tell me everything you know about iguanas ASAP

[Anneliese]

My friend is getting an iguana today and has no idea anything about them or there husbandry

I'm not sure what kind it is but maybe you do[IMG]



thats a picture of it. So tell me anything and everything thankss

[Shadowspider]

I don't mean to sound like a kill joy but why is your friend acquiring an animal he/she knows nothing about?

[juddb]

I don't mean to sound like a kill joy but why is your friend acquiring an animal he/she knows nothing about?

To add to this, Iguanas are not for novice reptile keepers. They are very difficult to keep. I would suggest he get into some serious books on Iguanas.

[Rapture]

I also don't really think your friend should be acquiring an animal they don't know how to keep... but here you go...

Iguanas need:
A pretty large enclosure in regards to their size (I kept a baby iguana in a 75 gallon tank)
High humidity
a basking area
full spectrum lighting with UVA and UVB rays
a good diet (mustard greens, collard greens, vegetables, fruits) don't just go out and get them iceburg lettuce. Greens should make up about 90% of their meal.
you can sprinkle a reptile vitamin supplement on the food
They need to be handled regularly to tame down

All that being said, "Iguanas for Dummies" is actually a good book to go out and buy.

[frankykeno]

There are quite a few forums as well that are specific to iggies since they are sadly a very popular, very cheaply bought and often poorly cared for pet. They are also one of the most often turned over to a reptile rescue creature.

One of my friends does iggy rescue. She loves this pre-packaged Dole product as one of the staples of her diet, with a lot of other fresh fruits and veggies and vitamins as well of course. It can be found in most major grocery stores or GFS (a restaurant supplier that is open to the public).

http://www.dole.com/Products/Product...roupID=4&ID=76

Please beg your friend to get up to speed quickly. These poor lizards are dirt cheap in most pet stores but they don't tell you this will be a big, strong and somewhat dangerous mature lizard if they aren't handled properly by a caring owner.

[Thunder Kat]

My friend is getting an iguana today and has no idea anything about them or there husbandry

I'm not sure what kind it is but maybe you do[IMG]



thats a picture of it. So tell me anything and everything thankss

Thats a Green Iguana. Because of their extreamly low price sadly many novice reptile owners are impulse buying Iguanas. They can easly grow up to 6'. When I was 14 my "mom" got a 4' Iguana on an impulse buy, needless to say it received less than adiquite care, she kept it in a 6' bird cage no heat no humidity control only feeding it ice burge (I didn't live with her). I took it over at 6' and because of poor conditions and no handling the first time I held it it took a large chunk out of my pinkie finger I received 4 stiches. I had to build a 15' encloser for it.
These guys require a very very very large encloser, high humidity, a wide veriety of fruits and vegies with vitamins sprinkled on them, and tons of handling to "tame" them. Please tell your friend to think twice before commiting to such a demaning animal, or at least tell him/her to do plenty of research on (any) animal they might want, esp one that is for experienced owners only.

[ladywhipple02]

In general, they don't make good pets (meaning very, very few of them actually tame down enough to be handled even on a limited basis). That's pretty much all you need to know concerning iggy's.

They get very large, can be very mean---biting, tail whipping, etc.---and require a HUGE amount of care.

This is a giant committment your friend is looking at. I would recommend---as you should to your friend---that he/she hold off until he/she is positive they can handle this committment.

---And please, please, please don't think that if it gets too big or too mean you can just give it away. Jo mentioned that she has a friend working in Iggy rescue... sadly, there are far too many iggy rescues for this very reason, and still too many abandoned iggys.

[Argentra]

Everyone's right. Iggys are a HUGE commitment and not to be taken lightly...tho all too often they are.

I rescued a 2' female from a friend who ran an iggy rescue. He was running out of room and knew I was a fast learner who loved reptiles, so she was given to me to 'foster'. He gave me the basic crash course in iguana keeping and I built her a 4'hx2'wx3'd wood and wire cage with 2 UV lamps, a CHE, a heat pad on a rheostat with carpet wrapped around it on a branch...the works for a young lady who'd never owned one before. The cage was that small BTW because she would never grow any larger..the idiot my friend had saved her from only fed her iceberg and spinach with nothing else, so she had developed MBD. When I got her, she had a 90 degree angled kink in her spine at the base of her tail. Thanks to my friend, though, she was tamed and handleable as long as you picked her up from behind or distracted her. I forgot that once and got a nasty whipping, proof that you always have to be careful even with the "tamed" ones.

Lots of things can happen to and with these lizards. They are great, and CAN be really good pets for someone who knows the ropes, but to get to that point takes a ton of work.

[HellPuppi]

I recently read 'Iguanas for dummies', it was a very good and comprehensive book. I would suggest picking that up for a whole bunch of knowledge on heating, care, feeding, ect. It's most likely available at a book or pet stores, and if all else fails online.