love at 1st sight?

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Posted by iZ's mom on January 10, 1999 at 13:30:50:

In Reply to: Re: some ?'s posted by Brent on January 09, 1999 at 14:58:19:

it is very hard to NOT get attached to something you nurse back to health isn't it??? *grin*
unfortunately, i have yet to FIND a 1/99 copy of 'Reptiles' so i can't comment on the cage you mentioned ... (frustrating!)so i guess some basic considerations would be:
you want it as tall as possible cuz igs like to be UP!
lots and lots of climbing surfaces/things ... iZ's condo was made of lattice on 3 sides with plexiglass on the outside (tho that shrink-wrap plastic for weather proofing windows will work great while you're saving up for the plexiglass!)
shelves of different heights to lounge on .... igs usually like to eat on one of those rather than on the floor ... 'silk' (ie: fake) plants are great to make 'hidey' places with ....
the lights, etc can go on top on the outside ... make SURE they are still out of reach of an inquisitive ig-tongue (iZ tasted his red heat lamp the 1st week i had him .... it was awful!!!)
UV lights are recommended by most ... (Zoomed is highly regarded)... this should be within 12" of your ig's favorite basking spot ....
i used a warm mist humidifier (on a timer) outside iZ's house, "piped" in with plastic tubing to add to the heat AND humidity ...
on the floor we had one of those self-contained waterfalls in a cut-down 10 gal aquarium (so it was about 6" high) for fresh water ... (be warned that some igs like to poop in the water! if that's the case with yours, just use a plastic container with water ... it's a pain to clean the waterfall pool every day! *grin*)
as far as size goes .... the bigger the better!!!
keep in mind how big/how FAST they get! iZ was also just 10" svl (30" stl) when he moved in with me and VERY sick ... (he probably shouldn't have been alive)... but in looking at his 'baby book', i just realized that he grew a whopping 14" (stl) in the 1st NINE months he was with me! amazing what getting rid of parasites, a TALL,warm home and a good diet will do!!!! so in 12 - 18 months, your new ig is gonna be close to 4 feet long ... build for THAT size if posssible!
if you will be able to let him have roaming time every day, it will help ALOT ... you'll still need a good size enclosure but it won't be *as* critical .... i'll go out on a limb here and say the minimum i'd build it is 4'x3'x7' ....
how does the mobile cage fit into this?

hope SOME of this LONG,RAMBLING post helps????

some ig-links are:
Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Site
http://www.sonic.net/~melissk/ig_care.html

Kevin Eagan's Iguana Den
http://www.escape.com/~iggyden/
(this site has photos of male/female femoral pores)

Jen Swofford's iguana Pages
http://www.baskingspot.com/iguanas/index.html

Wong's Green Iguana Heaven
http://mail.milagros.net/caiman/

The Green Iguana (by our own Roman!)
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/uromastyx/iguana2.html

best of luck!
:P + :)
iZ + mom

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: it is very hard to NOT get attached to something you nurse back to health isn't it??? *grin* : unfortunately, i have yet to FIND a 1/99 copy of 'Reptiles' so i can't comment on the cage you mentioned ... (frustrating!)so i guess some basic considerations would be: : you want it as tall as possible cuz igs like to be UP! : lots and lots of climbing surfaces/things ... iZ's condo was made of lattice on 3 sides with plexiglass on the outside (tho that shrink-wrap plastic for weather proofing windows will work great while you're saving up for the plexiglass!) : shelves of different heights to lounge on .... igs usually like to eat on one of those rather than on the floor ... 'silk' (ie: fake) plants are great to make 'hidey' places with .... : the lights, etc can go on top on the outside ... make SURE they are still out of reach of an inquisitive ig-tongue (iZ tasted his red heat lamp the 1st week i had him .... it was awful!!!) : UV lights are recommended by most ... (Zoomed is highly regarded)... this should be within 12" of your ig's favorite basking spot .... : i used a warm mist humidifier (on a timer) outside iZ's house, "piped" in with plastic tubing to add to the heat AND humidity ... : on the floor we had one of those self-contained waterfalls in a cut-down 10 gal aquarium (so it was about 6" high) for fresh water ... (be warned that some igs like to poop in the water! if that's the case with yours, just use a plastic container with water ... it's a pain to clean the waterfall pool every day! *grin*) : as far as size goes .... the bigger the better!!! : keep in mind how big/how FAST they get! iZ was also just 10" svl (30" stl) when he moved in with me and VERY sick ... (he probably shouldn't have been alive)... but in looking at his 'baby book', i just realized that he grew a whopping 14" (stl) in the 1st NINE months he was with me! amazing what getting rid of parasites, a TALL,warm home and a good diet will do!!!! so in 12 - 18 months, your new ig is gonna be close to 4 feet long ... build for THAT size if posssible! : if you will be able to let him have roaming time every day, it will help ALOT ... you'll still need a good size enclosure but it won't be *as* critical .... i'll go out on a limb here and say the minimum i'd build it is 4'x3'x7' .... : how does the mobile cage fit into this? : hope SOME of this LONG,RAMBLING post helps???? : some ig-links are: : Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Site : http://www.sonic.net/~melissk/ig_care.html : Kevin Eagan's Iguana Den : http://www.escape.com/~iggyden/ : (this site has photos of male/female femoral pores) : Jen Swofford's iguana Pages : http://www.baskingspot.com/iguanas/index.html : Wong's Green Iguana Heaven : http://mail.milagros.net/caiman/ : The Green Iguana (by our own Roman!) : http://www.angelfire.com/biz/uromastyx/iguana2.html : best of luck! : :P + :) : iZ + mom

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