New Iguana to home

[gecko_paws]

Hi I just was given an iguana by a friend. It's a baby still and only 3 inches in length not including the tail. I was wondering what kind of habitat should I provide for this guy. And how many gallons should I have over all to keep this little guy in. I heard that iguanas get huge, so I was wondering what I could do to give this iguana a good home. No one else will care for it.
[addsig]

YES they do get HUGE. They will actually get to around 5' np when full grown..some even more in length. As for housing... You do neeed to provide a large enclosure for him also. At this size though you could get away with something like a 29 long. it prolly won't last though and you need to upgrade the sizing as the iglet grows. The iggy should be able to turn around in the cage without having to bend it's tail at all. Also the cage should be at least twice as long as the iggy...longer is even better. Once the iggy gets to be a good size... cage size should be even more roomy for it. As an adult..plan on custom building a cage for it. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]
Make sure that you handle the iglet quite a lot to keep it tamed down. Last thing you want is an iggy that is huge and not tame so to say.
Some of the things you need to provide for this iglet are :
large caging
UVB lighting [ without such the iggy will get MBD ]
basking light
humidity
daily fresh greens [ never feed any type of animal protein ! also dust with vitamin.calcium supplement. AND make sure that the food provided is a 2:1 ratio of calcium : phospherous }
fresh water [ they love to poop in their water btw ]
climbing access to a perch to hang out on


Be prepared to get scratched [ long sleeves come in handy]
Iggy's have teeth that are like shards of glass
They tail whip [ This HURTS !]
Males can get very nasty when going into breed also. [ usually about the third year]

ANYTHING else ya need to know atm?

[addsig]

	Ultra Violet Radiation B Ultra Violet Radiation B

OH yeah... Do nOT feed any crickets or iceberg lettuce either to the iggy. I would send ya to my iggy feeding page..but..umm.. i lost it when I did another page ..arghh I'll fix it this weekend though.
The foods they eat primarily are ..
dark greens like collared, kale, mustard & turnip greens, parslay, green beans etc.....they also can have some fruit too.. try strawberries, they like bananas also...apples...and so on.
They also eat some plant flowers too like rose petals, carnations...

If you plan on leash training it..start now..or you won't be able to at all without a struggle.
[addsig]

	Iguana Iguana

[gecko_paws]

Ok I won't feed it iceberg lettuce. I have a 30 gallon for now but I have to buy uv ray and basking bulb for him/her. Do you think that a 260 gallon tall at lllreptile would be good? It's 29x29x72. I was thinking the height would be good but not the width. For 200 dollars I can get the whole basking light and heating system.

If that's not good then can you give me some links for some decently priced iggy cages. I could build one but I don't exactly have the carpenter skills. LOL. Do you think a huge bird cage or ferret cage might do?

I was reading that they grow fast so I don't have much time. I willing to make the investment this summer, so that my iggy can live a healthy life.

What do you house your iggy in? And where did you purchase or what did you build yours with?

Thanks for the info I really very much do appreciate it!!!




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I'm a little gecko here me squeek!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

This is what most of ours are housed in here. It's easy to build, economical to build and easy to clean also....Plus ya can build to whatever size you need also atm...
PVC IGGY CAGE
[addsig]

	Iguana Iguana

[gecko_paws]

Thanks. I'll probably have to go to home depot tomorrow. I know I sound dumb for asking this but what's a PVC pipe? This sounds very easy to make with proper help. Thank you!!!

_________________
I'm a little gecko here me squeek!!

It's a hollow type of plumbing pipe is all [ usually white in color]
[addsig]

[gecko_paws]

My new iggy seems to be doing great. He's so funny. I put this back drop on the cage and my iggy seems to try and jump onto the plants in the background and ends up landing on a flat glass surface...LOL He also trys to climb the screen. I'm afraid he might get his nails struck in the screen.
[addsig]

	Iguana Iguana

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> I put this back drop on the cage and my iggy seems to try and jump onto the plants in the background and ends up landing on a flat glass surface...LOL</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

You need to lose the backdrop scene in the cage asap. Allthough it may seem funny to watch...your iggy will get hurt if he continues to try and jump onto the greenery he thinks is present there. Provide him with some branches to climb on also if you haven't already.
[addsig]

[gecko_paws]

Oh ok didn't think that iguanas could get hurt so easily.
[addsig]

	Iguana Iguana

Uh YUP they can possibly. Amazing thing is they can fall like 20' from a tree in the wild without getting hurt , BUT in captivity they fall from a cage perch and get hurt...GO FIGURE....
[addsig]

[impermanentrage]

Here ya go.

NIAD

Entropy,
ALex
[addsig]

[DogVsRaptor]

I also use the same PVC pipe cage like the link above. My dad built
mine one weekend and my iguana Chino loves it. Since I don't live at home,
while it was being built I disenfected two huge logs with water and some bleach, then
I also baked them at 220-215 degrees with a lot of monitering. I have a
few different lights I use over my cage. I have a three foot flouresent bulb,
a four foot UV bulb, day lights, nightlights, and regular flood lights
to provide heat for him. Though it is an open cage, humidity becomes a problem,
so everyday I give him a litter box sized tub of warm-luke warm water.
He doesn't like to swim much, but I'll catch him in it every now and then.
Also I gave my iguana a hammock made simply out of an old pillow cover,
I just pinned up the sides, he usually sleeps in it. Good luck with you cage.

Nick Nacrelli
[addsig]

	Iguana Iguana