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I am keeping my new iguana in an outdoor large pvc cage with a roof on it. How would i go about providing a heat source in the winter. It stays in the 70s during the days, cooler at night. I cannot bring him inside. no room. would a heat bulb be okay or a box with a heat source? thanks , I would appreciate your suggestions.

I forgot to say that there are feral iguanas that live in the wild here in florida. How do they survive without heat lamps!Do I even need one!

Where in Fl. do you live?....TC...and do you have Iguana i. iguana or Iguana i. rhinolopha?

I live in new port richey, near Tampa fl. I have one iguana about 1 foot long including the tail.

oh, and I believe it is the Iguana Iguana

There all Iguana iguana but there are several subspecies.....TC

Tom,
I. iguana rhinolopha is no longer a subspecies. It was dropped in the '80s
Iguana iguana are all classified as I. iguana at this point. There are certainly location identifiers but there are no subspecies recognized at this time.
Not that this changes any of the good info you provided... just an fyi
jf

I was wondering...

I didn't know that I. iguana rhinolopha was dropped, but I did know that the two subspecies were interbreeding so much that some of the offspring had the medial row of horns and some did not, making them virtually indistinguishable.

It really got me thinking about my juvenile ig. He has the medial row of horns, and he's from a Miami 'store' of sorts. I imagine that he's probably wild caught and not imported. So....would he be I. iguana rhinolopha, an intergrade, I. iguana, or would it really matter?

Actually any baby Iguana purchased between late May and Aug. is likely to be a wild Fl. baby. Commercial collecters here catch and sell them by the hundreds daily during this period. Every wc Fl. I've seen and it's a lot all show characteristics of I. i. rhinolopha. I didn't realize it was no longer recognized as a subspecies but its clear that form is here. I believe it's a bit too cold for S.A. Iguanas to flourish here......TC

I dont think it matters. Rostral spines, really long dorsal spines, heavy striping, red coloration in the face, "red iguanas", large dewlaps, grey heads, black eye masks, etc they are all Iguana iguana, just visual traits from different regions. there is no subspecies. The care is the same. It is interesting how they differ from one region to another. Maybe some day some academic will put in the work to determine that the different locales warrant their own species. I believe there are a couple of islands in the Carib doing studies. For right now all I. iguana

I think your missing my point. The S. A. races are MUCH less tolerent of low temps than are C.A. races. I know this for a fact having 2 imported C.A. albinos as well as albino Colombians that I produce. There is a tremendous difference in their ability to cope with low temps. ALSO HAVING IN YEARS PAST IMPORTING THOUSANDS THE C.A. races do much better than imported S.A. races such as Surinames etc. This was my reason for inquiry involving what type the person had. Today its very rare the importers even import S.A. lizards because of this. My inquiry had nothing to do with being taxanomically correct except for advising him with temps. They may and probably are all the same BUT in captivity they are very different in respect to temp. variation......TC

Tom,
I got it. the extra detail in your last post helped though. Seems like when keeping them in FL those details can make a difference. good to know.
thx
jf

I got that, too, Tom. Sorry to lead the conversation off on a tangent to satisfy my own curiosity. I also asked because I was wondering if the intergrades would be hardier and more tolerant of colder temperatures.

Regardless, Tampa is too far north to keep an ig outside year round, in my opinion. However, there is an island...is it Gasparilla Island...that has a colony of wild igs. I'm not sure what its proximity is to the original poster.

I have an ig here in Central Fl/N Orlando and I move him from inside to oustide every day. Perhaps you have a garage he could stay in on those cold winter days?

The garage was turned into a bedroom.I have a ceramic heat lamp positioned above a log where he can find the temp that suits him. is this sufficient?He seems to be thriving outdoors. I have his large cage inside a dog kennel that has a roof on it. He gets the morning sun and right now the temps are warm. At what point would he need a higher temp.

I'm definitely no expert, and I don't have any experience in keeping igs outside on a permanent basis. But based on my knowledge of keeping herps indoors, I'll shoot the moon. :0 Plus, my reply may garnish some other answers.

If the guidelines say that nighttime temps do not need to drop below 70-75, then that would be my point of concern. A ceramic heat emitter may provide a basking area for warmth, but if daytime temps are in the 50-60's, I don't think it's going to do much for ambient temps in the ig's cage. Low temps lead to low metabolism, compromised immune systems, and possibly respiratory infection.

The goal would be then to make sure the enclosure meets the ig's needs. I don't know what that would take for you. Would you have to wrap the entire enclosure in plastic to keep in the heat, or put up plywood sides? Would you then mist it to provide humidity?

daytime temps rarley get below 70 in the winter, if they do, it would be a day here and there. To wrap it in plastic would coprimise the sunlight that he needs. Would maybe a wood box inside the cage work?

Those were nightime temps I mentioned. Daytime temps should not drop below 80's for the most part. I would exchange the CHE for a Mercury Vapor and use plastic sheets around the side to hold the heat in. The Mercury Vapor will provide UV if the sunlight cannot get through, as well as heat. The ig simply cannot thrive in cool temps. If you still cannot find anything satisfactory, try Googling "outdoor iguana enclosures" and see what other owners are doing. Just make sure the plans have common sense, and aren't from people in the Keys that have 80 degree weather year round!

The lizards on Gaspariila Isle are Ctenosaur similis, Spiny Iguanas not Green Iguanas. They like Green Iguanas dig extensive burrows uderground and do quite well plus that is much further south than the Tampa Bay area. Even there Green Iguanas would not thrive as here in extreme S.E. Fl. There are now small populations of Green Iguanas in Lee Co. but they never realy flourish as here because of a 4-5 degree temp. difference at night in winter.....TC

Actually it's Boca Grande where the Ctenosaura similis are common. That's just north of Ft. Myers......TC

First, its way too cold where you are to keep them out all year with no heat. Secondly all feral I guanas are Iguana i. rhinolopha, thats the Central American subspecies. You still haven't told me what you have but it really doesn't matter because of your location. You could keep it outside as an adult providing you had a heated retreat to secure it in at night. I don't even leave my neonate Albinos out if it drops below 60 degrees and I live in Broward County. There are NO populations of feral Iguanas where you are. You might see one now and again but there's no real numbers like here where there are probably tens of thousands just in Ft. Lauderdale alone. Its perfectly all right to keep it outside in good weather in fact they do much better with exposure to sunlight. You must of course provide shade as well.....TC

What is a way to make a heated enclosure within his cage. and will he need it just at night?

If you want a lot more detailed info just call me tommorrow at 239-645-9661. I'm a terrible one-finger typest and it would take me too long to do.....TC