Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a hatchling iguana (4"stv). Right now I have him in a 29 gal. aquarium. I am going to make him a encloser but I am wondering what would be a good size for now. I was thinking about 4`h x 4`w x 2`d that way when he out grows it I can make it in to two enclosers for my bearded dragons. Would that be to big for him right now? I was thinking about a 2`h x 4`w x 2`d but if I do this one the 100w powersun I have will only be 14" from the bottom and I wouldn`t be able to make a high basking spot cause it will get to hot for him. Thanks for any replys. Steve
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Thanks Steve
Owner of:
2.2 Bearded Dragons
0.0.1 Green Iguana
1.0 Veiled Chameleon
1.0 Chinese Water Dragon
0.0.1 Aru Green Tree Python
home.wi.rr.com/stevesreptiles

>>I have a hatchling iguana (4"stv). Right now I have him in a 29 gal. aquarium. I am going to make him a encloser but I am wondering what would be a good size for now. I was thinking about 4`h x 4`w x 2`d that way when he out grows it I can make it in to two enclosers for my bearded dragons. Would that be to big for him right now? I was thinking about a 2`h x 4`w x 2`d but if I do this one the 100w powersun I have will only be 14" from the bottom and I wouldn`t be able to make a high basking spot cause it will get to hot for him. Thanks for any replys.

A 4 ft wide enclosure will be too small by the time the iguana is 2 ft STL. If you're caring for him properly, he'll easily reach 24 inches snout-tail length by the time he's 12 months old.

Since hatchlings should be started in no less than a 50 gal tank, he's already squashed for space!

Please check out my Iguana Age and Expected Size article. I think you'll find that iguanas grow a lot faster than people realize, and, as discussed in my Iguana Care, Feeding & Socialization and Basic Cage Design Problems article, they need to be much bigger than people realize, even for young ones, as the enclosures need to accommodate the iguana's growth and still leave enough open space and room to establish the required temperature gradients so the iguana can get most of his body and tail into the thermal range of his choice at any given time.

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Melissa Kaplan
Anapsid.org

Thanks for the reply. I know that he will out grow the 4`h x 4`l x 2`d in a year or less. The reason I said those dementions is cause I am going to be making my bearded dragons new cages and I could use that to make 2 cages in one. Then I would make a new cage for my Iguana that is 8`l x 7`h x 3`d. I know the cage he is in now is to small that is why I want to make a cage soon. I have had him for 2 weeks now and I was going to make the new cage on tuesday when I get paid. So I guess my question is would a cage that is 4x4x2 good enough for 8 to 12 months? Thanks Steve
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Thanks Steve
Owner of:
2.2 Bearded Dragons
0.0.1 Green Iguana
1.0 Veiled Chameleon
1.0 Chinese Water Dragon
0.0.1 Aru Green Tree Python
home.wi.rr.com/stevesreptiles