Iguana Care Sheet |
|
|
|
So you're
thinking of buying a pet lizard, and that pet
lizard happens to be an iguana. Think long and
hard about this decision. You might be crazy! |
|
Even though they
can be wonderful and tame pet lizards, a lot of
work goes into producing such a pet. You don't
want an iguana bite from a giant green iguana.
They can remove digits from children. Their
force is nothing to consider lightly. The owner
of this store was nearly killed by an Iguana.
The medical cost of the injury was 20K. Iguanas
are the most popular Lizard sold in a pet store.
It is also the largest adopted pet in America.
Over 10,000 are up for adoption a year in
America. Suffice it to say, this lizard is
probably not the best beginner pet lizard.
Hopefully the iguana facts on this page will
help. If you want one please look into adoption. |
|
Cage
–
One
reason a pet iguana can be a challenging lizard
is the fact that they can grow between 4 and 6
feet long. In addition to this length they like
to climb and actually prefer to hang out high up
in the trees. A minimum 12' x 8' (height and
width) with a minimum of 4 feet in depth is
needed to maintain a happy healthy igy. This
will cost you hundreds of dollars. Some people
dedicate one room of their house, like a spare
bedroom, in providing an iguana habitat. They
need their cage misted at least once a day
-preferably twice, this is done to maintain the
near 85% humidity level that is needed. Because
they like to climb, branches or something
similar should be provided. As far as substrate
-newspaper paper towels or reptile carpet should
work fine. |
|
Lighting
–
Iguanas need a UVB light. This type of light
provides your pet iguana with simulated
sunlight. Without this, they cannot control the
absorption of vitamin D. You also need to
provide a heat lamp. An iguana needs a body
temperature of around 85° to be able to digest
its food. A mercury vapor bulb provides the
necessary UVB light, in addition to providing
heat. It's also considerably more expensive.
Predict to spend about $150 on bulbs alone a
year and about $500 a year in electricity. |
|
They need a
basking spot (hottest spot in cage) of around
95°. You need to have the light(s) on a timer,
so you don't have to either remember, or wake up
at a certain time like 6 a.m. They need around
12 hours of light to simulate their natural
iguana habitat. Never use a heat rock with an
iguana, they have been known to cause burns in
many different pet lizards. Take these iguana
facts to heart as they might save your pet from
injury. You need to create a temperature
gradient with all pet lizards. This allows them
to heat up or cool down depending on where they
are in their cage. |
|
Food
–
Iguanas are vegetarians. All studies show that a
strictly vegetarian diet produces the
healthiest, happiest and longest lived pet
iguana. At least 50% of an iguana's diet should
be made up of a variety of dark leafy greens(so
should yours!-human). Greens such as mustard
greens, dandelion greens, parsley, collard
greens and turnip greens. 30 to 40% of their
diet can be made up of other vegetables such as
bell peppers, green beans, butternut and a
yellow squashes (cooked and then allowed to
cool), zucchini and asparagus. Other foods such
as fruits can make up five to 10% of the diet of
a pet iguana. Fruits such as tomatoes (yes
that's a fruit) apples, pears and berries. The
cost of feeding an adult Iguana is about $12 a
day or $4380.00 a year! |
|
Water
–
Water
needs to be provided in your iguana habitat. The
water dish needs to be changed and cleaned
daily. If he fits in it, he is happy! The do
like to soak. |
|
Closing
–
If
you're serious about acquiring a pet iguana then
you need to do much more research in the form of
multiple different care sheets and reading a
book or two on this wonderful pet lizard. PLEASE
do NOT let children play with the iguana
unattended. If you buy it keep it! The above
iguana facts should help you in deciding if this
lizard is right for you. |
|
|