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Posted by Nathan on February 08, 1999 at 11:49:45:
Okay, a couple of questions and stories and such:
(by the way, Lesha is my fiance, so we are both looking
for answers now)
1>
I understand heat rocks are not recommended. The reasoning
as I understand it is that they get too hot and can burn
the animal. This being the case, and since I have been
given a free one and have lots of spare indoor/outdoor
carpetting, I am going to adhere it to the rock, covering
it, and see if this disperses the heat. It won't go
in the cage if it doesn't, but both are free, so it would
be ideal to be able to utilize them. Has anyone tried
to make a heat rock workable? Any flaws in this plan?
2>
We've constructed/adapted a cage. It has multiple shelves
and lots of leafy vine things from Wal-marts craft area
for the animal to climb and hide in and such. I have a
water dish big enough for a small iguana to get all the
way in set up so it cannot be tipped. We have also mounted
inside a reptisun bulb (We have lots of these, as we have
23 turtles) and a dome light for heat is going on top
too, out of it's reach. What is recommended for optimal
temperature ranges/gradients/day-night cycle, etc. I have
a room devoted to the animals that is kept with high humidity,
and a temp of 75 at night, up to 85 during the day. With a
heat light, it should be slightly warmer in the cage
during the day on the shelf closer to the light, a little
less warm, but still around 86-87 on the lower shelf,
and around room temp on the floor (where a carpetted heat
rock may be added) Any other advice on cage?
I understand I'll be building a much bigger one soon.
3>
foods: do we emphasize the greens over the fruits and
veggies like with a tortoise, or do we give plenty of
fruits and veggies as with box turtles (omitting the meat),
and how often to you add reptical (we use it for the turtles)
on the food. I can feed it a good amount in morning and
replace it after work and then again in morning....etc...
I'll never use "iguana food" I promise, but what foods do
you recommend?
4>
We haven't gotten the animal yet. We are doing the work
and making sure the cage is ready and everything is known
as much as possible first. We'll be going to the All-
Maryland reptile show on the 13th near Baltimore, and
will look there for one. Anyone else know of good places
to get one?
5>
I see much mention of worms/parasites. Would a routine
worming (as per vet instruction, of course) be recommended
for a new animal, just in case?
Now for the stories:
I lived many places while in college, and one place I
lived had two iguanas, one was a medium sized male, the
other a humongous female. The male was rather spunky
and flitty, never really eager to be handled till he got
a bit older, then he didn't mind, as long as you wore
this certain hat (a colorful jesters hat) which he really
liked to sit on. He was quite the character, but never
got along with the female, so he was kept seperate. One
day he broke into her cage and was found in the morning
with his lower jaw shattered and hanging from his head
in pieces. He was rushed to the vet (Dr. Friedlander
in State College, PA) who pinned the jaw back together
and put on a brace and a cone collar like for dogs who get
stitches. We had to tube feed him for a month and give
him regular injections. He quickly learned not to try
to run forward, cause the cone would catch and he would
end up staring straight at the ground with his front feet
in the air (quite commical), so he soon learned to run
backwards with great speed. Whenever he bumped something
he would turn and run backwards a different direction.
He never quit being the spunky trouble maker while he
had his cone on for a month. After a month when it was
all removed (except the pins in his bones) he began
eating normally right away. He always had a rather nasty
snarl on his face from the scarring, but this only added
to his character and suited him well. The very day
he was freed from his headgear he began pacing around the
female's cage again, getting her quite agitated. A little
later he broke in again (we had trouble figuring out how
he was doing this) and we caught him holding on to her
neck mating with her. When he was done he ran out of
the cage (and we found his hole he had made) and paced
around the outside again for a while. Then after about
20 minutes he ran in again and repeated his mating.
We locked him up when we couldn't supervise him, but when
we were home and he was loose, he did this ALL DAY LONG.
After some time it was not iguanna poop that we were cleanin
out of the cage....
Anyway, after a couple of weeks he calmed down and ignored
her and she laid eggs.... The eggs were incubated but
never hatched.
He has sinced moved on with his owner.
The female (Attilla) was quite the opposite from him.
Owned by another friend in the apartment she came home
one day from a pet store. Apparently her owners wanted
the store to take her but she was such a hissing and
whipping monster that they wanted nothing to do with her.
My friend Dan took her and brought her home. We held her
wrapped in a towel for hours at a time and petted her
lightly and talked to her. After about a month of this
it was like a switch had been flipped. She became quite
affectionate and acted more like a cat or dog than a lizard.
She would climb up the couch and onto our shoulders and
lick our ears till we petted her. We also started keeping
a bowl of chopped veggies with us when we watched tv and
she would eat a piece at a time out of our hands while
sitting on our laps or shoulders. She also was thankfully
very good about pooping in her cage, she would go back
in and do her business then come out and hang out with us
again. She did have an accident once when her cage door
was shut, so we made sure to keep it open after that.
She was a great pet and would occasionally break out and
come cuddle with one of us in the middle of the night.
It's quite strange to feel something scaley climb up under
the foot of your covers and lay on your chest while
you are sleeping.
Anyway, after living there I had come to like iguanas,
(even after I had to be the one to tube feed and inject
an angry iguana for a month because my roomates were too
squeemish) and my fiance (Lesha) and I are preparing for
one of our own (I feel like I'm preparing for a child).
We love our turtles and so we know that handling them
is not the best for them. Perhaps that's why we are
getting a more handleable animal, but in any case, any
advice or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks,
Nathan and Lesha (and a new addition soon)
