Re: new to Iguanas, would like some advice please

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Iguana Forum ]

Posted by Helen on April 29, 2002 at 23:31:11:

In Reply to: Re: new to Iguanas, would like some advice please posted by xta on April 29, 2002 at 22:27:09:

: Welcome from Sleestack and me!

: First off, MK has great pages but also look at Jen Swofford's pages...she has some essential diet info that is a bit more tolerated by iguanas. There are also charts/tables on various veggies & fruits, telling the calcium to phosphorus ratio of each which will help you rule out or include certain items. Click on link below.

: Second, be wary of the moss...it could harbor mites or chiggers etc. It is best to disinfect or poor boiling water on everything first. Iguanas may eat the moss as well so I would just get rid of it. Use fake plants that don't easily come apart (check the leaves).

: Third, start working on those cages! You will need 2 because the poor smaller ig is getting intimidated and may never reach it's full health/size potential otherwise. If they are both females, you "may" be able to reintroduce them later. Some females won't even get along. 2 males are a NEVER! And, a male and female will breed so that's no good either. Try to keep them out of sight of each other if possible once the cages are built (like a solid wall between them rather than having them across from one another). They will take awhile to adapt to any cage change so don't lose heart if they go off eating.

: Forth, take a fresh stool sample to the vet, use UV lights, heat lamps, check cage temps, mist them/give baths, and spend time with them to help tame them/or keep them tame.

: Fifth, Good luck and keep us posted! :-) Glad to see you care and are researching your new green friends.

: The link below is Jen Swofford's igpages but also feel free to visit my webpage at http://home.cfl.rr.com/xta/
: Click on the lizard claw to meet my scaley family.

Hiya Xta:). We're practically neighbors, I'm in Central Fla too:). I thought I was making great progress with the 2 together earlier, but the big one is back to hiding and being unhappy again:(. She also went back to sleep in her water bowl tonite, I think I was right about the intimidation from the smaller iggy, Zul.

I think that the 'tameness' was the newness... today, I took them out and they were really making efforts to escape and run around the house. Didn't sit quietly at all! Rex got away from me, and escaped the tank (that's the unhappy larger one) once because I left a 1" gap in the top behind the light. Doh. I found her on a wreath hanging over the tank, so it was no big deal, but still scary.

I will get rid of the moss... bugs never even occurred to me, but the moss smell in the tank is very strong and I realized that there may be mold pores in there too. Maybe I'll put in a large sterilized sponge instead for humidity:). It may make Rex happier too since she's the one who likes to sleep IN her water.

My big problem is, where to build the bigger cage and what to build it of... I have 3 cats that live on my porch and I cannot build a cage outside or the iguanas won't have any toes or nose within a day. The garage is stuffed full of boat... and I don't have a huge house. This leaves my dining room as the only possibility (which is where the current 30 gallon tank is).

I don't want to build some ugly wire and 2x4 or plywood mess next to my rosewood dining table:P.

What I was thinking of was maybe 3 sides (back faces a east window, I'd build the 'cage' with only 1/2 in front of the actual window so there'd be a shade area no matter what) out of tempered glass, front vinyl coated hardware wire for the door and top, and the corners a stained hardwood frame, with groved slots to 'slide' in the glass sheets. I'm thinking the max dimensions would be 6' long, 5' tall, and 3' wide (so they'd get sun in the mornings, if it's too tall and they sat near the top, they wouldn't get any sun). I don't think this would be large enuf for 2 iguanas tho... so I'm not sure what to do about that yet as I don't have the space to have 2 setups this large:(.

What do you guys think of my 'cage' idea? I would furnish it with carpeted shelves, sheet linoleum flooring and driftwood ladders, which I can get pretty easily. I don't think I can get bigger than that tho:(.

And you have a great site btw Xta:).

Follow Ups:

Cages... Dara 04/30/02 (0)
Here is a pic of my cage... xta 04/30/02 (2)
- Great enclosure Xta!!!!more cirsisue 04/30/02 (1)
  - It's great to see you back on the board! (more) xta 04/30/02 (0)

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: : Welcome from Sleestack and me! : : First off, MK has great pages but also look at Jen Swofford's pages...she has some essential diet info that is a bit more tolerated by iguanas. There are also charts/tables on various veggies & fruits, telling the calcium to phosphorus ratio of each which will help you rule out or include certain items. Click on link below. : : Second, be wary of the moss...it could harbor mites or chiggers etc. It is best to disinfect or poor boiling water on everything first. Iguanas may eat the moss as well so I would just get rid of it. Use fake plants that don't easily come apart (check the leaves). : : Third, start working on those cages! You will need 2 because the poor smaller ig is getting intimidated and may never reach it's full health/size potential otherwise. If they are both females, you "may" be able to reintroduce them later. Some females won't even get along. 2 males are a NEVER! And, a male and female will breed so that's no good either. Try to keep them out of sight of each other if possible once the cages are built (like a solid wall between them rather than having them across from one another). They will take awhile to adapt to any cage change so don't lose heart if they go off eating. : : Forth, take a fresh stool sample to the vet, use UV lights, heat lamps, check cage temps, mist them/give baths, and spend time with them to help tame them/or keep them tame. : : Fifth, Good luck and keep us posted! :-) Glad to see you care and are researching your new green friends. : : The link below is Jen Swofford's igpages but also feel free to visit my webpage at http://home.cfl.rr.com/xta/ : : Click on the lizard claw to meet my scaley family. : Hiya Xta:). We're practically neighbors, I'm in Central Fla too:). I thought I was making great progress with the 2 together earlier, but the big one is back to hiding and being unhappy again:(. She also went back to sleep in her water bowl tonite, I think I was right about the intimidation from the smaller iggy, Zul. : I think that the 'tameness' was the newness... today, I took them out and they were really making efforts to escape and run around the house. Didn't sit quietly at all! Rex got away from me, and escaped the tank (that's the unhappy larger one) once because I left a 1" gap in the top behind the light. Doh. I found her on a wreath hanging over the tank, so it was no big deal, but still scary. : I will get rid of the moss... bugs never even occurred to me, but the moss smell in the tank is very strong and I realized that there may be mold pores in there too. Maybe I'll put in a large sterilized sponge instead for humidity:). It may make Rex happier too since she's the one who likes to sleep IN her water. : My big problem is, where to build the bigger cage and what to build it of... I have 3 cats that live on my porch and I cannot build a cage outside or the iguanas won't have any toes or nose within a day. The garage is stuffed full of boat... and I don't have a huge house. This leaves my dining room as the only possibility (which is where the current 30 gallon tank is). : I don't want to build some ugly wire and 2x4 or plywood mess next to my rosewood dining table:P. : What I was thinking of was maybe 3 sides (back faces a east window, I'd build the 'cage' with only 1/2 in front of the actual window so there'd be a shade area no matter what) out of tempered glass, front vinyl coated hardware wire for the door and top, and the corners a stained hardwood frame, with groved slots to 'slide' in the glass sheets. I'm thinking the max dimensions would be 6' long, 5' tall, and 3' wide (so they'd get sun in the mornings, if it's too tall and they sat near the top, they wouldn't get any sun). I don't think this would be large enuf for 2 iguanas tho... so I'm not sure what to do about that yet as I don't have the space to have 2 setups this large:(. : What do you guys think of my 'cage' idea? I would furnish it with carpeted shelves, sheet linoleum flooring and driftwood ladders, which I can get pretty easily. I don't think I can get bigger than that tho:(. : And you have a great site btw Xta:).

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Iguana Forum ]