Re: Considering Adopting First Iguana (long)

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Posted by John-Paul on June 15, 2002 at 18:30:57:

In Reply to: Considering Adopting First Iguana (long) posted by Wendy on June 15, 2002 at 15:12:02:

Hello. I myself would also get a male for the simple fact that they don't become eggbound. On the issue of getting a sick iguana and nursing it back to health, i'd leave that to someone with more experience. You're doing a good thing just by adopting rather than buying a petstore ig.

For lighting, get the ZooMed Iguana Light or Reptisun 5.0(not Reptasun). ZooMed makes the best UV bulbs, and in my opinion the ESU Desert 7% comes in second, but avoid ESU's Daylight 2%. You don't need one of the new Active UV heat emitting UV bulbs, but they are good if you want one and have the money, but they are not needed and ZooMed's Iguana Light will do just as well for your iguana. Nightlights are lamps that give off heat but not light. They are a black or purple color and are shaped like a regular light bulb.

On the leash subject, I suggest you use one unless you are VERY comfortable with your iguana and don't think it will run away. I'd much rather lose a couple of spikes rather than lose my iguana, at least until you have a better understanding of it's habits and what it may do.

The bigger the cage the better, and taller is better than longer if you have to choose one, but as I said, bigger is better all around. No smaller than 6'high, 5'long, and 3'deep. I used PVC and wire mesh, and rubber coated wire mesh is best and if you can find some plastic netting called InterNetting, it's very good. Driftwood from the beach is best as long as it's disinfected.

For your igs schedule, I have my igs lights come on at 8AM and go off at 8PM, and you can vary an hour or two on that, but no more than that.

I poop my ig in the afternoon and he is fed soon after awaking in the morning and is allowed to eat all day.

Diet is something you can read more about, but growing your own is okay, albeit more challenging.

Three thermometers placed in the different temp zones is good. Like you said, don't let your iguana get cold by that a/c.

Good Luck,
John-Paul

: Hi!

: I am 15 years old and have limited hands on experience with reptiles. Last June I got my first reptile, a 3-week-old male corn snake that I named Sunny. He is thriving and I love him to death. My experience keeping reptiles as pets doesn�t go much further than that unfortunately. Although during the summer I often will keep various turtles and snakes for just a few days.
:
: Over Christmas break of 2000 I took home the class iguana (you may remember me posting here about an iguana named �Classy�) for several weeks. He was neglected and malnourished. It didn�t take me long to realize that this was an animal who wasn�t being looked after. Since then, �Classy� is in a new home with a wonderful family and he was growing like crazy and doing great. Ever since I first met this iguana, almost two years ago, I�ve been learning as much as I could about them. I have read Melissa Kaplan�s book from front to back and have re-read most sections of it. Recently my parents have started to look at the possibility of me adopting an iguana of my own. Before adopting an iguana I would buy James Hatfield�s book and read that as well.
:
: If it ends up that they give me permission to start looking for one, I plan on adopting an unwanted iguana through my reptile vet, or through my herpetological society. I have a lot of basic beginners questions, I know you probably see these questions a lot, so please, bare with me!

:
: I think that a male would be best for me because males can�t become egg bound :). I would like to save my parents of the cost of an operation if by any chance I adopted a female who became egg bound. I think that I would also be more comfortable dealing with breeding aggression from a male than a female laying eggs. I have heard that iguanas seem to get along better with humans of the opposite sex. Is this true? What are your experiences with this?

:
: I intend on adopting rather than finding a nice, perfectly healthy iguana. Seeing as this would be my first iguana, should I be very careful about the health of this animal? I know I would be able to deal with a sick iguana, but there is always a chance that signs would go unrecognized by me and I don�t really want to take that chance. I will be working very closely with my reptile vet (he�s excellent and comes highly recommended). Do you think it would be better for me to get an animal who was neglected, but without any major health concerns such as kidney problems? I want to be able to limit myself to an animal who isn�t severely sick for the betterment of the animal while it recovers as well as to avoid major vet bills that my parents would have to pay the majority of.
:
:
: Lighting is something that I have been pretty confused about. It seems everyone has a different opinion. Do you recommend Repti-Sun or Zoomed more? Are there other lights that are better than these? I have heard tell of mercury bulbs, what can you tell me about the benefits of using this type of lighting? It is my understanding that UV lighting needs to be provided as well as heat lights. Do UV lights not give off heat? I will be ordering all lighting materials over the Internet because I refuse to buy from stores selling live animals, so I have access to just about any light you recommend. I have read that these are to be replaced every 6 months, so I plan on replacing them about every 5 months just to be on the safe side.
:
: I hear about the lighting schedule, day vs. night lights. What exactly are night-lights? Are they just heat lights that don�t give off light? What brands do you recommend for night-lights?

:
: I live out in the country and I would love to be able to take the iguana outside so he could have access to real sunlight when the weather permits. I don�t really feel comfortable taking him outside just in my arms though. I wouldn�t want to take the chance of him escaping and disappearing. I know harnesses aren�t generally recommended because of the damage they do to spikes. What about the hip harnesses? I�ve heard that a thrashing iguana can damage limbs in these types of harnesses, but wouldn�t it be better to have a harness on him just in case he was to get out of my arms? I don�t intend on letting him walk around with the harness on or anything, I just want to have it as a precaution. Is that a bad idea?

:
: As far as caging goes my Dad would be willing to help me build one. I decided that the best place for the cage would be in my dining room; the iguana would be able to watch people work in the kitchen and people would frequently walk by the cage. Is that stressful or entertaining for the iguana? The biggest dimensions for a cage that will fit in that room are 8.5 x 5 x 7.5 feet. Is this okay? Should I go bigger? I can�t go longer, but I could go wider. How many basking areas would be required for a cage of that size? I�d like to give him a good variety of places where he can go to bask, is four enough? Are the bulbs supposed to be outside the cage? Or could I just put some sort of mesh box around it so that the iguana could not burn himself on the bulb?
:
: My dad is partial to using a metal frame (which he wants me to weld), is this okay? Or is PVC piping a better idea? What kind of mesh do you recommend to use? Is there any particular kind or should I just look for something that wouldn�t damage his nose, that was durable, and that he wouldn�t get his toes caught in? Humidity must be hard to keep at a high enough level with a mesh cage, a humidifier isn�t an option, but I could make drip systems to keep the humidity up. I know that by keeping live plants in the enclosure the humidity would stay higher, are there any kinds of really tough plants you can recommend that would be able to take the beating of a large iguana?
:
: I have access to lots of driftwood and trees that I could put in the cage after disinfecting. Is there any type of wood that should be completely avoided? Cedar shavings are toxic, is it the same with the wood in general? Are there any advantages of soft wood vs. hard wood trees?

:
: My household typically has a very rigid schedule, we do not go away and someone is always home because we have horses on the property. The only thing that fluctuates is my sister�s schedule because she is a university student. This could cause a slight variation in the iguana�s morning bath routine. Ideally, every day he would get his bath an hour or so after his daylights switched on at 6AM. I figure that our together morning time would be from 7-7:30 or even a bit longer because I don�t have to be school until 8:30. I would let him poop, disinfect and refill the tub for a soak. I would have to change the schedule somewhat to accommodate my sister however. Would it be a big deal if our together morning time came half an hour later? It probably wouldn�t even be that much of a difference though. After the bath and everything is that an okay time to feed? I�ve read that iguana�s typically like to feed at around 10AM, should I wait until right before I leave for school to put the salad out? Or is it okay to feed earlier in the morning if the iguana wants to eat then?

:
: As far as diet goes, anything that the iguana needs can be ordered into my local grocery store. We have a HUGE garden and I could easily grow lots of different things there for the iguana. Is it okay to feed frozen beans depending on how they were blanched? This wouldn�t be a big part of the diet, so would it be best to just buy fresh green beans from the store as opposed to feeding frozen/thawed ones? I do not have a specific diet laid out yet though. My house is surrounded with alfalfa fields, none of which have any sort of pesticide used on them. The alfalfa however is fertilized with manure, as well as chemical fertilizers. Are the chemical fertilizers anything to worry about? These farmers do put pesticides on their cornfields however, but all of those are located on the other side of the river and corn has not been grown on the alfalfa field behind my house in probably 7 years or more. What can you tell me about feeding alfalfa? Can this become a part of the regular diet during the summertime, or should it be fed with discretion? Could it be used to replace other parts of the diet, or should it be used only occasionally as a treat? I know that some iguanas won�t eat alfalfa, but I hope mine will :) Dandelion greens are also really easy to find all around my house in areas where no pesticides or herbicides are used. How often can these be fed and how much? Is it just the leaves that can be used, or the flowers as well?

:
: How many thermometers/hydrometers should I place in the cage? I think at least three? I would place them and different heights in the cage so that I would have accurate readings of the temperature and humidity levels in several different places in the enclosure.

:
: The room in which the enclosure would be located is where we keep our �air conditioner�, which is basically an old furnace blower fan. It creates a lot of wind movement, and makes a fair amount of noise. I think that I would have to make the enclosure so that the wind was blocked from the iguana for the most part, this could mean simply placing sheets of plywood up against the sides nearest to the fan. Would the wind be a problem, or does it depend on the iguana? I wouldn�t want the full force of the wind to be able to get to the cage anyway because I�m afraid it would cool the iguana off too much. This is only on for a few hours each evening during the very hottest nights of summer, is it anything to worry about?

:
: I know I have more questions, but that will do for now! I want to make sure that I am 110% prepared before I bring this animal home, so please bare with me while I figure everything out! Do you have any pointers or advice that you think I need? Thank you so much for reading this, I really want to do this right! I�m going to speak with my reptile vet as well as a few other close friends in the reptile community regarding all of my concerns. If you see anything that I seem to need help on or that I�m wrong about, please tell me! I'm sorry about how long this is, I know these questions have been probably posted here before, but I can't locate most of them. Thanks for now! I�ve learned an awful lot from this forum, you guys are great!

:
: Wendy :)

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: Hello. I myself would also get a male for the simple fact that they don't become eggbound. On the issue of getting a sick iguana and nursing it back to health, i'd leave that to someone with more experience. You're doing a good thing just by adopting rather than buying a petstore ig. : For lighting, get the ZooMed Iguana Light or Reptisun 5.0(not Reptasun). ZooMed makes the best UV bulbs, and in my opinion the ESU Desert 7% comes in second, but avoid ESU's Daylight 2%. You don't need one of the new Active UV heat emitting UV bulbs, but they are good if you want one and have the money, but they are not needed and ZooMed's Iguana Light will do just as well for your iguana. Nightlights are lamps that give off heat but not light. They are a black or purple color and are shaped like a regular light bulb. : On the leash subject, I suggest you use one unless you are VERY comfortable with your iguana and don't think it will run away. I'd much rather lose a couple of spikes rather than lose my iguana, at least until you have a better understanding of it's habits and what it may do. : The bigger the cage the better, and taller is better than longer if you have to choose one, but as I said, bigger is better all around. No smaller than 6'high, 5'long, and 3'deep. I used PVC and wire mesh, and rubber coated wire mesh is best and if you can find some plastic netting called InterNetting, it's very good. Driftwood from the beach is best as long as it's disinfected. : For your igs schedule, I have my igs lights come on at 8AM and go off at 8PM, and you can vary an hour or two on that, but no more than that. : I poop my ig in the afternoon and he is fed soon after awaking in the morning and is allowed to eat all day. : Diet is something you can read more about, but growing your own is okay, albeit more challenging. : Three thermometers placed in the different temp zones is good. Like you said, don't let your iguana get cold by that a/c. : Good Luck, : John-Paul : : Hi! : : I am 15 years old and have limited hands on experience with reptiles. Last June I got my first reptile, a 3-week-old male corn snake that I named Sunny. He is thriving and I love him to death. My experience keeping reptiles as pets doesn�t go much further than that unfortunately. Although during the summer I often will keep various turtles and snakes for just a few days. : : : : Over Christmas break of 2000 I took home the class iguana (you may remember me posting here about an iguana named �Classy�) for several weeks. He was neglected and malnourished. It didn�t take me long to realize that this was an animal who wasn�t being looked after. Since then, �Classy� is in a new home with a wonderful family and he was growing like crazy and doing great. Ever since I first met this iguana, almost two years ago, I�ve been learning as much as I could about them. I have read Melissa Kaplan�s book from front to back and have re-read most sections of it. Recently my parents have started to look at the possibility of me adopting an iguana of my own. Before adopting an iguana I would buy James Hatfield�s book and read that as well. : : : : If it ends up that they give me permission to start looking for one, I plan on adopting an unwanted iguana through my reptile vet, or through my herpetological society. I have a lot of basic beginners questions, I know you probably see these questions a lot, so please, bare with me! : : : : I think that a male would be best for me because males can�t become egg bound :). I would like to save my parents of the cost of an operation if by any chance I adopted a female who became egg bound. I think that I would also be more comfortable dealing with breeding aggression from a male than a female laying eggs. I have heard that iguanas seem to get along better with humans of the opposite sex. Is this true? What are your experiences with this? : : : : I intend on adopting rather than finding a nice, perfectly healthy iguana. Seeing as this would be my first iguana, should I be very careful about the health of this animal? I know I would be able to deal with a sick iguana, but there is always a chance that signs would go unrecognized by me and I don�t really want to take that chance. I will be working very closely with my reptile vet (he�s excellent and comes highly recommended). Do you think it would be better for me to get an animal who was neglected, but without any major health concerns such as kidney problems? I want to be able to limit myself to an animal who isn�t severely sick for the betterment of the animal while it recovers as well as to avoid major vet bills that my parents would have to pay the majority of. : : : : : : Lighting is something that I have been pretty confused about. It seems everyone has a different opinion. Do you recommend Repti-Sun or Zoomed more? Are there other lights that are better than these? I have heard tell of mercury bulbs, what can you tell me about the benefits of using this type of lighting? It is my understanding that UV lighting needs to be provided as well as heat lights. Do UV lights not give off heat? I will be ordering all lighting materials over the Internet because I refuse to buy from stores selling live animals, so I have access to just about any light you recommend. I have read that these are to be replaced every 6 months, so I plan on replacing them about every 5 months just to be on the safe side. : : : : I hear about the lighting schedule, day vs. night lights. What exactly are night-lights? Are they just heat lights that don�t give off light? What brands do you recommend for night-lights? : : : : I live out in the country and I would love to be able to take the iguana outside so he could have access to real sunlight when the weather permits. I don�t really feel comfortable taking him outside just in my arms though. I wouldn�t want to take the chance of him escaping and disappearing. I know harnesses aren�t generally recommended because of the damage they do to spikes. What about the hip harnesses? I�ve heard that a thrashing iguana can damage limbs in these types of harnesses, but wouldn�t it be better to have a harness on him just in case he was to get out of my arms? I don�t intend on letting him walk around with the harness on or anything, I just want to have it as a precaution. Is that a bad idea? : : : : As far as caging goes my Dad would be willing to help me build one. I decided that the best place for the cage would be in my dining room; the iguana would be able to watch people work in the kitchen and people would frequently walk by the cage. Is that stressful or entertaining for the iguana? The biggest dimensions for a cage that will fit in that room are 8.5 x 5 x 7.5 feet. Is this okay? Should I go bigger? I can�t go longer, but I could go wider. How many basking areas would be required for a cage of that size? I�d like to give him a good variety of places where he can go to bask, is four enough? Are the bulbs supposed to be outside the cage? Or could I just put some sort of mesh box around it so that the iguana could not burn himself on the bulb? : : : : My dad is partial to using a metal frame (which he wants me to weld), is this okay? Or is PVC piping a better idea? What kind of mesh do you recommend to use? Is there any particular kind or should I just look for something that wouldn�t damage his nose, that was durable, and that he wouldn�t get his toes caught in? Humidity must be hard to keep at a high enough level with a mesh cage, a humidifier isn�t an option, but I could make drip systems to keep the humidity up. I know that by keeping live plants in the enclosure the humidity would stay higher, are there any kinds of really tough plants you can recommend that would be able to take the beating of a large iguana? : : : : I have access to lots of driftwood and trees that I could put in the cage after disinfecting. Is there any type of wood that should be completely avoided? Cedar shavings are toxic, is it the same with the wood in general? Are there any advantages of soft wood vs. hard wood trees? : : : : My household typically has a very rigid schedule, we do not go away and someone is always home because we have horses on the property. The only thing that fluctuates is my sister�s schedule because she is a university student. This could cause a slight variation in the iguana�s morning bath routine. Ideally, every day he would get his bath an hour or so after his daylights switched on at 6AM. I figure that our together morning time would be from 7-7:30 or even a bit longer because I don�t have to be school until 8:30. I would let him poop, disinfect and refill the tub for a soak. I would have to change the schedule somewhat to accommodate my sister however. Would it be a big deal if our together morning time came half an hour later? It probably wouldn�t even be that much of a difference though. After the bath and everything is that an okay time to feed? I�ve read that iguana�s typically like to feed at around 10AM, should I wait until right before I leave for school to put the salad out? Or is it okay to feed earlier in the morning if the iguana wants to eat then? : : : : As far as diet goes, anything that the iguana needs can be ordered into my local grocery store. We have a HUGE garden and I could easily grow lots of different things there for the iguana. Is it okay to feed frozen beans depending on how they were blanched? This wouldn�t be a big part of the diet, so would it be best to just buy fresh green beans from the store as opposed to feeding frozen/thawed ones? I do not have a specific diet laid out yet though. My house is surrounded with alfalfa fields, none of which have any sort of pesticide used on them. The alfalfa however is fertilized with manure, as well as chemical fertilizers. Are the chemical fertilizers anything to worry about? These farmers do put pesticides on their cornfields however, but all of those are located on the other side of the river and corn has not been grown on the alfalfa field behind my house in probably 7 years or more. What can you tell me about feeding alfalfa? Can this become a part of the regular diet during the summertime, or should it be fed with discretion? Could it be used to replace other parts of the diet, or should it be used only occasionally as a treat? I know that some iguanas won�t eat alfalfa, but I hope mine will :) Dandelion greens are also really easy to find all around my house in areas where no pesticides or herbicides are used. How often can these be fed and how much? Is it just the leaves that can be used, or the flowers as well? : : : : How many thermometers/hydrometers should I place in the cage? I think at least three? I would place them and different heights in the cage so that I would have accurate readings of the temperature and humidity levels in several different places in the enclosure. : : : : The room in which the enclosure would be located is where we keep our �air conditioner�, which is basically an old furnace blower fan. It creates a lot of wind movement, and makes a fair amount of noise. I think that I would have to make the enclosure so that the wind was blocked from the iguana for the most part, this could mean simply placing sheets of plywood up against the sides nearest to the fan. Would the wind be a problem, or does it depend on the iguana? I wouldn�t want the full force of the wind to be able to get to the cage anyway because I�m afraid it would cool the iguana off too much. This is only on for a few hours each evening during the very hottest nights of summer, is it anything to worry about? : : : : I know I have more questions, but that will do for now! I want to make sure that I am 110% prepared before I bring this animal home, so please bare with me while I figure everything out! Do you have any pointers or advice that you think I need? Thank you so much for reading this, I really want to do this right! I�m going to speak with my reptile vet as well as a few other close friends in the reptile community regarding all of my concerns. If you see anything that I seem to need help on or that I�m wrong about, please tell me! I'm sorry about how long this is, I know these questions have been probably posted here before, but I can't locate most of them. Thanks for now! I�ve learned an awful lot from this forum, you guys are great! : : : : Wendy :)

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