Iguana care info. needed

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ShadowBass

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 13, 2007
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Poplar Bluff, MO
I searched the forum but did not really find much in the way of overall information like I expected, so hopefully someone can help me out.

My mother in law has a friend who is moving and needs to find a new home for their juvenile iguana (we'll assume it's a green iguana since I haven't seen it - for all I know it could be a water dragon or something the way people around here are). We are the only people they know of willing to take such an animal, and I'm guessing they don't want to take it to the pet store (I don't really know any background info yet, but I'd rather they not anyway since it will just be sold to another unsuspecting customer).
I said I would take it or at least until I can find it another owner (which I know may never happen since I won't just turn a reptile over to some random person).

The only reptile I have a ton of experience with is snakes, and the only lizard I've ever owned is an eastern glass lizard which is obviously quite a bit different than an iguana!

So I know that iguanas need UV, water and basking areas, but I need to know:

Specifically the best diet for them and how much to feed, right now it is a juvenile, not sure how big, will know within the next couple of days. For all I know it could be malnourished also since there's a good chance it wasn't being fed properly, so I'd appreciate any info on such issues.

Any supplements needed, such as Calcium. I already have a huge thing of calcium powder from my turtles, would that suffice and is it necessary?

Enclosure size compared to size of the animal and how I should specifically set it up (such as substrate and whatnot).

Amount of time they need to bask under UV.

Growth rate! How fast will I need to be upgrading enclosure, and how big will an eventual enclosure for an adult need to be? (I know it will need to be extremely large as they can get 6ft long, I am willing to build something assuming I don't find a good owner).

I would also appreciate any other information and suggestions on reading or research material to give them the proper care.
 
Diet- you can feed him arugala, mustard greens, collared greens, and the like. Avoid iceberg lettuce since it lacks nutrition.

Supplements- They need vitamen D, but this can be given by UVA lighting

Enclosure- HUGE! (once it gets big) they are very skittish when young and need lots of space.

GR- Fast

They also should have some source of heat, such as a heating lamp and/or heating rock, since 70 degrees is a bit on the cold side for them

Good Luck!
 
artemis1;1791474; said:
Diet- you can feed him arugala, mustard greens, collared greens, and the like. Avoid iceberg lettuce since it lacks nutrition.

Supplements- They need vitamen D, but this can be given by UVA lighting

Enclosure- HUGE! (once it gets big) they are very skittish when young and need lots of space.

GR- Fast

They also should have some source of heat, such as a heating lamp and/or heating rock, since 70 degrees is a bit on the cold side for them

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

lol, I need more specific info. Most of that is just standard reptile care.

I need actual enclosure measurement suggested for the adults, or measurements for enclosures compared to body size.

Feeding amounts compared to body size and age, etc.
 
Feed babies to juvies everyday, as much as they will eat in 5 minuts. As adults they will eat 3x a week again as much as they will eat in 5 minutes. Enclosures for one I would say 6 high 8 long by 4 wide would be ideal. With some branches. If you have warmer temps in the summer you may keep it outdoors.
 
Thanks guys.

I'll probably end up going even bigger on an enclosure than that if I keep him long term, I was expecting a larger number lol.

Hopefully he's not in real bad shape when I get him. My mother in law said "He's very friendly! Their son plays with him every day!" which makes me nervous since most of the time I hear something like that it's someone that bought the animal for their kid and isn't caring for it properly.
She also didn't mention an enclosure along with him which means he's probably in a small fish tank or something.
 
artemis1;1791474; said:
Diet- you can feed him arugala, mustard greens, collared greens, and the like. Avoid iceberg lettuce since it lacks nutrition.

Supplements- They need vitamen D, but this can be given by UVA lighting

Enclosure- HUGE! (once it gets big) they are very skittish when young and need lots of space.

GR- Fast

They also should have some source of heat, such as a heating lamp and/or heating rock, since 70 degrees is a bit on the cold side for them

Good Luck!
Click to expand...
First of vit D3 is sintetized from exposure to UVB ligth not UVA. Second a heating rock is probably the worst way to heat your iguana. Iguanas are made to absorve heat that cames from above not bellow. Some hot rocks are actualy dangerous ,they can burn iguanas that sit on them for to long or even chock the iguana if water is spilled on them. For day time you need at least two lamps: a basking lamp about 60w and a Uv lamp like iguana ligth from zoomed(my favorite:D). For nigth time heat you need a ceramic lamp controled by termostat. But with that webb site you are already on the rigth way. Go also here www.anapsid.org and select green igs. Theres also a great book called "Green iguana: the ultimate owners book". This one is really a must have:D
 
If you have the room I'd probably go something like 10-12' long, 6-8' high, and 6' wide. Green igs are kind of "stiff" compared to lizards of similar size so plenty of room front to back is vital. This is of course for a full-grown adult.

Light & heat - UVB is a must, use one of the iguana fluorescents or anything with a high UVB output. As for basking spots you can buy the reptile spots but I just use regular halogen bulbs, you shouldn't need incredibly high wattage with the halogens (60-75W tops). You want nice hot basking spots (110-120F) but the nice thing about climbers is you can have multiple spots under the same light and the iguana can climb up to a hotter spot if he chooses.

Food - dark leafy greens (mustard, collard, turnip greens, romaine is OK; avoid kale and spinach. Agreed with varanio, daily for juvies, every other day for adults is OK. Iguanas aren't really prone to obesity the way some carnivores are. You can feed fruits and berries once or twice a week as a treat, they probably won't take citrus but anything else is worth a try, but keep the staple diet greens. And yes use the calcium powder to dust those greens.

Growth - Yeah pretty quick. I had a male in HS who was 4' at 2 years old, and that was with a regrown shorter tail so with his full tail he'd have been at least 4.5'. When cared for properly they can hit 3' at 1 year old, but that's mostly tail and they don't really pack on a lot of bulk at that age.

Hopefully he's in pretty good shape, and in a decent cage now so you have time to plan on his next one. Good luck and post some pics when you get him.
 
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