Iguana Info?

Bruce · 06-04-2005, 01:44 PM

Hallo all, i have been reading up on these cool little guys and wanted to know if anyone had any expirence with them or had any links to good sites thanks

PS: dont worry i would adopt one not buy

Bruce · 06-04-2005, 01:59 PM

well, unless my college allows iguanas im prolly gona wait untill after i finish school...but i would love any extra info

Ps: if u think that an iguana would be best taken care of after u become more expirenced with a more beginner reptile let me know

Birdlady · 06-04-2005, 03:29 PM

Iguanas are a relatively 'easy' reptile, altho I find reptiles wanting in the pet department.

While they are cute when small, they quickly become large, and hostile. Their claws are all but impossible to keep at less than dagger sharp, and their tails can become lethal weapons. They also can grow to about 5 feet in length. Some stay 'relatively' nice...meaning they won't whip you with their tails while you get them out of the cage, but still won't sit with you etc.

Diet...fresh fruit and veggies....EVERY DAY coated with calcium powder or thier jaws can become deformed along with a whole host of other calcium deficient issues.

They need heat rock and lamp, LARGE cage/tank (they will eventually outgrow most tanks and need a cage) The one person I know who has kept one, has it in a cage that is about 6 feet by 6 feet by 3 feet.

Hope this helps!

Bruce · 06-04-2005, 05:28 PM

ya i was reading about their size...thats really the only problem...otherwise i have been reading that if u buy them small and socialize with them, they can grow up very friendly...but again size could make things difficult...lol r there dwarf iguanas? lol

RAVEN · 06-04-2005, 07:27 PM

A friend of mine lets his run about the house. It plays with his dog and eats the dogs food out of the dog bowl. Its about 5ft and they walk it with a leash and collar. I didnt believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.

Bruce · 06-04-2005, 07:29 PM

w00t! how long has ur friend had it?

Valexia · 06-05-2005, 05:35 AM

i just logged on after my vacation ended...eeek, there is some mis info on iguanas!!!

I had three when my reptile addiction ended back in 1995, they probably are still around (sold them all).

my biggest girl was over five feet, my big boy weighed about five pounds and if he had a tail would have been six or more feet (lost it roaming around the house...a freaky floor lamp accident...previous owner let him roam)

heres what i know: heat rocks are dangerous, and cause internal damage. Heat should be provided by basking lamps. Newspaper for the bottom of the enclosure, so they stay clean is better than chips/bark. Ours had a walk in cage that they could climb and hang out in, but loved to be free in a room...and almost constantly begged to be out with forlorn lizard looks.

Full spectrum light, not thru a window, but direct/indirect UVA and UVB exposure is ESSENTIAL for preventing calcium deficiency and many other problems. Mine would spend summer days on a screened in porch.
Lamps are manufactured that do this...read up on the newest and greatest and invest in them.

Nutrition should also be researched. Fruits although they love them, are the wrong calcium:phosphorus ratio for their internal liver and kidneys....all kinds of greens, as much variety as we can provide should form the major diet.
Mine ate a combination of kale, bok choy, celery greens, dandalion greens, broccoli, green beens, snow peas, zucchini, squash, carots, sweet potatos, etc...i would litterally walk down the grocery isle and start stuffing my cart with weird green leafy stuff...oh and let them graze on the lawn if i knew it was a pesticide free area.

Protein is just better avoided, as cute as it is to see them eat pet foods, it isn't good for them.

Best way to own one? Have a green house, or screened in porch/pool patio area, and they can be house trained, its just the heating you need to keep up with. Mine had several basking stations in my APT... and the cat had to share her litter box (she wasn't thrilled about it but she lived)

They were a trip, and i still miss them. I still have scars on my arm from the nails...and on my heart as well!!.

Phil5613 · 06-05-2005, 05:45 AM

one other thing is when males reach maturity they can get hostile to women and a large lizard wanting to jump your girlfriend/wife is not a pretty site

Birdlady · 06-05-2005, 05:49 AM

Valexia,..

well, I was going by what the vet told us when I worked at an excellent pet store with a vet on call. That was , well, ummmm, like er um 8 years ago so I guess I am a little out dated on the info!

Thanks for the update!!

Valexia · 06-05-2005, 08:08 AM

birdlady, sorry i didn't mean to sound like i was pooing the info..i had your same info until i worked for a vet who beat all the good info into my head lol.

mine were sweet, but a few of the fosterlings were NOT. I still bear a scar from a three foot female who decided i was trespassing and attached (i had to PULL her off) herself to my arm. She ripped a one inch hunk out of my arm.

She was handled all the time when she was little. My big sweeties were handled but not excessively. I think that iggies are either nice or nasty, and its a born trait, you can't really "train" them i don't think to be nice...at least not in my experience...it came naturally...they were one or the other.