Iguana?

[Serpentine99]

anybody got advice on how to take care of one of these guys? We might be able to get a 30 gallon(high) tank, would that be big enough for a 3 footer? Our impulse kinda took over at a show today and he was 10 bucks so how could we resist him?
Thanks,

Alex

[CrazyHedgehog]

these grow bloody huge, my friend has one and he basically has run of the house, just too big to keep in a tank. They have a tank area that he can go to for his heat lamp etc, but he wanders round house basically wrecking everything!! (he is trained though to only poop on lino which is quite weird, easy to clean, but the kitchen stinks!!)

[Stefan-A]

I don't think so. Sounds way too small for a 3 foot iguana. I think people use something like 2x2x1 meters as the "standard" cage size for an adult.

[Serpentine99]

Alright, thanks, i thought it was too small, we might have a standard adult cage that we can buy, still shopping around, apparantly if you put a water pan in the cage or, if its trained, somewhere in your house, then it will do its business in there.

[tikichick]

Congratulations! I wanna see pics!

I have 6 iguanas; 5 free roam (they have their own room) and 1 yearling in a reptarium (which I do not recommend - hard to keep humid and they can rub the scales off their noses against the mesh if they're stressed).

I highly recommend reading Melissa Kaplan's site if you haven't already. She has excellent info from diet, to housing, to health issues. Here's some links for you:

Melissa Kaplan's Green Iguana Care Collection (the links to the iguana pages are down the page on the left side under "Page Index".)

Reptile Housing: Size, Dimension and Lifestyle (Determining enclosure size)

Vegetable and Fruit Names: A Multi-Lingual Glossary for Herbivorous and Omnivorous Reptile Keepers (List of good and "bad" veggies)

I have written up a lot of advice/info on keeping iguanas over time as people have asked me. I don't have it in caresheet format, but I'll be glad to send you what I have if you'd like. Or if you have specific questions or concerns, hit me up anytime.

The most important things you should know off the bat -
UVB is absolutely necessary for calcium absorption and a must have
Humidity/fresh drinking water at all times/regular baths
Night temps no lower than 60 degrees F, optimal day time temps in the mid 80's F
Vegetarians- no bugs or mice
No spinach, broccoli or lettuce on a regular basis (only as treats)

If you'd like to see pics of mine, they're all in my webshots gallery.

[adamanteus]

My advice? Always resist impulse buying.

[Stefan-A]

You're right, but I know it's sometimes hard as a buyer to distinguish between buying on impulse and seizing an opportunity.

[Serpentine99]

Stefan you kinda hit the nail on the head there, my dad thought he was seizing an opportunity, cant beat $10. Plus the guy was talking about how they were originally from a pet store and they were hating it there, so we were also feeling like rescuers.

[Serpentine99]

Thanks for the information tikichick, we're pretty much letting him free roam in a room right now, and just now while i was holding it it he kept opening his mouth so i put a slice of banana in there and he ate it, but i haven't seen him eat on his though. hes still probably settling in

[mycolorfulheart]

Originally Posted by tikichick

If you'd like to see pics of mine, they're all in my webshots gallery.

you have an awesome collection! also i've heard a lot about people who get iguana's only to dump them when they get big; it's great to see someone who knows their stuff and can educate others.