Hi Folks:

I have a question for those of you that keep S. hispidus. I have 1.1 that I got from BJ as yearlings 10 years ago. While my pair has done well, over the years I have experimented with some different husbandry ideas with them. One thing that seems to be true is that they (at least mine) like background temps about 5-10 degrees cooler than S. Ater (I kept S. Ater for a number of years in the early 90s). My female seems to be especially sensitive to high temps, in that she remains in a hide if temps get too high (I live in St. Louis where summers can be really hot). I have a a 7 foot x 3 foot x 2.5 foot high cage (from Boamaster), so I can get a pretty good heat gradient. I am wondering if other folks who keep hispidus indoors have similar experiences? Unfortunately, it is hard to get much temp info on Isla de la Guarda, other than it does not rain much!

The idea I am working on now is whether to introduce a "burrow" into the enclosure. I plan to connect 4" diameter pipe to a wooden box to create the burrow, similar to what is recommended for uromastyx or cyclura. It has been suggested to me that hispidus actually may do better if kept more like cyclura than S. ater. There is a chapter on S. hispidus and S. varius from a 1982 book entitled Iguanas of the world that mentions hispidus using burrows (the book also presents data that hispidus are active at lower temps than obesus). Let me know if any of the rest of you have tried burrows for hispidus.

Thanks for your help!

Bart

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