Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In my previous cry for help, I hadn't read ANYTHING about Iguanas. Since then I have been none stop reading. I think I am going to have a long talk with that daughter of mine. It seems I have an Iguana now and not my 10 y/o. Holy cow. I need as much help as I can get. He's only about 7" long. I honestly think my daughter had no clue as to what she was giving to her brother as a present.

Hi Heidi, welcome to iguana keeping 101 I am Lyn and I am in Massachusetts...Your best bet is to buy the book Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan...best ig info on the market I assume you are keeping your little darling in a "tank", and you will need to do the basics like proper temps 90 to 95 basking area , low to mid 80s cooler end, proper UVB via a Reptisun 5.0 or a Merc Vapor Lamp which provides heat and UVb rays...then there is feeding...dark leafy greens like collard, mustard, chicory, dandelion etc mixed with other veggies like green beans, squash carrots, and fruit occasionally as a snack...Researching is a great thing...these little guys grow like lightning and in no time will be a 5 to 6 ft animal that can have irritable tendencies...needing a minimum cage 5x6x3...they also need to be handled to prevent having a completely wild animal grown up...there is a start...good luck...

As for your othe post, has he been eating? They sometimes go a while in between sheds, but being so young, he should start shedding soon...good luck and let me know if you have any other questions...you can email me if you want zelda1lyn@netscape.net Lyn

Lynn,
Thank you very much for the info. I am going to be keeping "Iggy". So I will probably be a regular on here. I am a stay at home mom and have the time and desire to care for him/her. I really like how helpful people are here.

At least you're figuring it out now before he gets sick from improper care or big when you didn't expect it. Big lizards are a big responsibility though. I don't think anyone would blame you if you chose to give the lizard up. Like the first poster said, there are other lizards which are much better suited to a busy family. If you choose to keep it though, they can give a lot back to you.

Thank you very much for your help. Looks like I will be asking a lot more questions soon.