Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK, I live in Florida, and as seemingly everyone knows the problem here with iggys.
The pet shops around here always have beautiful sub adult iggys for real cheap, and I was thinking of getting one.
I have a lot of successful experience with monitors and beardies. I have been keeping them for 7 years now. I feel I am nowhere near a beginner when it comes to lizards. Thats why i feel i can do some good, and acquire a wild caught.
I have a large screen porch, and I plan on making a huge pvc enclosure inside it to house my iggy. The porch gets direct sunlight about 6 hours a day. Is this enough? If not I can move it somewhere else, or add a uv light to it.

I have done my reseach on caresheets and whatnot. i just wanted to see what some experts thought of this idea.

Thanks, Jeff

Welcome aboard dude,

Good to see another floridian on the board!
If you successfully keep, or have kept, monitors, then an iguana should not be hard for you.

6 hrs of direct sunlight is not exactly "enough", tho no UV lamp beats the effectiveness of real sunlight.
What is this 6-hour period? 7am-1pm? 9am-3pm? 12pm-6pm? (circa).
The most important times of day for sunlight are morning and afternoon. During the high-hours of sunlight, reptiles usually shield themselves to keep cool.

Make sure that the animal won't "cook" in the enclosure, i.e. no glass, and that it is well ventilated, and that there is always an area of shade at all times to help the animal thermoregulate.

What are your plans (for the enclosure) exactly?
Remember, think BIG.

-IJ

OK the direct sunlight is from 3pm to sundown. Right now that isn't quite 6 hours. Hmmm, I though it had more, damn roof!! I could move it out of the porch, directly outside. There it would get AT LEAST 8 hours a day.

Yeah, I definitely had plans on making a cooler shaded area for refuge. the enclosure I had in mind will be at least 6Hx6Lx4D. From what I have researched so far, that seems like an OK size. I suppose I can go bigger if it goes outside the porch. I really wanted to keep it inside. This way i can work with the animal without fear of it bolting out the door and back to nature.

Can wild caught iguanas tame out? I really hope so. I have had monitors that were impossible, and I really don't want to go through that again, lol...

Where in Florida are you located? Do you house your iggys outside? Pro's and con's of outdoor enclosures?

6x6x4 is the minimal acceptable size, which is what makes it 'OK'. Applied to us, it is a comfortable walk-in closet. An extra 2 feet or more in all directions is always more desirable.

Out-door-enclosures, wherever possible, are and always will be the best enclosures for a reptile, if done right. In the long run they are also the most economical (save $ on lighting, heating, and electric bills).

Now, just because everything is all out in the open, it does not mean maintenance, cleanliness, and hygene are lower compared to an indoor. Unless you have a thing for flies, bugs, ants, and termites (the iguana certainly will not), you have to keep it all tidy as you would indoors.

A negative side effect on outdoor'ing an iguana, similarly with monitors etc, is that natural sunlight makes these animals more 'hyper', particularly if they're used to being kept indoors. Also, being outdoors means less human interaction (tho it is what the animal is used to), which means longer time to tame the beast. But, on the plus side, the fresh air, natural sun, and sounds of nature will simulate the natural environment (if there is heavy traffic, or construction in the vicitnity, it may be better in-doors, especially if there is contruction going on).

Currently I do not have an iguana, I used to tho, and I live somewhere in South Florida, between Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm...

-IJ

p.s. Oh yeah, this brings out another issue, particularly since you're floridian: hurricanes! Make sure that what you build can be easily disassembled and stored, and then reassembled/rebuilt again. This also means, have a place in the house for your iguana ready with heating elements etc. for during/after the storm. If you live in an evacuation zone, plan ahead.