Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

My family and i have kept lots of different herps and have now decided on adopting a green iguana...

Our San Diego humane society constantly has iggies that are in need of good homes..which we can provide for one...Our family has kept beardies and leos mainly, but has kept chameleons and many local lizards VERY well....

I have a few questions that i would like to be answered though...

1. Could we keep any iggie outdoors w/ heating? It onyl drops to freezing in the winter...We are thinking of building a heat box for the iggie if it gets cold...

2. What is the best diet regime? Please state your opinions! There seems to be a lot of controversy about this topic and i cant find 2 sites that agree with one method of feeding.

3. What is the best way to tame an iggie too?

If you guys could post some links fore iguana care that would be GREAT!!!!!

Thanks in advance!

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eric

I have an Iguana that is about three years old, it looks like you know the basics ( U.V. A and B ) heating, the temps that work for me are 85-90 day and 65-70 night. AS far as out side I think there are to many things that can go wrong. Food they can eat most plant foods that are in the food store (( NO LETTUCE )) mix it up to get a ballanced diet, Callard greens and mustard greens are the faverite of my Iguana, fruit like grapes, apples, mellons, go very light on foods with acid

I forgot the squash mostly orange color and no pet store Iguana food, it will dry out your Iguana, and add calcium powder to your food. I was lold that the only thing that works in taming your Iguana is to handle it every day, and they bite with teeth

in the summer. They need very warm temperatures and it will
be impossible to provide it outside with those types of
temps. I never put mine out if the temps are lower than
75 degrees. Even then only if the sun is out.

I keep mine from ranges of 75-100 degress.

Even though you have kept other reptiles I would seriously
recommend doing some research before adopting. These guys
are large and sometimes never truly get tame. They need
huge enclosures which means it is harder to maintain temps
and humidity. I have two iguanas, each with their own cage
and they take up a whole bedroom. Just some things to think
about.

Linda

I would recommend that you purchase
Green Iguana: The ultimate owner's manual
by: James W. Hatfield III

This is a wonderful book that I have read about 10X to learn how to care for my iguana! I still use this book 3 yrs. later!

I would not recommend keeping your iguana outside unless you live in a very warm climate! It is however, good for your iguana to be outside and get as much sun as he can!

FOOD:
LEAFY GREENS 30%-45%
(collard, turnip, mustard, escarole, carrot tops)

OTHER VEGI'S 30%-40%
(green beans, yellow wax beans, zucchini, yellow or crookneck squash, sweet bell peppers, sprouts, peas, carrots, celery

FRUITS 10%-15%
(blackberries, mango, papaya, kiwi, peach, melon, apple, pear, banana, apricot, cherries, blueberries, grapes, strawberries)

GRAIN BASED FOODS 0-4%
(i use cream of wheat, this has an ideal calcium/phosphorus ration of 2:1. very good for iguana once or twice a week.)

your iguana may or may not like all of these foods. offer in variety to see what he likes or doesn't like. some days they may eat more of one thing than the other.
Hope this helps and hope you have a happy, healthy iguana!
Here is a pic of my lizzy who is 3 yrs. old!
Nicole

That book has taught us alot. We got ours unexpectedly, he was found at a construction site in a cardboard box. We took him in and were planning on finding an actual rescue place for him. Somehow he became a part of the family. They are a huge commitment and can be frustrating at times. But they also can be an incredible joy at the same time. Congrads on your thinking this through and getting information before hand! Though we have not had ours long, I can add to the recommendation list: a LOT of bandages and anaseptic. We have used a good bit of both, lol. Good luck and keep us informed on how it goes!
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Try here for iguana care tips.

Iguana Zone

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Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~

Well...

I have done LOADS of research on iggies and am aware of what im getting into..I have benn researching plenty on the diet in particukar because i have seen absolute horrors of malnutrition..

As for keeping one outdoors we have also gained information that an iggie would do horribly outdoors in san diego during winter, spring and most of fall...too cold...As for in the summer we plan on keeping it outdoors with a mini sprinkler system hooked up around the cage...we used this technique when we kept our chameleons....

Indoor caging....Any tips? I have done research and many sites have varied opinions on housing...We plan on building a cage out of wood and screen with the dimensions of 7 feet long 3 feet wide and 6 feet tall...Is that good or bad? Ouir iggie will also have free roaming oppritunities twice a week in our family room...

Can i give my iggie showers? I did this with the chams and they LOVED IT!!!

Thanks for your help guys!
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eric

Think of cage placement real carefully! We just migrated our's from the living room to the bedroom. He seemed to really like the interaction, but it caused problems with the other animals. Our bedroom is more out of the way but is as active as the living room most of the time (that came out wrong). TV war... I always lose and end up with the bedroom tv. It is also where we first had him when he first clawed his way into house and heart. Ours his having some difficulty with the schedule though. Bedtime for him is about 2 hours before mine... The compermise is that the tv subtitles come on and volume goes down... Wife is now much happier with that too! No more "turn that down!" all night.

With ours, and again I am very new at this, He loves coming into the shower as long as he is on the shower rod. He spends a good bit of time in there during our morning routine. Just make sure that everyone in the family knows he is there... Nothing like a kid (teen) asking if someone has feed the iguana only to find it hanging out right above them. Or seening the tail out of the corner of their eye and thinking "is the snake in its cage?!?"
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids