Desert Iguana

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Chad55

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Jun 10, 2005
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I am about 90% sure I am going to get one of these. They are really really cool and the perfect animal that I am looking for. I need to clear some things up first though...What is the prefered basking temp and should the diet be ALL vege? I cannot get any clear info on the net...

Chad
 
I saw one for sale foe $30. How much you gettin one for?
 
Chad55;996625; said:
I am about 90% sure I am going to get one of these. They are really really cool and the perfect animal that I am looking for. I need to clear some things up first though...What is the prefered basking temp and should the diet be ALL vege? I cannot get any clear info on the net...

Chad
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Considering their heat index is somewhere near 100 degrees, I'd say you'd want a hot spot of 130 to 140 degrees. Make sure your cage is large enough for them to properly thermoregulate. I'd say it should be at least 36", if not 48" in length. A 40 gallon breeder, to 60 gallon would be good.

Keep the diet primarly greens and veggies. A little animal protein mixed in is good as well. Occasional crickets and mealworms are readily taken by desert iggs. In the wild, they are opprotunistic and are known to feed upon carrion! I've witnessesd this feeding behavior first hand, in the Panamint Valley of California. An adult female desert iguana was feeding on the guts, or contents within, of a DOR zebra-tailed lizard.

REPTILES magazine had a great desert iguana article awhile back. You should try to find that issue.
 
Thank you VERY much that info will be a big help. I was planning on starting it out in a 29 gallon since they are small... I think I can get a pretty good temp difference in there I have a really sharp spot light I have been using.

Chad
 
hey America?? Care to show us some pix of that desert iguana??
 
My BF had a Desert Iguana for 8 years.... died prematurely from an accident involving a cat and a screen lid that ripped open...(we now have the reptile room closed off)
ANYHOO from HIS experience, they do like to have thier insects. When coming out of hibernation they will go for primarily insects for the protien, and I can't find it anywhere, but I did find an article at one point that they examined the contents of a wild one and it was found that they are omnivorous. HOWEVER, I do hear in captivity that they can refuse veggies if given too many insects, so be careful.
I would say mostly veggies, but also offer crickets and meal worms once in a wile(thats what we did). They tend to really like colorful veggies because they eat certain flowers in the wild (yellow sqash, cantaloup, yellow/orange food)
 
OH, forgot to mention, get some kind of soild substrate, they LOVE to burrow.
Also, it's ok to let the tempurature drop to room temp at night (as it gets rather cold at night in north american dessers where they come from). As far as daylight tempurature, what was said above is correct.
They're also pretty laid back compared to most iguanids. Not especially aggressive.
 
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