly
and in good health.
THE KEY to raising a healthy reptile is in creating
the proper environment and following good husbandry techniques. Iguanas
come from the rainforest in countries like Costa Rica, Mexico, and Guatamala
and must live in a warm climate with high humidity. There are several places
in the U.S. where the climate is warm enough for iguanas to establish wild
ranges, Florida and Southern California are two, but usually the owner must
be the one to create that necessary special environment for his or her pet.
Try to recreate Iguana iguana 's natural environment in the mini-ecosystem
you design for your iguana. Study the rainforest and the components that
make up a rainforest ecosystem and you can create a world for your iguana
that more closely resembles his natural world.
REQUIREMENTS:
A 40 to 50 gal.Terrarium/or Custom Enclosure with a least three solid
sides. DO NOT buy a 10 or 20 gallon terrarium to start. Iguanas grow VERY
quickly and will outgrow a small terrarium in a few months. Begin by building
a special enclosure or plan on selling your 50 gallon terrarium in a year
or so and replace it with a larger, custom enclosure. An enclosure for an
adult iguana should be wide enough for an ig to turn comfortably and one
and a half times as high and long. It can have wire sides if it is heated
properly with basking sites and proper lighting and heating but at least
two sides should be up against a wall or be enclosed.
Combination Fluorescent/Heat
Lamp Fixture OR/ TWO (2) clamp-on type light fixtures for a regular light
bulb (day) and one for a black, blue, or red bulb (night) and separate fluorescent
fixture for UVB exposure.
75 to 100 watt Daylight Bulb Heat Light and 75 to 100 watt Red or Blue
Night Heat Light
DO NOT BUY OR USE A HOT ROCK! The hot rock may seem
to be working and your iguana may seem to like it because he or she spends
all of their time on it...don't be fooled. What is happening is that the
environment is not warm enough and has no basking spot so the iguana is
trying to raise his internal temperature. This is NOT natural. You may think
everything is OK and then your iguana may seem to become lethargic and may
stop eating. The road to illness is a subtle one. Food that is in your iguana's
hind gut is being cooked by the belly heat. Iguanas reach their optimum
temperature by laying in the sun, not on hot rocks. Iguana's food must be
processed through a subtle rise in internal temperature that is achieved
by moving in and out of the sun.
Hot rocks eventually malfunction and your iguana can become severely
burned.
Ceramic-type screw-in heat element (Perlco) for night is better but
requires
special clamp-on fixture (porcelain bulb holder)
Vita-Lite or ZooMed
full-spectrum fluorescent tube (UVB)
Two Strip Thermometers to measure
the temperature in both the cooler and
warmer (basking) areas of the enclosure
Under-Tank Heating Pad for colder
climates (Preferrable to a hot rock)
Tank mat or substrate material -
indoor/outdoor carpeting (check for frayed edges)
Do not use bark, sand or pebbles.
Half-Log or Reptile Cave
Two timers
for the nighttime heater and daytime lights
Plastic Plants and Branches
(bigger around than your iguana)
Metal Grater or Food Processor
Vitamin
and Calcium supplements
And a vegetarian diet....click here for diet details.
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Previous Articles in IGUANA IGUANA
Go to Tips and Tricks
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Best and Worst
Iguana Hall of Fame
Favorite Ig Names
Iguana Nutrition
A Day in the Life of an Iguana
A subscription to IGUANA IGUANA is $18.00 a year for 12 issues. To get
a printed sample issue of IGUANA IGUANA Newsletter, SEND $1.00 to: IGUANA
IGUANA, 23852 Pacific Coast Hwy. Ste.123, Malibu, CA 90265 with your snail
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Make checks payable to: Windemere Designs
(Current Month's Issue or Specific Issues - $2.00)
The latest printed issues of
IGUANA IGUANA 
Newsletter
contain the following articles:
June - From Monster to Mouse and Back Again, Living with a (part-time) Mini-Monster, From the Mail BAg - What I Go Through Living with a Crazed Male Iguana (with photo essay), Nails are for Clipping, Spotlight on Vegetables - The Rutabaga, Ask Dr. Spike - When is it too hot for my iguana to be outside?, Keep Cool!
July - Taking a Bite Out of Summer, Reviewing Your Iguana's Health, A Pool for Your Outdoor Enclosure, Adding Humidity to the Outdoor Enclosure - A Mist System on a Times, An Iguana Picnic, Ask Dr. Spike - Why does my iguana eat dirt?, Happy Summer!
August - Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do?, Breeding Season, Castration - Surgery and Chemical, The Presto Salad Shooter for easy meals, Ask Dr. Spike - My male iguana turns orange. What does that mean?
September - Dehydration - Dying of Thirst, Organ Damage Caused By Dehydration, Dehydration - Observable and Clinical Signs, Signs of Viseral Gout, Summer Fruit, Conversion Chart, End of Summer Iguana Salad, Lizards Living Large in Florida, Humidity in the Enclosure, Ask Dr. Spike - My iguana eats his feces - Ugh!, Happy End of Summer!
October - Skeletons in the Closet - Building a Closet Enclosure, Electrical Work in the Clsoet, The Third Eye, FallBack - Change your timers, Ask Dr. Spike - there are strange things in my iguana's poop!, Lots of Halloween Iguana Hats, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! and Happy Iguana Halloween!
November - Many Reasons for Giving Thanks, The Proper Way to Hand-Feed An Iguana that isn't Eating, Preparing the Blended Food, From the Mailbox - I Lost My Iguana in the House!, Autumn Torte Recipe and Fig Dessert for You and Your Iguana's Thanksgiving Dinner, Happy Thanksgiving!
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send $2.00 with your name and address to: IGUANA IGUANA, 23852 P.C.H., Suite
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Random sample issues - $1.00
Current Issues - $2.00
A subscription to IGUANA IGUANA is $18.00 a year for 12 issues.
