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i just got a 1 1/2 yr old green iguana from this girl off craigslist

i have him in a wire cage with screen all the way around it

the cage is about 3 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide

i plan on building something custom soon

anyways question about lighting...

right now i have a regular red heat lamp 250 watts from walmart for heat, i live in kentucky btw

its mounted about 3 inches above the the cage and unless he clings upside down to the cage the closest he can get is like within 6-7 inches of it

i heard using regular fluorescent cool white lights would work for the UVA and UVB so i have a 42? inch shop light on in the day time, its just one tube but i could put two in there... is this going to be enough...? also half of his cage is in front of the window

i also have a big water bowl that he can damn near swim in and a small bowl of water and a small bowl of food and some wood for him to climb on...

overall he's pretty tame, i guess... i can reach in there and he'll act like he wants to bite and open his mouth but if i just say something and rub his back he'll just freeze up and close his mouth

ive had him for 4 days and been handling him several times a day

i know i should leave him alone to get adjusted to his new environment so im gonna leave him alone for the next few days.

don't forget that you are his new environment too. don't leave him alone too much. try holding it in your lap late in the evening while he's tired if at all possible. that lighting sounds more than adequate. you gotta remember, iguanas live in rain forests and tropical areas. they like to be warm and they like UVB but they spend most of their time under trees and don't get tons of direct sun light during the day so make sure it has warm and cool spot to hide in shade if it needs to. it knows way more about it's needs than you do so let it have choices so it can self adjust.

Just want to clarify two things...

First, having him in front of a window will do nothing for UV because the UV waves cannot pass through glass. Even with the window open, the fine mesh screen filters out quite a bit of UV.

Secondly, I wasn't sure what you meant about shop light, perhaps the tube style of UV? Make sure it is a reptile light designed to give off UVA and UVB, a 10.0 would be best for your set-up. I recently picked up a few dragons that were kept under a day spectrum aquarium light and it's just not the same thing.

Also, you want to check the temps with a digital thermometer to make sure he can't get burned or that he's too cool in his basking spot. There are a few links posted below about taming that may help.

Have fun with your guy!!

yea i meant regular shop lights with just one regular tube light in it, it's not designed for reptiles...

the girl i got the iguana from did give me a 14-16" light but the actual tube light in it (repti-sun, or something) was broken and I haven't had the funds to buy a new one.

The shop light will have no benefit for the lizard...except to just provide light to see. He absolutely must have a UV source and calcium supplementation along with a proper diet to avoid problems later. So many lizards have metabolic bone disease from insufficient calcium. Even if you can get this guy outside into the sun every day for an hour or so, it's better than nothing.

Try reptilesupply.com for cheaper lighting than pet stores.

I would also stay far away from UV bulbs that screw in to a regular light socket.. I did some damage to one of my Chuckwallas eyes using a ZooMed UVB10.0 that screws in.