Care Sheet Submitted By: IzaakNLana |
Years Experience: 5 to 10 Years |
Main Category: Lizards |
Sub Category: Iguanas |
Species: Green Iguana |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover:
N/A
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Sexing and Characteristics:
It’s almost impossible to sex an iguana when it’s under a year old..Males have bigger pores on the inside of there thighs..Males usually have larger heads the females..I knew mine was a girl when she laid eggs at age 1 1/2 for her first time.. |
Mostly Active During: Day |
Substrate and Water Needs:
My iguanas are pretty much free to roam..I have IGGY she is 4 years old..She is locked up in her own seperate room..Kinda like a closet but it has a cage door that she can climb on and see whats going on ..She is vicious or id have her walking around like my 10 year old female iguana that dosent get along with IGGY anymore..They needs lots of humidity..I spray them down everyday..Give baths at least once a week and let them soak a while in nice and warm water..My 4 year old dosent drink much from her water bowl but i still offer it to her..Make sure there water is alwasy clean cause they do drink from it sometimes..My 10 year old drinks constantly..She loves to drink.. |
Lighting and UVB:
UVB bulbs are extremely important for your iguana to make vitamins out of what he or she ate..Along with heat bulbs to keep them nice and warm so they can digest there food properly.. |
Temperatures and Humidity:
I usually keep my iguanas between 85 and 87 degrees constantly..During the night i drop it down to about 80 degrees..The Humidity i keep at about 85% most of the time..Well i try to anyway! |
Heating and Equipment:
I have combo lights..They have one long UVB bulb and i keep a heat light on..During the night i use either a red or black reptile bulb..With combo lamps i can have three differnt bulbs going at one time.. |
Caging Provided:
Mine are free roamers..They are to big to be caged..One of them has a whole room to herself.. |
Diet: Herbivorous |
Description of Diet:
My iguanas eat Collard,Mustard.Turnip.and dandelion greens everyday..Sometimes kale..snow peas..green beans..very little carrots..parsnips..broccoli..almost every veggie except spinach or rhubarb..They are no no’s..They get fruit for treats..Sometimes i add fruit to there dish for the color ..They are very interested in the color of what they are about to eat..The better it looks the more your iguana will eat..My iguanas dont eat any protein at all..Unless theres a catapillar somewhere hidden in there greens that i bought from the store..NO ANIMAL PROTEIN PLEASE..It can cause kidney disease in the end..TRUST ME.. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage:
I use calcium with vitamin d3 (PHOSPHORUS FREE)sometimes..a mulitvitamin.. At least once a week you should be giving vitamins..As long as they eat the right foods vitamins wont be a daily routine kinda thing..One or two times a week is usually good enough..Unless of course you have a sick iguana or a gravid female.. |
Maintenance:
Keeping a healthy iguana is’nt easy..I bought my iguana for 20 bucks on a boardwalk when i was younger..They told me that she can stay in this tiny plastic cage her whole life..They never even told me she had to be kept warm..I’ve learned alot since then..Spent alot more money then i thought i was going to have to..I needed alot more room then i was told..I got suckered into thinking it was so easy..They are hard to care for..If you dont have the time,room, and money then dont get an iguana.. |
Some Words on this Species:
They are very sweet reptiles..If you have the time and patience to tame them..These are wild animals..Always remember that.. |
