Bill, I know that you say your igs have been living like you have them for 5 years, but that does not mean that they have been thriving. Obviously they aren't. I hope that you will take my suggestions in the spirit that I am offering them, ie, with the hope that we can make their lives better, which in turn might make them want to eat better and be in better health.

First, a ten gallon tank for adult desert igs is just cruel, IMO. They are wanderers and need no less than 36x18 inches of foot space, or at least a 20 long if you can't go that big. It is impossible to get the temp range that you describe in a ten gallon tank.

Here is one of my desert ig tanks. It is a 36x18, and there is a Mercury vapor UVB bulb over the lower basking spot. The basking temps ON THAT ROCK SURFACE are in the 115-120 range, but the hot SIDE is in the low to mid 90s. The cool side is in the upper 80s.


Please consider getting a Mercury Vapor bulb for your ig with the eye infection if she is in the 50 gal tank. You will be amazed at how fast she recovers, and your anorexic ig will probably start eating better. I know that you say you take them out for an hour every day, but are you making sure that there isn't a significant temp change when you do that? What do you do in winter? You need to provide a constant temp range with a good, constant basking temp or they won't digest properly and won't eat well. Here is a good bulb that is fairly inexpensive that would work very well on the 50 gal tank
http://www.herpsupplies.com/product.cfm?groupid=18240&id=PT2192

I cannot make suggestions for light/heat changes in the ten gallon tank. You simply cannot achieve a proper temp range for a desert ig in a tank that small. Please consider upgrading them and then try to get a range as I described in mine above.

As for diet, again, they might survive on that diet for awhile, but I doubt they are thriving. Romaine lettuce has a very high water content and so it has little nutritional value. Better greens are collared greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, bok choy, endive, and dandelion. Hibiscus leaves are also good. Your igs should be eating mostly these greens, and bugs only occasionally. I feed bugs to gravid females more often, but only feed bugs for the most part only after they are eating their salads well. Please try these other greens that are so much better for them.

One thing that I forgot to ask is, do you use supplements? Vitamins? Calcium? D3?

I hope you will consider making these changes. I know that it will make a world of difference to your igs and might solve all of the issues that you are having with them.

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