Re: heating...

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Posted by Mark on April 17, 2002 at 09:53:37:

In Reply to: Re: heating... posted by Paul on April 17, 2002 at 09:06:54:

: Thats certainly a lot of igs! I assume they do better when kept in groups?

NO - they are actually quite solitary. BUT - we have found this to be the best solution for us, for space and cost of electricity reasons mainly. We used to spend a lot more heating individual cages throughout the whole house, and spent every free moment cleaning cages. With this setup, we heat the whole room, provide a little spot heating here and there, and just mop the whole floor once a day. Walls have to be scrubbed down weekly as well (ig poop goes EVERYWHERE!!).

I do NOT recommend keeping iguanas together... In a situation like ours though, it is the best we could come up with.

: On the heating issue, do you keep your temp at 85C both night and day?

It drops slightly below 80 at night... Due to drops in ambient temp in the rest of the house. And its 85 farenheit, not celcius.

: Another question I have is about destructiveness. I own several parrots and a G'Shepherd dog(still a pup), as you can imagine, they all relentlessly chew just about anything in reach - especially my parots - they show no remorse what so ever. Actually, owning an animal that doesn't try to eat it's surroundings would be quite a novilty!!!

Igs can do quite the damage too... But it is usually with claws and poop.

: What gauge wire do you use in your enclosure? I ask this because ig's obviosly do a lot of climbing, doesn't wire damage their feet?

We use plastic hardware netting (about 1/2") for cages, and wire hardware net for anything with heating devices in close contact. To cover the floor heater, I actually use a wire dog kennel.

: Please excuse the dumb q's, I've yet to buy a good book (any recommendations welcome) and this is pretty much the start of my reaserching into Iggy's.

No dumb questions... All are great! Pick up a copy of James Hatfield's Green Iguana: Ultimate Owners Manual as soon as you can. It is currently the best Ig book on the market, and his publisher is even nice enough to donate blemished copies to our rescue!!

BTW - Picked up one ig from the local humane society yesterday... Getting two more tonight.

Mark

: Many Thanks,

: Paul
:
: : We free roam 20+ igs in one room. Heating is provided by a approx. 3 ft tall electric oil heater (looks like an old hot water heater...) enclosed in its own cage to keep iguanas off it. It is a 1500 watt heater, so we have to keep it cranked WAY down, just to keep the room at 85 degrees. BTW, the room is 13 x 13, with a very tall ceiling.

: : Similar setup for humidity. We have several large humidifiers, all enclosed in a wire cage with enough space from the humidifiers to the top of the cage to keep igs from getting too close.

: : And just a little extra info... Basking areas are provided with wire shelving around the room, heat pads in various locations on the shelves and floor. UV for now is several 4 ft garage fixtures (equipped with UVB bulbs) hanging about 10" above the wire shelving, placed stragegically where the iguanas like to bask. Future plan is to switch everything over to Active UV.

: : Mark

: : : Hi All,

: : : I'm seriously thinking about building a vivarium for an iguana, as these creatures have fascinated me all my life!!!

: : : I will be building the vivarium in my garage and have 11ft x 8ft x 7ft (LxBxH) to play with (minus a few inches for structure and insulation). The question I have is regarding heating. Obviously keeping such a large area warm is going to be difficult. I would like to know how to achieve a consistent temperature in such a large space. My initial thoughts are to use tubular heaters mounted under the vivarium. Three 4ft heaters, two for daytime and one for nigh time set on timers and thermos. Obviously Full spec lights installed above for Vitamin D3 and calcium absorption along with spot lights for basking. Then there's the humidity to contend with. I would like to discuss these matters with the experts out there and hopefully learn enough to think about the actual construction and purchase.

: : : I would also like to know of the caractristic differences between males and females.

: : : Look forward to responses.
: : : Paul

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: : Thats certainly a lot of igs! I assume they do better when kept in groups? : NO - they are actually quite solitary. BUT - we have found this to be the best solution for us, for space and cost of electricity reasons mainly. We used to spend a lot more heating individual cages throughout the whole house, and spent every free moment cleaning cages. With this setup, we heat the whole room, provide a little spot heating here and there, and just mop the whole floor once a day. Walls have to be scrubbed down weekly as well (ig poop goes EVERYWHERE!!). : I do NOT recommend keeping iguanas together... In a situation like ours though, it is the best we could come up with. : : On the heating issue, do you keep your temp at 85C both night and day? : It drops slightly below 80 at night... Due to drops in ambient temp in the rest of the house. And its 85 farenheit, not celcius. : : Another question I have is about destructiveness. I own several parrots and a G'Shepherd dog(still a pup), as you can imagine, they all relentlessly chew just about anything in reach - especially my parots - they show no remorse what so ever. Actually, owning an animal that doesn't try to eat it's surroundings would be quite a novilty!!! : Igs can do quite the damage too... But it is usually with claws and poop. : : What gauge wire do you use in your enclosure? I ask this because ig's obviosly do a lot of climbing, doesn't wire damage their feet? : We use plastic hardware netting (about 1/2") for cages, and wire hardware net for anything with heating devices in close contact. To cover the floor heater, I actually use a wire dog kennel. : : Please excuse the dumb q's, I've yet to buy a good book (any recommendations welcome) and this is pretty much the start of my reaserching into Iggy's. : No dumb questions... All are great! Pick up a copy of James Hatfield's Green Iguana: Ultimate Owners Manual as soon as you can. It is currently the best Ig book on the market, and his publisher is even nice enough to donate blemished copies to our rescue!! : BTW - Picked up one ig from the local humane society yesterday... Getting two more tonight. : Mark : : Many Thanks, : : Paul : : : : : We free roam 20+ igs in one room. Heating is provided by a approx. 3 ft tall electric oil heater (looks like an old hot water heater...) enclosed in its own cage to keep iguanas off it. It is a 1500 watt heater, so we have to keep it cranked WAY down, just to keep the room at 85 degrees. BTW, the room is 13 x 13, with a very tall ceiling. : : : Similar setup for humidity. We have several large humidifiers, all enclosed in a wire cage with enough space from the humidifiers to the top of the cage to keep igs from getting too close. : : : And just a little extra info... Basking areas are provided with wire shelving around the room, heat pads in various locations on the shelves and floor. UV for now is several 4 ft garage fixtures (equipped with UVB bulbs) hanging about 10" above the wire shelving, placed stragegically where the iguanas like to bask. Future plan is to switch everything over to Active UV. : : : Mark : : : : Hi All, : : : : I'm seriously thinking about building a vivarium for an iguana, as these creatures have fascinated me all my life!!! : : : : I will be building the vivarium in my garage and have 11ft x 8ft x 7ft (LxBxH) to play with (minus a few inches for structure and insulation). The question I have is regarding heating. Obviously keeping such a large area warm is going to be difficult. I would like to know how to achieve a consistent temperature in such a large space. My initial thoughts are to use tubular heaters mounted under the vivarium. Three 4ft heaters, two for daytime and one for nigh time set on timers and thermos. Obviously Full spec lights installed above for Vitamin D3 and calcium absorption along with spot lights for basking. Then there's the humidity to contend with. I would like to discuss these matters with the experts out there and hopefully learn enough to think about the actual construction and purchase. : : : : I would also like to know of the caractristic differences between males and females. : : : : Look forward to responses. : : : : Paul

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