Re: Another LONG shot

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Posted by BabyHerp on May 07, 2001 at 11:23:41:

In Reply to: Long list of questions from soon to come owner posted by Fred The Lizard on May 05, 2001 at 17:45:23:

: 1. is it ok to mainly let your iguana free roam around the house

Basking shelf near a window you can open up that has a SECURED wire mesh screen would be great! My igs USED to free roam...too difficult to control heat, humidity, transmission of disease, possible injuries, eating foreign objects...so they're caged now (one outside one inside)! And doing better than ever! Free roam outside in an enclosed patio when weather permits ...here in S. Cali that means roughly 9 months out of the year!
I used wall mounts (like those single motion detector fixures) above my armoire for my female and one high up my wall unit (the male's basking spot) both had ladders used parrot ladders for a while then had to switch to like those cheapo ($5)Home Depot wood ladders which are now outside and part of a jungle gym for them.

: 2. (silly question) can an iguana be trained to like scratch on the door when he wants to pee or something or be trained to go in a litter box.

YES!! both of my adult green igs scratch at the base of their enclosures when they want out (to go poopie or outdoors) Since my male is inside I open the sliding door of his enclosure a bit...he walks towards the back door if he wants outside or straight into the spare bathroom to do his thing on newspaper placed outside the tub. Its the routine! If you usually let them out at a certain time of day....they get so used to it they learn if your not gonna let them out...they'll remind you!

: 3. Just exactly how fast are they, if i let him

Babies of course are fast! How fast ?? hmmm speed of sound? nah not as fast as a collard tho. Adults are slow....but their claws are SHARP! My igs scaled a 4 ft high plywood pen (I didn't keep their nails trimmed back then!)you can build a pen, use something like thick SLICK vinyl or cement (baby igs can climb stucco!)KEEP NAILS TRIMMED and may be able to deter escapes. Also make sure there are no obstacles close to the perimeter where iguana can use that for leverage.
Observe/supervise your ig VERY closely for the first few days while outside. It'll tell you what modifications need to be made.

: 4. exactly what is your salad made of about the

An iguanas salad needs to be individualized based on the age and health status of your ig.
For younger than 2 iguanas,iguanas that have had surgery or amputations for instance you want to
increase the plant protein. For mature iguanas studies have found they prefer fiber to protein so I don't offer my iguanas extra plant protein unless warranted.
My salads are simple (only 1 item from each category) and vary week to week :
DARK LEAFY GREENS about 60-70% of salad (collards, dandelion,mustard greens, turnip greens, hibiscus leaves for example.
VEGGIES about 20%: mainly diced cactus pads (nopales; optunia cactus), butternut or spaghetti squash (grated)occasionally dried seaweed (reconstituted)
FRUITS about 20-30%: PAPAYA!, CACTUS FRUIT!! (also called tunas, prickly pear),oranges, fresh figs, red rasberries

: 5. i live in northern florida. if i let my iggy out every day to sun himself in my back yard for awhile would he still need a uvb light.

Nope! Majority of MBD symptoms occur early spring....its those winter months you need to worry about! The vitamin D their skin produces from uvb is stored! My igs are outside ALOT! but come those winter months I panic....I run my UVB lamp (Active UVHeat) 3 hours a day...5 days a week one of these days I just may try it without uvb thru the winter. (I live in Cali now ..so Im comfortable in trying something like this!)

: 6. i have a calcium adder already that i use for my collared that has calcium and D3 but no phosphurus,

Just one of GGIs medical problems include hypervitamintosis D! FROM OVERSUPPLEMENTING Vitamin D3 which is an ANIMAL STEROL (i.e. fish oil) which means that somewhere down the line this gorgeous HERBIVORE given enough of it (remember its a fat soluble vitamin) causes mineralization of soft tissue and kidney failure. Compounded by the fact yer gonna get yer ig outside for free Vitamin D then ya want to give him an oral D3 on top of that? ...you can see how hypervitamintosis D is a common occuring prob for green iguana.
Choose a phosphorus free, calcium carbonate without D! If you do use a cal supp w/ Vitamin D choose one with less than 400 IU Vitamin D3.. short term it won't hurt but once it runs out do not replace it for your HERBIVORE anyway.

A few of my thoughts...need more? lololol

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: : : 1. is it ok to mainly let your iguana free roam around the house : Basking shelf near a window you can open up that has a SECURED wire mesh screen would be great! My igs USED to free roam...too difficult to control heat, humidity, transmission of disease, possible injuries, eating foreign objects...so they're caged now (one outside one inside)! And doing better than ever! Free roam outside in an enclosed patio when weather permits ...here in S. Cali that means roughly 9 months out of the year! : I used wall mounts (like those single motion detector fixures) above my armoire for my female and one high up my wall unit (the male's basking spot) both had ladders used parrot ladders for a while then had to switch to like those cheapo ($5)Home Depot wood ladders which are now outside and part of a jungle gym for them. : : 2. (silly question) can an iguana be trained to like scratch on the door when he wants to pee or something or be trained to go in a litter box. : YES!! both of my adult green igs scratch at the base of their enclosures when they want out (to go poopie or outdoors) Since my male is inside I open the sliding door of his enclosure a bit...he walks towards the back door if he wants outside or straight into the spare bathroom to do his thing on newspaper placed outside the tub. Its the routine! If you usually let them out at a certain time of day....they get so used to it they learn if your not gonna let them out...they'll remind you! : : 3. Just exactly how fast are they, if i let him : Babies of course are fast! How fast ?? hmmm speed of sound? nah not as fast as a collard tho. Adults are slow....but their claws are SHARP! My igs scaled a 4 ft high plywood pen (I didn't keep their nails trimmed back then!)you can build a pen, use something like thick SLICK vinyl or cement (baby igs can climb stucco!)KEEP NAILS TRIMMED and may be able to deter escapes. Also make sure there are no obstacles close to the perimeter where iguana can use that for leverage. : Observe/supervise your ig VERY closely for the first few days while outside. It'll tell you what modifications need to be made. : : 4. exactly what is your salad made of about the : An iguanas salad needs to be individualized based on the age and health status of your ig. : For younger than 2 iguanas,iguanas that have had surgery or amputations for instance you want to : increase the plant protein. For mature iguanas studies have found they prefer fiber to protein so I don't offer my iguanas extra plant protein unless warranted. : My salads are simple (only 1 item from each category) and vary week to week : : DARK LEAFY GREENS about 60-70% of salad (collards, dandelion,mustard greens, turnip greens, hibiscus leaves for example. : VEGGIES about 20%: mainly diced cactus pads (nopales; optunia cactus), butternut or spaghetti squash (grated)occasionally dried seaweed (reconstituted) : FRUITS about 20-30%: PAPAYA!, CACTUS FRUIT!! (also called tunas, prickly pear),oranges, fresh figs, red rasberries : : 5. i live in northern florida. if i let my iggy out every day to sun himself in my back yard for awhile would he still need a uvb light. : Nope! Majority of MBD symptoms occur early spring....its those winter months you need to worry about! The vitamin D their skin produces from uvb is stored! My igs are outside ALOT! but come those winter months I panic....I run my UVB lamp (Active UVHeat) 3 hours a day...5 days a week one of these days I just may try it without uvb thru the winter. (I live in Cali now ..so Im comfortable in trying something like this!) : : 6. i have a calcium adder already that i use for my collared that has calcium and D3 but no phosphurus, : Just one of GGIs medical problems include hypervitamintosis D! FROM OVERSUPPLEMENTING Vitamin D3 which is an ANIMAL STEROL (i.e. fish oil) which means that somewhere down the line this gorgeous HERBIVORE given enough of it (remember its a fat soluble vitamin) causes mineralization of soft tissue and kidney failure. Compounded by the fact yer gonna get yer ig outside for free Vitamin D then ya want to give him an oral D3 on top of that? ...you can see how hypervitamintosis D is a common occuring prob for green iguana. : Choose a phosphorus free, calcium carbonate without D! If you do use a cal supp w/ Vitamin D choose one with less than 400 IU Vitamin D3.. short term it won't hurt but once it runs out do not replace it for your HERBIVORE anyway. : A few of my thoughts...need more? lololol

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