Re: New Iguana owner (long sorry)

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Posted by Tami on April 07, 2002 at 14:49:01:

In Reply to: Re: New Iguana owner (long sorry) posted by Mr. D on April 07, 2002 at 09:44:03:

: I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask you to give your "friend" a gentle DOPESLAP for me... A 4 year old child + a hatchling iguana = a whole bunch of potential trouble for everyone involved ESPECIALLY if she was actually allowing the child to KISS the ig. Read into that SALMONELLA EXPOSURE... And yes, the majority of reptiles out there DO carry it. Treat yours as if it does and you won't have an issue....

: Having said that, YOU sound like you're going to do ok with the ig.....;)Keep up the research, keep asking questions... Be prepared for your son to not have much interest in the ig at SOME pont in his life and be prepared to take over care yourself. Igs can be a lot of work but they also can be a very rewarding experience.

: You're correct in that the enclosure isn't going to last very long. Your absolute best bet is to get hubby working on a large enclosure now. I personally recommend that 6x6x3 be the smallest dimensions if at all possible. This way, you may never have to build a larger enclosure again thereby saving money. Speaking of money, check out HerpSupplies.com for everything you're going to need for the ig. Consider looking at radiant heat panels, mercury vapor bulbs for UVB, and believe it or not, Vicks makes a great little ultrasonic humidifier that works very nicely for iguana enclosures.

: No such thing as a "blue" iguana classification. Mostly a marketing gimmick. It's just a green iguana with enhanced blue coloration. Igs, generally speaking, won't overeat but by the same token when they ARE hungry DUCK. More times than not I come out of enclosures splattered with collard greens and squash. This would be the perfect time to ask you about diet. What, exactly, are you currently feeding? Do you have heat, basking, humidity, and UVB already setup for it?

: Feel free to drop us a line directly if you have questions. We'll be more than happy to help if we can.... Good luck

Hi. Thanks for the quick response. I hope I am posting this follow up right, if not sorry. To answer your questions on feeding. I am giving him mixed greens. The bag has baby lettuces, endive and mustard greens. The grocery store in my small town doesnt carry collard greens so I will have to find one that does. In the summer I have a garden so I will grow him some then itwould probably be better for him anyway since I dont use any chemicals or pesticides on my garden. I am also giving him apple, carrot, bannana, but not as often on those foods. I need to vary his diet more I think. But I have only had him a week so I am working on that. I am sprinkleing some of the T-Rex 2:1 Calcium/Phosphorus powdered suplement w/ vitamins on his food about every other day. I dont think he likes his food as well with that stuff on it. On his set up now. He has a uvb light, she said she bought one specifically for reptiles. He also has a heat lamp. There is also a heat rock but after all the reading I have done on those I dont think we will be turning that on anymore. I still need to do more reading on his light requirements. And I will be getting hubby working on the new enclosure soon. I have been searching the net and have seen some real neat ideas. Hubby is gonna hate me for this one. LOL My son came home today and is thrilled with the iguana. But I did take this on with the thought in mind I know how irresponsible my son is and the lizard will probably be my pet. LOL We got Spike out shortly after my son got home and he usually settles right down after you get him out and on your hand. Well I got him out and he took off up my arm jumped on my shoulder and climbed up on top of my head. Oh my. Then he takes off behind the entertainment center, I then called for hubbys help. LOL We caught him, boy is he fast. LOL Oh and thanks for the info on the blue igauna thing. That was kind of the feeling I was getting from what little I had found on it. He/she does have very pretty aqua color on the cheek face area. He/she is shedding its skin right now and the skin underneath is a very pretty bright green. On the he/she thing. At what age can you tell the sex? I did find pictures on the net that showed how the males have the little bumps on the inside of there inner thighs, is that a accurate way to tell? Sorry for all the questions. It also looks like spike will get a new name. We want to give him something a little more creative, since I hear spike is a real common name. Plus I think my son should name him. So we are still not sure what that will be. Hard telling what a 13 year old will come up with. Oh and I did read up on the salmonella. I purchased some of the gel hand sanitizer to keep next to his cage so we can sanitize our hands immediatley. I was also wondering, I seen pictures on the net where people have there iguanas in there swimming pools. Is this ok to do? We have a pool, so this summer when its real warm we could take him out there. I just worried about the salmonella issue if the chlorine will kill it. And would the chlorine harm the iguana?
But that is a little ways off, and he would have to be alot more tame before I try that. LOL Thanks again for the response. Tami

Follow Ups:

A novel...by Me....;) Mr. D 04/07/02 (0)
Re: New Iguana owner (long sorry) Lily 04/07/02 (2)
- Re: New Iguana owner (long sorry) Brian 04/07/02 (1)
  - yet another 2 cents ... iZ's mom 04/07/02 (0)

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: : I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask you to give your "friend" a gentle DOPESLAP for me... A 4 year old child + a hatchling iguana = a whole bunch of potential trouble for everyone involved ESPECIALLY if she was actually allowing the child to KISS the ig. Read into that SALMONELLA EXPOSURE... And yes, the majority of reptiles out there DO carry it. Treat yours as if it does and you won't have an issue.... : : Having said that, YOU sound like you're going to do ok with the ig.....;)Keep up the research, keep asking questions... Be prepared for your son to not have much interest in the ig at SOME pont in his life and be prepared to take over care yourself. Igs can be a lot of work but they also can be a very rewarding experience. : : You're correct in that the enclosure isn't going to last very long. Your absolute best bet is to get hubby working on a large enclosure now. I personally recommend that 6x6x3 be the smallest dimensions if at all possible. This way, you may never have to build a larger enclosure again thereby saving money. Speaking of money, check out HerpSupplies.com for everything you're going to need for the ig. Consider looking at radiant heat panels, mercury vapor bulbs for UVB, and believe it or not, Vicks makes a great little ultrasonic humidifier that works very nicely for iguana enclosures. : : No such thing as a "blue" iguana classification. Mostly a marketing gimmick. It's just a green iguana with enhanced blue coloration. Igs, generally speaking, won't overeat but by the same token when they ARE hungry DUCK. More times than not I come out of enclosures splattered with collard greens and squash. This would be the perfect time to ask you about diet. What, exactly, are you currently feeding? Do you have heat, basking, humidity, and UVB already setup for it? : : Feel free to drop us a line directly if you have questions. We'll be more than happy to help if we can.... Good luck : Hi. Thanks for the quick response. I hope I am posting this follow up right, if not sorry. To answer your questions on feeding. I am giving him mixed greens. The bag has baby lettuces, endive and mustard greens. The grocery store in my small town doesnt carry collard greens so I will have to find one that does. In the summer I have a garden so I will grow him some then itwould probably be better for him anyway since I dont use any chemicals or pesticides on my garden. I am also giving him apple, carrot, bannana, but not as often on those foods. I need to vary his diet more I think. But I have only had him a week so I am working on that. I am sprinkleing some of the T-Rex 2:1 Calcium/Phosphorus powdered suplement w/ vitamins on his food about every other day. I dont think he likes his food as well with that stuff on it. On his set up now. He has a uvb light, she said she bought one specifically for reptiles. He also has a heat lamp. There is also a heat rock but after all the reading I have done on those I dont think we will be turning that on anymore. I still need to do more reading on his light requirements. And I will be getting hubby working on the new enclosure soon. I have been searching the net and have seen some real neat ideas. Hubby is gonna hate me for this one. LOL My son came home today and is thrilled with the iguana. But I did take this on with the thought in mind I know how irresponsible my son is and the lizard will probably be my pet. LOL We got Spike out shortly after my son got home and he usually settles right down after you get him out and on your hand. Well I got him out and he took off up my arm jumped on my shoulder and climbed up on top of my head. Oh my. Then he takes off behind the entertainment center, I then called for hubbys help. LOL We caught him, boy is he fast. LOL Oh and thanks for the info on the blue igauna thing. That was kind of the feeling I was getting from what little I had found on it. He/she does have very pretty aqua color on the cheek face area. He/she is shedding its skin right now and the skin underneath is a very pretty bright green. On the he/she thing. At what age can you tell the sex? I did find pictures on the net that showed how the males have the little bumps on the inside of there inner thighs, is that a accurate way to tell? Sorry for all the questions. It also looks like spike will get a new name. We want to give him something a little more creative, since I hear spike is a real common name. Plus I think my son should name him. So we are still not sure what that will be. Hard telling what a 13 year old will come up with. Oh and I did read up on the salmonella. I purchased some of the gel hand sanitizer to keep next to his cage so we can sanitize our hands immediatley. I was also wondering, I seen pictures on the net where people have there iguanas in there swimming pools. Is this ok to do? We have a pool, so this summer when its real warm we could take him out there. I just worried about the salmonella issue if the chlorine will kill it. And would the chlorine harm the iguana? : But that is a little ways off, and he would have to be alot more tame before I try that. LOL Thanks again for the response. Tami

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