Is your child begging you for an iguana for the holidays or Christmas?
Are you begging your parents for an iguana? Due to an iguana's special needs,
please consider long and hard before purchasing one, or any reptile for
that matter, as a spur-of-the-moment gift, especially during the holidays.
Never buy an exotic pet before completely researching it and providing
it with a proper enclosure and food - BEFORE - buying it and bringing it
home. Never put a new pet in with any other pets you have. You risk giving
all of your animals infections or diseases that a pet store animal may have
unbeknownst to you. Isolate a new animal from other pets for at least a
month to insure their health.
Anyone growing up in the fifties remembers the popularity of the
tiny red-eared slider turtle. Pet stores sold them by the thousands.
Inevitably, the small turtle died and was ceremoniously buried in the backyard
or unceremoniously flushed down the toilet. This living creature of the
swamp and riverbank, which should have grown to over a foot in length, was
considered a novelty, a "disposable" pet.
Unfortunately, the Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) has become
the disposable pet of the nineties. The International Iguana Society
reports that in 1997 over 750,000 iguanas were imported into the U.S., with
the majority dying in their first year and only a small percentage projected
to reach maturity.
The Green Iguana is a diurnal, herbivorous folivore (a plant eater)
and a tropical reptile with strict care requirements. The proper environment,
temperature, nutrition, humidity, light, and psychological comfort must
be provided to insure its survival. Iguanas grow incredibly fast. A hatchling
of six inches grows to ten times that size in three short years, doubling
its size in the first year. A fully mature male iguana will grow to a very
impressive five or six feet in length, can weigh ten to fifteen pounds,
and may live fifteen to twenty years.
A pet store will invariably suggest the purchase of a ten or twenty-gallon
terrarium (only 20"x10"x12") which is woefully inadequate.
A young iguana is all ready too large for a space that small. An iguana
will outgrow a twenty-gallon terrarium in a few months. Remember, if you
buy a large enough enclosure initially you won't have to replace it in a
year. Another problem with such a small enclosure is the inability for the
iguana to "thermoregulate".
Cold-blooded (or ectothermic), the young iguana requires external
heat sources that range from 75 degrees to a 95 - 100 degree basking
spot in a large enough environment that the iguana can "thermoregulate"
its body temperature by moving from a cool area to the hotter basking area.
An iguana, diurnal or active during the day, needs sunlight and heat during
daylight hours, darkness AND warmth at night. Pet stores, unfortunately,
sell the new iguana owner a "hot rock" to try and replace the
more expensive overhead light panel that is required for proper care. Equipped
with a place for a basking light bulb, a nighttime bulb that is black, blue
or red, and a UV fluorescent tube which delivers UV rays, the light panel
is an integral part of creating the proper environment for a rain forest
creature. There are cheaper alternatives if you want to create a more custom
environment. Clamp-on lights with an aluminum hood can be used OUTSIDE of
the cage to provide the heat for a basking spot and for nighttime heat.
You must always screen any hot light source to prevent burns (one of the
most common injuries to a young iguana.) A fluorescent fixture can be purchased
from a hardware store and equipped with a UV tube (Vita-Lite or Zoo-Med
make such a light) from the pet store. Often overlooked, an inexpensive
timer is necessary to turn day lights on and off.
Proper nutrition is as crucial as a proper environment. Iguana
iguana is a herbivore requiring a daily vegetarian diet consisting
of dark leafy greens like mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens
(not spinach or lettuce), grated vegetables, and fruit. NO iceberg lettuce
and NO animal protein (like dog food, worms or insects) should be fed
to a herbivorous lizard. With proper nutrition, exposure to sunlight, a
spacious environment, and a gradient heat range (no hot rocks!), your green
iguana will thrive.
The Green Iguana is a wild creature of the humid rainforest,
adapted for climbing and basking in the tropical sun. To raise a healthy,
happy pet, you must recreate a rain forest habitat. Plan to spend at least
ten times the purchase price of the iguana to set it up properly and humanely.
Before purchasing a reptile, buy a book (James Hatfield's The Ultimate Iguana
Manual, for instance) and become familiar with that reptile's specific needs.
Subscribe to Iguana Iguana Newsletter to get interesting articles and unique
answers to all your environmental and nutritional questions. Read this web
site thoroughly for the answers to your questions. Be proactive in your
quest to be a responsible reptile owner.
If you are the kind of pet owner who leaves the dog in the yard
most of the time, who doesn't like the daily feeding regimen, likes the
freedom to pack up the family for a few days and doesn't have anyone to
care for the pets at home, an iguana is not for you. If you, on the other
hand, are committed to proper care for your pets, like the daily interaction,
have the time and the room to build both an indoor and an outdoor environment
for this sun-loving reptile, then go ahead. You will find the iguana to
be an inquisitive, friendly, and unusual pet who will be part of your life
for many, many years. Have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Back to Iguana Iguana Home Page
Previous Articles in IGUANA IGUANA
Go to Tips and Tricks
Go to Questions and Answers
Go to Make Your Iguana A Rainforest
Go to Games and Puzzles
Best and Worst
Iguana Hall of Fame
Favorite Ig Names
Iguana Nutrition
A Day in the Life of an Iguana
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This Month's Article - NOVEMBER - MANY REASONS FOR
GIVING THANKS
The latest printed issues ofIGUANA 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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