Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just purchased a baby green iguana, his name is marley. i wanted to do it right because i heard of people just running out and getting an iguana without considering how much care they need and what it will cost. so i got everything that he needs and i set up his enclosure just right. but i still have a few questions i would like to ask an experienced owner. first you should know that he is eating right with the leafy greens. but the thing is he wont eat when we are home he will only eat if we like go to the store. i'm just wondering what i can do to make him more comfortable or is that normal at first? we have had him for three weeks. and another thing is i know this sounds weird but i have not found any of his fecies. i don't even know if he poops. maybe i just don't know what to look for. so i guess i'm asking what might his poo look like? thank you for your help it will be much appreciated.

i just purchased a baby green iguana, his name is marley. i wanted to do it right because i heard of people just running out and getting an iguana without considering how much care they need and what it will cost. so i got everything that he needs and i set up his enclosure just right. but i still have a few questions i would like to ask an experienced owner. first you should know that he is eating right with the leafy greens. but the thing is he wont eat when we are home he will only eat if we like go to the store. i'm just wondering what i can do to make him more comfortable or is that normal at first? we have had him for three weeks. and another thing is i know this sounds weird but i have not found any of his fecies. i don't even know if he poops. maybe i just don't know what to look for. so i guess i'm asking what might his poo look like? thank you for your help it will be much appreciated.

Give your ig some time to settle in and adjust to its new surroundings.Your ig is very young and treats anything that moves as a possible predator.With daily interaction with your ig,it should or may settle down in due time.Some igs have a hard time settling down like one of my igs i got right now,each have their own personality.I would give the ig a bit to settle down before any handling is involved.Whats the temp in your cage?I keep mine between 98 to 105 degrees during the day to the nightly lows of 75.With the proper temps your ig should defecate properly.Hope this helps.

oh and ig crap is clear with white fecal matter with just your normal little black turds.You can tell if your ig is properly hydrated by seeing the amount of fluids that has been exstracted from the ig as well as its food intake.Getting a fecal sample examined by a vet is a wise choice to do so to check of any parasites that the igs may harbor.This site had some good imformation too to check out...www.iguanaden.org

I'm glad you're taking the time to research your ig needs!

Leafy greens are great, avoid spinach and lettuce. You can also add some diced veggies like squash and green beans, plus a little fruit. He feels insecure which is why he won't eat in front of you. That will change in time, I'm sure. Perhaps the cage lay out is such that the bowl can be in the back corner or a more secure spot that isn't front center in full view of spectators.

The feces description in the other post is spot on, but it may be dried by the time you find it, so it's a little black stick thingy. What is your substrate?

Not pooing for 3 weeks would be a bit of concern, if that is the case and it's just not hidden. I would think of things like insufficient food intake, dehydration, cool temps, and worse case scenario-impaction. Then I would look at all of those issues and make sure 1)The ig is eating enough and the food is moistened/misted a bit 2)The ig is misted daily and has a tub of water he can fit into. I would add a bit of fruit for extra water. 3)I would check temps to make sure the basking temp and overall temp is warm enough for digestion and to encourage the little guy to be a bit active. If there is really no poo anywhere in the cage, I would also think about catching the little guy and giving him a nice lukewarm bath for about 20 min.

Hope that helps and keep us posted!

first thank you for the advice. and i did find some poop so all is good in that area. but i have another question, what is your enlosure like? did you buy it or build your own? oh and i am a little confused about the lighting, right now i have a 75w heat bulb that i got from my pet store but iknow he needs more than that. and i don't really understand UVB and UVA and full spectrum, so if you could let me know what you use or what i need to get and explain it in laymen's terms that would be much appreciated. and than you again.

Glad to hear you found the poo!

When my ig was a new little hatchling (he was a rescue), he was in a mesh enclosure. He had a homemade enclosure that was made of a light, wooden frame with thick plastic mesh that we still use as an outdoor basking cage. I didn't build it, but someone else did. I'll email you a pic since I don't have it in my ks gallery. Right now he's in a huge wire, plastic coated iguana cage with two shelves to hang out on and plenty of room to roam. Of course he doesn't...he just sits on one shelf like a king. I've always used newspaper on the bottom because it's cheap and easy to clean. Fortunately, my ig has decided that he's a tub man now and won't poo in his cage, only the tub.

Iguanas absolutely must have a UV bulb. It sounds like you have a bulb that provides heat, which is good. You want a basking spot that is 90-95 degrees, but a cool spot about 75. Simply put, as part of their physiology iguanas require natural sunlight to produce vitamin D so that they can process calcium properly. If they do not have adequate Vit D and calcium intake, then the muscles and organs cannot function properly. The body must get the calcium out of the bones, causing them to get soft and become deformed. Calcium deficiency is a symptom of Metabolic Bone Disease, a common yet preventable disease of captive lizards.

Well, if iguanas are kept indoors and cannot access the sun's UV (window glass and screen filters UV), then we must provide it artificially with UV bulbs. There are quite a few on the market, some good...some not so good. The coiled/compact bulbs are not so good, in my opinion. Some of those only put out UVA, but UVB is necessary for Vit D production. The long, linear fluorescent tubes like ReptiSun 10.0 are good. But they need to placed properly, not too far away (no more than 12" from the ig and not filtered through a fine mesh screen top. There are also Mercury Vapor Bulbs that produce high quality UV and heat. They are sold as MegaRay or PowerSun bulbs. (Right now my ig has a 100watt PowerSun bulb, but he also has the advantage of basking in the FL sun quite a bit).

Also, a proper diet with rich greens (not lettuce) will provide the ig with a good calcium source. Supplements are usually overdone, strain the kidneys, and are derived from oyster shell (who eats those?).

This got kinda long, but I hope it helped. Definitely gotta get a decent UV bulb! Your ig can't live without it...trust me!