Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I work at PetsMart and about a few weeks ago a person abandoned a two ft iguana(head to tail). Because of his size, we could not keep him at the store. The largest cage we had was a 20 long. I couldn't let him stay there so I took him home and placed him in my bearded dragon's 40gal breeder and moved my beardie into a smaller cage. He was definitely neglected by his former owner. He has an absess on his jaw about the size of a blueberry and a broken toe. He didn't eat the first few days but once I introduced him to green beans he eats great. His stools are also looking normal. I am in contact with a person from New England Herpotology who is willing to take him and put him up for adoption but the longer I have him, the more I want to keep him. I have a few questions though.

1.) How old do you think he is?
2.) What would be the cost of treating the absess?
3.) The cost of building a cage? The cage would need to be more taller than longer.

Also, any advice would be appreciated.

Janelle

His abscess may be very easy for the vet to treat, now that is still so small. That ought to keep the cost down.

Age/length ratios vary with the type of care given. There is a comparison chart:
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/agesize.html

As for his cage, IMO captive igs are better off living in cages that keep them in terrestrial mode rather than arboreal. Most homes can't afford to donate the space for an adequate arboreal style, which would be something like (for your 2 foot ig) about 5 feet long, 3 feet deep, and 6 feet tall. The point is to avoid making a "telephone booth" style cage that is narrow and tall. Igs need to be able to stretch out and move horizontally more than they need to climb.

A teresstrial style cage gives him room to move around back and forth, and fits in the home better; 5 ft. long, 3 ft deep, and 20 inches tall, for example. If you use plywood for the sides, floor, and top, and clear acrylic panels for the front, the cost will stay low. He'll be happiest if you can place the cage up high on a wall so he can survey his room from a (to him) nice safe elevation.

A resource for iguana care:
http://www.greenigsociety.org/home.html

Roger