Just got my iguana

[oliver]

If you guys had any info on them it would be nice if you could share it with me some tips and what types of food are the best i know some but it would be nice to know from the people who really take care of them!

Thanks Oliver

[oliver]

OK nobody is answering but....What about the night time should i use a UTH?

[sungazer]

i dont have one but i have read from lots of places that you should not feed them cricket or meat very offten but veggies(romain,kale,ect) with vitamins dusted on it, also the males tend to get mean during breeding season but like all reptiles there are the onces that are just sweet hearts.. mist 2x day for humity. and for night time use a red bulb they can see the red but are able to get some heat at night .. hope that helps and if i missed something i am sorry... thanks

[oliver]

Thanks but should i use a UTH?

[rattie]

Whether you use a UTH or not can really depend on the age and size of your iguana. There is more than one right way to do things. The younger he is, the warmer he should be kept. There are a couple questions you could answer to better enable me to answer your questions. The care of an iguana is very complicated and I don't want to repeat things that you already know. So if you can do your best to answer, I can help you out with info you might not know.

1) Sex, age, size of your iguana
2) What type of setup do you have him in now?
3) Cage measurements, lights, temp, humidity, etc.
4) What have you been feeding him so far
5) Temperment, personality
6) Previous handler?

Um I think that's it.

[oliver]

Sex:Male
Age:4 months
Size:With out tail,1 foot
Setup:Glass viv.
Cage Measurements:4"L+1.5"W+2.5"H
Food:Lettuce,all most anything healthy.
Temperment, Personality:Timid, shy, mosty "tail wips" you.
Previous handler:Pet shop ppl who know there stuff!


Oliver Hope this helps you help me...

[oliver]

Oooooo temps and humidity:91 .....humidity 58%
Lights:UVB+Heat Lamp+UTH for at night.


Oliver

[rattie]

Well your setup seems okay and the temps check out.
Make sure you give your iguana a nice long bath (30-60 min.) at least once daily in addition to misting. If you want him to stop tail whipping, you have to handle him a lot in order to tame him.

DO NOT FEED YOUR IGUANA
lettuce
cucumber
olive
tomato
zucchini
onion
starfruit

Lets start with the food. If you are feeding your iguana plain iceberg lettuce....there is NO nutritional value. Things that are healthy for us are not necessarily healthy for iguanas. If you are feeding romaine lettuce that is a little better, but we can do MUCH better than that.

45% of your iguanas diet should come from vegetables such as the following: raw green beans, snap peas, snow peas, squash, parsnip, turnips, and sweet potatoes.

45% of your iguanas diet should come from leafy greens such as the following: collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, and escarole. (once in a while you can substitute kale, bok choy, chard, broccoli leaces and endive.

Sometimes as a treat you can feed banana, mango, papaya, plum, strawberry. peach nectarine, melon, grapes.

In order to feed your iguana you have to keep the right balance between calcium and phosphorous....it's not simply throwing down some lettuce and veggies. If you feed him the wrong food it will actually block him from absorbing the calcium he needs from other foods. This will cause MBD Metabolic Bone Disease which will make your iguana suffer needlessly in pain and deformity of the bones.

You should also dust your igs food with calcium every day until he turns 1. After that it can be anywhere from 4-6 times per week. You should also be dusting with a multivitamin 4 times a week.

We'll start with thata good book to buy is Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan. You should also check out this site
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/icfs/index.html
you can click on the PDF format.

Hope this helps....let me know if you have any questions

[oliver]

LOL ok i have that book..........And i have some Iguana food tropical magic or something like that and the snow pee's, he seems to only like lettuce and so im going to have to bath him allmost everyday, will that stress him out? 30-40 mins isnt that a long time to have them out?The store food has lots of the stuff that you said.

Thanks Oliver

[rattie]

Unfortunately, one of the problems with feeding your iguana lettuce is that he may become addicted and refuse to eat other food. It's like feeding him candy.....would you want to eat salad instead? If you are offering food he should be eating and he is refusing it don't worry. It is NORMAL for iguanas to throw a hissie fit and refuse to eat for days at a time. If any part of their routine is changed they will sulk for days. That's why the sooner you establish your routine, the better.

He should be eating FRESH greens and veggies....not pre-packaged store mix. The reason for this is that after being opened for a certain time, all the good stuff in the mix goes away. It's also like the difference between you eating something fried vs baked. One is ok, but the other is obviously better.

Because he is not tamed yet, bathing him on a routine will help.
It might cause stress at first, but as you get used to each other, it will help him understand that you are not a threat, you only want to help him be comfortable. Remember iguanas are rainforest reptiles. They are used to living in conditions with LOTS of humidity and water. He needs misting and bathing as much as possible.

I'd try feeding him some FRESH collard or dandelion greens with FRESH shaved sweet potato to attract him and maybe some sliced up banana to start

[oliver]

YES thank you, do you have to get it into the bath? He's just going to get more mad and pissed, I can just take him out everyday. I mist him ALOT..


Thanks Oliver

[rattie]

He should be getting bathed. You also have to remember that YOU are alpha...not him. He might get pissed, but he can't get out of the bath so just leave him in there until he calms down. He will eventually stop the tantrums.

[oliver]

KK.....ill do that

Thanks Oliver

[rattie]

Good luck Oliver. I hope you and your iguana will be very happy together.

[oliver]

Thank You all who posted you gave me very good info!