My Basic Captive Care of The Green Iguana

My Basic Captive Care of The Green Iguana

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I have spent a lot of time, work, and research to make sure all of the following information is true and up to date.

Housing Exercise Heating Diets Full spectrum lighting Under belly heating Other stuff Health Problems

Housing

Of course you would keep your iguana in a cage the size of the cage depends on how big your iguana is. When you first get him at a pet shop around 7-10 inches long a small aquarium would do but you should just buy him a big cage because they grow very fast. Most people suggest building a wood and wire cage 6 feet tall 2 feet wide and 5 feet long or around that size. Your iguana loves space and doesn't like to be cramped in a glass terrium all day so build him a big cage along with the nessesary nessecities in it like heat, full spectrum lighting, food, water, and logs to climb and bask. Heating iguanas are cold blooded and need heat so they won't die. You need to make the cage about 80 to 95 degrees during the day by a 120-150 watt flood light with a cool spot incase they overheat. During the night the cage should be at least 75 degrees. Full Spectrum Lighting is artificial sunlight it doesn't work as good as real sunlight but it's better than no sun at all it also seems to display more normal behavior and stop them from getting metabolic bone disease which is a disease from lack of sun and proper nutrition it shrinks the bones and makes them very weak. FOOD scroll down to Diets WATER Put a minature pool of water in the cage they like to sit in it and drink it. LOGS Since green iguanas are inveterate(baskers)it is strongly advised that you provide them with a basking site such as the branch of a tree. This area can be warmed by a basking light found at pet shops or by a spot light of some sort. You should put logs in the cage for exercise, bask or to give them something to do. Make sure the logs are securely fastened to the cage. If your going to house 2 or more iguanas in the same cage if you have not heard yet they will most likely end up fighting or even killing each other. I have been to busch gardens and seen about 15 iguanas climbing all over each other without them doing any thing but I have seen a couple of iguanas with some abrasions on them. Bottom line I wouldn't put 2 or more iguanas in the same cage together. Iguanas love to climb so put some logs in the cage which I already mentioned. Also I would put different floors of logs or just a flat surface to sit on make sure they are not slippary and are easy to climb on to. Iguanas Have such an urge to climb that they will continue to try to climb even if they can't because it is so slippary So make sure the logs and other surfaces are not slippary.

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Exercise

Iguanas need at least a half hour of exercise everyday. Exercise is important in an iguanas life. You should to let him roam around the house and keep an eye on him in case of dangers that they could encounter.

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Full Spectrum Lighting

Iguanas need full spectrum lighting for a strong bones and a happy life. If you do not use full spectrum lighting metabolic bone disease could occur. Putting your iguana outside in a cage would provide enough full spectrum lighting for a happy life. Full spectrum lighting seems to provide more normal behavior than without.

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Diets

Nutritional requirements for green iguanas are poorly understood and captive diets often are unbalanced. The following recommendations have been complied from several sources. For young growing iguanas 80% of their diets should be plant based and 20% protein based. Once iguanas reach adult size in 2-3 years protein can be reduced gradually to 5% of the diet and plant material increased to decrease the load on the kidneys. Of the plant material 80%-90% should be vegetables and 10%-20% fruits. Most iguanas relish fruits but they are mineral poor and should be restricted. Think of fruit as a treat that can be given from time to time. The foods that i'm fixing to list have a positive calcium to phosphoruos ratio. Vegetables will make up the bulk of the diet and leafy greens with a dark green color will make up the majority of the vegetables. Dark leafy greens that are rich in calcium include collard, mustard, and turnip tops or greens, alfalfa or timothy hay, alfalfa chow, buffalo grass, broccoli rabe and dandelions (flowers, stems, and leaves) and should be the cornerstone of a healthy diet. Other dark leafy greens include bokchoy, swiss chard, clover, kale, beet greens, escarole, parsley, spinach, water cress, savoy, and kohlrabi. Other types of vegetables include alfalfa, radish, or been sprouts, asparagus, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, green beans, jicama, mushrooms, okra, peas and pea pods, prickly pear cactus pads (Remove the spines) shredded squashes, (such as green or yellow zucchini) sweet potatoes, soy beans, and uncooked thawed frozen mixed vegetables. You should feed him in the morning so the daytime heat can digest his food properly. They can not digest their food properly if they are cold. Some iguanas eat sand or small pebbles what this does is it goes through their alimentry canals and aids of the break up of tough vegetable matter. Most green iguanas will gladly accept pieces of iceburg lettuce but as many keepers already know iceburg lettuce has virtually no nutritional value. Most lettuces in fact should be avoided in the green iguana diet but if your iguana has already developed a liking for it use the romaine variety which is the most nutritious form. You may have to experiment with the foods to see what he likes and don't like. Mix up foods in a blender or something. Check out the list below for the best foods.

1. Cabbage (The dark green part)
2. Mustard greens
3. Turnip greens
4. Tofu
5. Kale
6. Tangerines
7. Kohlrabi
8. Figs
9. Collards
10. Dandelion greens

Iguanas may have occasional snacks like meat, pizza or whatever he likes, just feed sparingly.

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Heating

Iguanas are cold-blooded they need some kind of heat source to heat them up perferably a 120-150 watt flood light. They must stay at a temperature of about 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit to stay alive. The temperature at night should not drop below 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Under Belly Heating

You can use under belly heating to help in the digestion of their food which in turn will make them grow faster using a heating pad or a heat rock but put a towel on it so it won't get to hot and burn him.

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Other iguana care stuff I did not write.

Growing iguanas acheive faster growth rates by selecting diets higher in digestable protein and maintaining higher body tempatures which is believed to increase digestive efficiency. SEXING- Adult iguanas are easy to sex because of the ventral femoral pores are much larger in males compared to females and males have hemipenal bulges at the ventral base of the tail. Males also grow much larger. Sexual maturity can be reached within 2 years but breeding is usually not sucessful until the third year of captivity. Females lay clutches of 20-60 eggs. Under artificial incubation at 80.6 - 95 degrees eggs hatch at about 90-120 days. Larger females lay larger clutches.

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MORE HOUSING In captivity iguanas grow rapidly 30-60 cm per year reaching adult size in about 3 years,and can live 10-18 years if properly fed and cared for. Owners should invest in a larger aquarium initially or be prepared to purchase a large one later. A 20 gallon aquarium is adequate for juveniles but within a few years most owners build large plywood and screened cages. The bottom of the cage should be lined with astroturf, Newspaper, Wood chips, Alfalfa pellets, or spaghnum moss. Constantly moist or filthy environments are potential sources of infection. For most cleanings hot water is enough to rinse out the cage. More thorough cleaning with a 5% bleach solution is only needed once or twice a year. Hard wood drift wood branches for climbing and basking are appreciated. A water bowl big enough for the iguana to enter and soak also is needed and should be cleaned whenever dirty or at least twice a week. Iguanas need access to water at all times and not just once a week. In the native state iguanas are usually found in close association with water. Iguanas spend much of their day in the tropics soaking up the sun and prefer it slightly warmer than most reptiles. Cage tempature should not drop below 75 degrees at night and gradually rise between 85 degrees and 95 degrees during the day with a localized hot spot or basking area of 95 degrees to 100 degrees. In warmer parts of the country sunlight is an excellent source of uv light and is recommended. Glass and most plastics filter out uv light. The lights should be on for 12-14 hours per day year round and turned off at night. A timer helps keep them on a regular photoperiod.

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Health Problems

Good healthcare for a new iguana begins with isolation,observation,and a trip to the vet. You should bring him to the vet when you first get him and then every 2 months or whenever he gets sick. ROSTRAL ABRASIONS Abrasions to the snout are usually caused by rubbing their snouts in the glass to try to get out. They don't understand the concept of glass. With no visible barrier between themselves and the outside world, they will struggle endlessly to try to get through the invisible barrier. The abrasions will heal up when the cause of the problem is solved. To solve the problem add a hide box so the iguana can hide from the traffic from people or other animals, if this is the problem. If that's not the problem, hopefully they will finally learn. My iguana still has not learned after 2 years so I don't think they are smart enough.

Breeding

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