Posted by Jamie/JBug on August 16, 2000 at 14:04:37:
In Reply to: I can't find the answers to these important questions :o( posted by Marsha on August 16, 2000 at 12:33:47:
Hi, Marsha
I'll take the second one. :-)
Female iguanas are all individuals. Some female iguanas (my late Shakai, for instance) ABSOLUTELY must have a next box or she WILL NOT lay her eggs. Period. There are many females like this. If a female iguana can't find somewhere to lay her eggs, she won't lay them. And then she will become egg-bound. Egg-binding is dangerous and can be fatal, and it almost always needs surgery to correct. This is a mortal proble for a female iguana, and the cost and effort of a nest box is nothing compared to her the emotional and financial strain on you (vet surgeries ain't cheap!), and the physical suffering on her part. I do know that some female iguanas can and will drop their eggs just about anywhere if they don't have a box, but you don't know if you ig is that kind of girl, so why chance it? Much better to make a nest box, and if she doesn't use it, you're out maybe 10 bucks. Gravid girls need a nest box, IMO, to insure that she's got one if she is the type that will not lay elsewhere. Here's how I made Shakai's nest boxes, it's easy:
Get a really good sized "RubberMaid" tub. Be sure that you get one that she can comforrtably get in, turn around, back up, dig and move comfortably in. Cut a circular hole in the front of the tub, large enough so that she can easily get her wide girth into, but not a big gaping hole that will make her feel vulnerable and easily watched. Fill the tub about 2/3 full of a 50/50 mix of STERILE playsand (the kind that one used to fill a child's sandbox with) and sterile, organic peat moss. Mix the two thoroughly, and then moisten with enough warm water that it sort of sticks together, like if you dug a little hole in it, the hole would stay and not come trickling back in. Be sure you don't put in so much that it's a gloppy mess. If you end up like that, add a little more mixture to it. Let it sit somewhere out of the way, someplace warm. Introduce her to the box, and make sure she knows where it is, but stay out of the box and try to refraine from peeking. If she thinks that box is not a safe place (yes, even safe from you, her mommy!), she'll abandon it and you'll have to make another one!
Good luck! Let us know if you have any questions.
Best,
Jamie/JBug