Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sunday I got my 6 month old green iguana from someone who decided they had gotten in over their heads. I’ve wanted one for a couple of years but have held off because it never seemed to be good timing. I am pretty prepared but I have a few questions to make sure I’m on the right track. For now s/he is in a 55 gal tank but I am drafting up plans for a large enclosure for when s/he outgrows the tank. I’m wondering how soon I’m going to need the large enclosure. Right now there is plenty of space but by the time s/he has doubled in size the tank is going to be very cramped. I want to make sure the new place is ready by the time it is needed.
The other thing I am wondering is what the best choice for supplements is. Everyone has their favourite brands and I want to know what the BEST choice is. Also I will be feeding an entirely home prepared diet but on the occasion that I’m going away overnight, what is the best prepared food on the market ?
I have a reptiglo 5.0 terrarium lamp in an old hood I had as well as a Zoo Med Power sun uv 120v/160w for basking on one side – is this adequate for lighting? Is there something better I could be using?
Any fave websites with extra info would be greatly appreciated as well as favourite books. I’ve borrowed a few from friends but like in everything there are always some slight discrepancies with the older books being a little outdated in terms of care. Any extra advice would be great, this came up rather suddenly and while I’ve done some basic research, I know there are plenty of gaps.

Finally, s/he hasnt yet eaten anything should I be overly concerned or should I just give it a little more time?

If you want some really good information on care of green iguanas I would recommend purchasing "Captive Care of the Green Iguana" it's a video written by some of the top professionals in the field Dr. Adam Britton and Melissa Kaplan, only problem is it's in VHS format. It's an older tape, it was the one I first watched to get the info I needed for care of these amazing creatures. My first Iguana lived a little over 20 years and I myself have finally decided to get a new Iguana about 8 months old so i'd be glad to share my knowledge with you.

As far as cages go if you already have him in that 55 gal tank then I would leave him in there for a little while to get him acclimated to his new enviroment. Moving him around from cage to cage can become rather stressful. My iguana is 24" overall with a SVL (snout to vent length) of 8" his current cage is custom made which is 3'9"(tall) x 3'9"(wide) x 18"(deep, my question to you would be how big do you plan on making his new cage??

In my opinion the bigger the better and if you do plan on keeping your little guy for his whole life then i'd build a cage to suit him his whole life, it saves you money and it's not going to hurt your iguana in any way.

As for supplements it's really all about personal choice, I have always used Rep-Cal Calcium powder with Vit.D3 as well as adding T-Rex Iguana Dust VGF which is an all around vitamin supplement. The main thing to be aware of is make sure you give a good mixture of vitamins with every feeding. Also make sure you are giving him a good variety of dark leafy greens such a Mustard greens, Collard greens.. etc etc. I can even write you up a huge list of good greens and ones you don't want to feed him if you wish.

As for him not eating, don't be suprised if he doesn't take to food right away, he has been moved from place to place and became stressed, you just need to give him time and he'll come around and eat. Just make sure you give him fresh greens everyday. You can also buy dry Iguana food from just about any petstore which you can keep in a seperate dish off to the side for some added nutrition.

As for your lighting it sounds fine for now, one question would be how old is your floresent UV tube? If it is over 6 months old i would recommend purchasing a new floresent tube as the older the tube gets the less ammount of UV is put out. UVA and most importantly UVB is what the iguana needs to help produce the needed calcium for it's maintained health, it is also recommended once your iguana is calm enough to take him outside and get him atleast 30min of sunlight a week. more is better but this would be a good start, Also remember that they are quick and you'll have to make sure you have a good grip on him, would hate to see you lose him.

All in all just take your time with him and be patient, he'll come around and if you need any help at all i'd be more then happy to give you any advice. An iguana can be one of the best companions you could have ever hoped for.

I plan on building him an enclosure that will be 6 feet high and probably 4-5 feet wide/long maybe bigger. I will be keeping him in the 55 for a few months at least, but I'm not sure how fast they grow and I do not want to keep him in it past double his current size. I'm not sure what his current size is exactly, I havent wanted to handle him to measure him because he seems so stressed out.

I do have a list of good foods for him, but I dont have a list of things to avoid and that would be amazing if you wouldnt mind letting me know that

I went out and purchased a variety of greens cut them up and froze them in individual servings so all I have to do is open the bag and dump it in his dish

The UV tube is brand new - picked it up yesterday morning and pulled an old aquarium hood out of storage for it because I didnt think his basking light was going to provide enough uv. I plan on replacing it annually. As soon as the weather is nice again (probably may) I will be taking him out daily in a mesh carrier until he is tame enough to stay with me and big enough for a harness. I hope to eventually be able to have him perch on my shoulder while I take the dogs for their walk, but I expect it will take a few years before he is comfortable doing something like that - as for right now the dogs do not know he exists and they will not know about him for a good long time. My dogs and my cats are not permitted in my spare room at all because it has always been the "bird room" where I keep my 2 indian ringneck parokeets.

Any extra help you can think of would be wonderful thanks!

Sounds like you got a good start, eventually as he gets bigger you may decide to let him roam around a room that also has his cage in it. You can set up branches in a corner or even on top of your (future) cage with some basking lights for him, also don't be surprised if he finds a spot that he really likes and claims as his own, even if it is a colder area, you can always setup a basking light there for him.

As for the food you need to be careful of there really isn't a whole lot, but I would avoid spinach as it has compounds which can affect a Iguanas metabolism and be detrimental to his overall health, Lettuce you don't have to avoid but it has no nutitional value so besides being a source of water it won't do much for your iguanas health. Broccoli and Kale you can feed him very light ammounts but a diet consisting of maining kale or broccoli can eventually cause hypothyroidism which can cause them to be lethargic or sluggish.

All in all I feel if there is a chance that it can harm my iguana I just don't even feed it to them. Other veggies to avoid would be cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, soy (tofu), and grains which can have the same affect as the broccoli and kale. Some people do adds those once in awhile it's just my personal feelings to rather be safe then sorry.

If you are freezing his food a supplement you will want to get is some brewers yeast which will replace the Vitamin D1 which is lost in the freezing process, just a sprinkle of it on the food will do.

To help stimulate eating you can try and add some bright colors to his food to help attract him, oranges and reds are great for this, try chopping up some strawberries or some oranges and see if that helps.

Have your dogs ever been in contact with a reptile before?? I would say as soon as your Iguana feels comfortable being held by you I would slowly introduce him to your dogs, but that you'd have to play by ear. My new Iguana was put right into the action, a cage right in the living room but my 2 big dogs and cat has lived their whole life around reptiles so they could care less about him, he has already learned in this short week that I've had him that they aren't a real threat to him but he still gets nervous if i'm holding him and they get too close, if only he knew the power he had over my dogs (they've been whipped before) lol.

Anyway, again it sounds like you are on the right track if you have anymore questions feel free to ask, even share some pics i'd love to see the little guy. As for growth it just depends on how much he's eating, if he is a "he" or a "she", they can reach up to 3' easily in their first year but if you plan on having a cage ready in 3 months or so, you should be fine. Goodluck and have fun!