Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently "inherited" an iguana from my nephew who lost interest(well, not really inherited he made me give him $30.00!). I just have a too soft of a heart and his aquarium was too small. He is only about 8 months old, but he was too cramped. I went to Home Depot and spent around $270.00 on materials. The dimensions of the habitat will be: 7 feet high, 4 feet long, and 3 feet wide. That is as large as we can go for now due to space limitations in our den. If he gets a lot bigger, I have plans for extending it and rearranging some futniture.

I need a little help on the layout. I am thinking about a top level, a middle level, and then of course a ground level. The different levels would be accessible with ramps? Should the temperature variance be up and down or left to right? Where should I place the various lights? I plan on having a main basking lamp on the top level, along with a reptile UV lamp, and a secondary basking area using another lamp. I also have a black nighttime light. I think that the CHE's just get way too hot and I would not feel safe using that. I read how the night light can sometimes bother them. I have been checking on him in his aquarium throughout the night and every time I go in there he is totally "zonked", so he does not seem to mind too much from what I can tell. I am just wondering how to arrange his habitat and what I should put where and how. I know, I know, a lot of you will say "be creative do what you want". I have no problem with being somewhat creative, but this will be Ivan's home. I want it to be very functional, practical as well as "cozy". I have been looking at other enclosures on the web, but I have not arrived at a definitive setup. PLEASE HELP!

in stead of doing three levels.. just make it one big enclosure and have multiple shelves at differnt heights with ramps going to them. and have one main basking spot.. and them have some other places where he can get some heat at different points in the cage.. this way he can hang out at different spots and not have to be on one of three levels.. make sure he has a spot that he can get to his uvb lighting. and after that just be creative. im sure people will post pcis of there enclosures. i would post pics of mine but it isnt real fancy due to climbing probs that my igg has(long story)

just make sure you care for it right and it will be the best pet you have ever owned.

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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.1 mali uromastyx
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.0.1 common snapping turtle

then the ussual
2 dogs
6 cats
hermit crabs
rat
misc. fish

My Email

ITS NOT ABOUT YOU DIEING FOR YOUR COUNTRY, ITS ABOUT MAKING YOUR ENEMY DIE FOR HIS.

HAPPINESS IS LIKE PEEING ON YOURSELF, EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT ONLY YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH

Woops, let me clarify...

That is what I meant by "levels".

Basicly, the back wall is wood, the left wall is wood, the front doors are plexiglass, and the right side is plexiglass(so he can see me at the computer

I was thinking about making the top shelf the main basking area with the heat lamp to the far left, and the UV lamp right beside it(I figure this will give him the best UV exposure). I was going do cut holes in the top and nail hardware cloth and put the lights on hardware cloth. My next question is where do I put the secondary basking lamp, on the same tier, off to the right? Where do I put his night black light?

Thanks!
Mike

On the top shelf,

your cage may not need two lights.. and for night lights.. i only use them during the winter months.. and is et it up right next to the regular light.
-----
1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.1 mali uromastyx
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.0.1 common snapping turtle

then the ussual
2 dogs
6 cats
hermit crabs
rat
misc. fish

My Email

ITS NOT ABOUT YOU DIEING FOR YOUR COUNTRY, ITS ABOUT MAKING YOUR ENEMY DIE FOR HIS.

HAPPINESS IS LIKE PEEING ON YOURSELF, EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT ONLY YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH

I know you said you're not comfortable with CHE's, but I think that may just work easiest for you, if he's going to sleep and bask in the same spot, as most igs do. That way, you'll just have 3 fixtures to worry about instead of 4.

1)the uv fixture, hopefully hung inside the cage so as to get it as close to your iguana as possible (it must be closer than 12 inches to have any beneficial effect).

2) The day/basking light (on top of wire roof, maybe)

3) The CHE, (also on top of wire roof) which can be on an opposite time system from the day light, or on all the time depending on the weather/wattage.

I use a CHE all day and all night, and it keeps it just right at night and boosts heat during the day during winter, spring and fall. It is only 45 watts- CHEs come in different wattage powers, so you will have just as easy a time finding a not-super-hot CHE as you would finding basking bulbs. It is also easy to use a plug-in-dimmer switch (about $12 dollars at the hardware store) any bulb or CHE if for example the weather warms up and what was perfect for winter is now making your iguana to hot.

The other reason you may want the CHE is that your iguana may sleep better. (Iguanas are like humans in that they do not sleep unless it's pretty dark). I know some iguanas do great with a "black light" or red or green or blue night light, but after testing these colors, I found they kept my iguana up at night and made him cranky! Er, more cranky than usual, that is.

CHEs also last a LOT longer than bulbs of any sort that I know. I have had mine for about a year and a half now with no problems. Very reliable, and in my opinion, worth the price.

I have 2 levels in my iggys enclosure. The top level is branches and a couple shelves with some floor space. The bottom is ramps and shelves with a pool. Both have heat and uvb lighting. The enclosure is now separated again becuase my iggys didn't go into the bottom and I now have another iggy down there. Here is a picture of it. It has indoor outdoor carpet in it now.

here is another picture. Just make sure that the iggy can't get into the lights and get burned. I had to put shelves on top of the lights because I couldn't keep them off of them.