IGUANA CARE

[Patrick Kubeja]

INFORMATION ON GREEN IGUANA’S



LET’S START WITH HOUSING

Well you think that this Cute Little Green Lizard is not going to get that big or the pet store told you that it will only get as big as the tank you put he/she in. Well let me tell you something WRONG!!!!!!! This guy will grow up to 6ft long mostly tail mind you but still 6ft. and it will need the housing to go with it. A small bedroom to be more like it!
But if you do not have a spare bedroom then my best advise to you is build an enclosure at lease 6ftx6tfx4ft wide that should last him/her the rest of its life. Or you could go the around about way like I did by buying a enclosure after enclosure and spending after everything is said and done $800.00 dollars. Or build one to suit your Cute Little Green Friend and only one. So let’s think about this a bit this Little Green Lizard that you buy in a pet store can grow up to 6ft and need a spare bedroom to live in or close to it. Is this the right pet for me?
Then keep on reading and find out more of what your Cute Little Green Friend may need!!


HEATING THE ENCLOSURE

There are many ways to heat an enclosures the Temperatures in the enclosure should be 85 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit on the top side and 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit on the bottom side most house temperatures can do this but in the winter time you may need some help so here are some options for You.

1. (CHE) they are ceramic heaters (recommended) with fixtures that have ceramic sockets or porcelain sockets. This is Great for night heat as well they last a long time and is very much recommended for Little Green Guys.
2. Box in Electric oil Heater (So your Little Guy Will Not Burn it self.) I have one in one of my rooms for extra heat in the
wintertime. Plugged into a rheostat set on a certain temperature.
3. Or basking lamps or spot lamps they can add some heat as well.
4. Electric under tank heater if you going the round about way of buying enclosure after enclosure.
5.One human heating pad raped up in a towel.
6. A box in electric heater (So your Little Guy Will Not Burn it self.) plugged in to a rheostat set to a certain temperature so it
turns on and off.
Well there are some ways to get extra heat in your enclosure because they like heat.

LIGHTING THE ENCLOSURE

Well here is what you have to do for lighting if you do not know this by now you need three different lights!

1. You are going to need a or a couple depending on how big your enclosure is
(Recommended 48” fixture with a 48”Bulb)
UVA/UVB lamp. The best ones that I have found on the market is the
Reptisun 5.0 UVB Full Spectrum Fluorescent Bulb or the Iguana Light 5.0
Full Spectrum Fluorescent Bulb. They have been proven in tests preventing Metabolic Bone Disease. These lamps should be placed 10 to 12 inches from your Little Green Buddies Body. (Replaced every 6 to 8 months)

2. The other one you will need is a basking lamp (could be a flood lamp, household lamp or Zoo Med basking lamp) you will have to experiment
With this do to the basking spot in the Enclosure should be between 92 to 98 degrees Fahrenheit and watched very closely!
A lot of people ask me things like how many lamps should I buy and what wattage basking lamps should I buy? Well this is an experimental kind of thing and basking spots should be in the
92 to 98 degrees range and tested and retested. To make it right for your Green Buddy.
There is other basking and UVA/UVB lamps combo’s out there called Mercury Vapor bulbs. I have heard good things and bad things about them if you use one or two of them, check with the manufacture on the right way to set the lamps up.
3. Plus you will need a regular house hold lamp for extra lighting this could be a florescent bulb (recommended plus you can put it in the fixture with the UVA/UVB lamp) or a lamp with a regular light bulb in it (if you go with a lamp watch out so your Green Buddy Does not climb on it and knock it over and break the lamp because these guy love to climb)

FURNISHING THE ENCLOSURE

For flooring here are some ideas for you
Butcher Paper
Paper Towels
Newspaper
Indoor/Outdoor Carpeting
(Make sure all loose treats are cut off, plus you can keep extras so it can be replaced after the one gets dirty)
And the one I Recommend is Vinyl or Tile flooring, or Linoleum easy to clean up and will last a long time.
Branches and shelves should be in the enclosure as well for basking and climbing and or just laying around.
(Recommended Indoor/Outdoor carpeting on Shelf’s all loose ends cut off)
You will need to feed your Little Green Buddy right.
So you are going to need a Food and Water Dish.
But if you use your imagination on setting up the enclosure it will turn out fine. (There is a lot of Website out there to give you ideas)

Humidity

This is very important see your Little Green Friend like High Humidity (60 to 75%) range and there are a couple of ways you can get the humidity in your enclosure there.
1. As we all know a tub of water in the Enclosure, it will evaporate and cause humidity. Plus it is good for your Green Buddy to go potty in.
2. Putting a cool mist humidifier in the enclosure or room where the enclosure is.
3. You can hook up a misting system that will go off and mist your Little Green Buddy.
4. You can mist your Little Green buddy with a spray bottle a couple of times a day.
5. Giving your Little Green Buddy a bath everyday will help as well.
You have to watch with the high humidity the mildew and fungus that it may cause this is not good for your Green Guy and should be avoided.

Well Your Buddy Has To Eat Right

There is still a lot of information out there that is recommended for your Green Buddy
and some good and some bad for them.
A lot of people still think that animal protein is all right to give your Green Buddy
(I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!!!)
These guys are vegetarians! They eat veggies.
The plants that you feed them have enough Plant protein for their needs!
If fed the correct diet they will get it. Now when it comes down to feeding some people thing that they should only feed them a little bit of food and that will be enough for them.
But in my opinion you can never over feed them! (They will eat as long as food is offered or till their tummies are full) Your Buddy will need to drink Water as well so you will have to make sure he gets it. A water dish is good idea to put in the enclosure and you can spray the food with water as well. I do this and it seems to work very well plus keeps the food fresh for a time.

Vitamins and Supplements

There are many kinds of vitamins and supplements out there for you to use, in my opinion
If they’re getting the proper diet the supplement should be a once a month thing. (Except for Little Baby Green Buddy’s. It should be like once or twice a week.)
I use Tums calcium carbonate and crush it up in the food once a month for extra calcium
I use this because it has no vitamin D3 in it because your Green Buddy will make it own with the right lighting. Your Vet could tell you what Vitamins your Green Buddy should have. Another good supplement is a multi vitamin called Centrum.
Always Remember To Ask Your Vet!!

And Please For Your Little Green Buddy or If You Have an Older Green Buddy Please Get a Good Herp. Vet!!!!!

Well I hope this helps you a little on what to look forward to and the information on here will change as it does with these Green Buddies of ours!

[Patrick Kubeja]

Diet

There are three things you have to feed your Green Buddy’s and that is!

1. Greens (70% to 80% of the Diet)
2. Veggies (20% to 30% of the Diet)
3. Fruit (Mostly as Treats or 5% to 10% you can add it in to your salad occasionally)

Greens
(70% to 80% Diet)

There are staple greens that should be feed to your Green Buddy all the time and there are non-staple greens that should be only feed occasionally to your Green Buddy to give him/her a variety in their diet
Here is a list of some Great Staple Greens you can feed your Green Buddy!

1. Collard Greens (Good Staple)
2. Mustard Greens (Good Staple)
3. Dandelion Greens (Good Staple)
4. Watercress (Good Staple)
5. Alfalfa (Good Staple)
6. Turnip Greens (Staple Green when mixed with other greens)
7. Endive (Staple Green when mixed with other greens)
8. Chicory Greens or (Escarole)(Another good staple when mixed with other greens)

Ok here are some non-staple greens that should be feed occasionally. That means every once in awhile.

1.Kale (Occasional) (I used this about every two weeks or so.)
2.Cilantro (Occasional)(I also use this every two weeks or so.)
3. Spinach (Occasional)(I use this about once a month.)
4. Parsley (Occasional)(I use this green about every other month.)
5. Swiss Chard (Occasional)(Personally never use this green.)
6. Cabbage (Occasional)(I use this green every two months or so.)
7. Bok Choy (Occasional) (Personally I never used the green.)

While that is a list of some Good Staple Greens that should be feed all the time and Non-Staple Greens that should be feed on an occasional basis.


Veggies
(20% to 30% Diet)

Now just like Greens, there are Good Staple Veggies to feed your Green Buddy, and some Non-Staple Veggies that should be feed on an occasional basis.
Here is a list of Good Staple Veggies you can feed your Green Buddy.

1. Butternut Squash (Good Staple Veggie)
2. Green Beans (Good Staple Veggie)
3. Parsnip (Good Staple Veggie)
4. Acorn Squash (Good Staple Veggie)
5. Okra (Good Staple Veggie)
6. Kabocha Squash (Good Staple Veggie)
7. Snap Peas (Good Staple Veggie)

Ok the way you should prepare the Veggies is to finely chop them or shredded them. I use a potato peeler on the Squash, Parsnip and Yucca Root. I finely chop the beans, peas and Okra in a food processor.

And then you have your occasional Veggies for your Green Buddy and here is a list of them.

1.Broccoli (Occasional) (I use this once every two
Weeks or so.)
2. Yams or Sweet Potato (Occasional) (I use this every two weeks or so.)
3. Beets and Beet Greens (Occasional)
4. Brussels Sprouts (Occasional)
5. Asparagus (Occasional)
6. Carrots (Occasional)(I use this every month.)
7. Celery (Occasional) (I used this every couple of months.)
8. Cauliflower (Occasional)
9. Mushrooms (Occasional)
10.Cucumber (Occasional) (I use this every couple
Of months.)
11.Pumpkin (Occasional)
12.Spaghetti Squash (Occasional) (I use this every
Month or so.)
13.Yellow Squash (Occasional) (I used this every
Couple of weeks or so.)
14.Zucchini (Occasional) (I use this veggie every
Couple of weeks or so.)

Remember to chop finely or shredded these Veggies!
For your Green Buddy….


Fruit
(5%-10% or Treat Only)

Here are some Good Staple Fruits you can use in your Green Buddy’s Diet but remember not to much fruit it should be a little amount or just a treat.

1. Cactus Leaves (Prickly Pear)(Good Staple fruit or treat.)
2. Mango (Good Staple) (I use this every once in awhile.)
3. Papaya (Good Staple) (I use this every once in awhile as well.)

There are some Good Staple Fruits for you to feed as part of the diet or as a treat. Now there are other fruits you can feed your Green Buddy. They are Non- Staple Fruits but occasionally they are fine. Here they are..

1. Strawberries (I use this when in season.)
2. Grapes (Great Treat.)
3. Raspberries (I use this as well.)
4. Watermelon (I have used this as well No Seeds.)
5. Kiwi fruit
6. Bananas (I use this as well Great Treat.)
7. Cantaloupe (I have use this as a fruit.)
8. Honey dew melon

Variety is the best for your Green Buddy when feeding them. The one thing you have to remember. This is Very Important! Are 2 to 1 ratio Calcium to Phosphorus!

Great Treats
Ok here is some really Great Treat and I know mine love them.

1. Hibiscus Plant the Leaves and Flowers
2. Nasturtiums flowers
3. Wheat Bread (Whole Wheat)

[Dawn]

Hey Patrick,

Are frozen vegetables ok to feed Emmy? Thawed and warmed of course, but just curious if they are good to feed her. Some of the items listed above I can buy fresh when they are in season and then freeze them. I just want to make sure that when I freeze them, they don't lose their nutritional value.

[ChamZilla]

I think when you freeze them they do loose a lot of nutritional value. I could be wrong.

[Patrick Kubeja]

Freezing Does take Nutritional out of the Veggies When Freezing after the De-thawed Add Vitamin B1 just a pinch pure helping to it. Best is Fresh Veggies but Frozen can be supplement when fresh is not available, but be sure to add a pinch if B1.

Patrick

[Dawn]

Above is listed Alfalfa. Are those sprouts or does Alfalfa actually grow into something more? Sprouts was all I could find and we're trying to add more to her diet.

[koffee]

Sprouts are not that great. AFAIK, they use up a lot of the good stuff in the process of sprouting. This applies to any sprout - they are loaded with whatever, then use it to sprout, and then accumulate nutrients again once they start to grow. So before and after is when they have the best nutrients.

Alfalfa is a common item for small animals (rabbits, etc.), so you can find different choices in a decent pet store. There should be other alternatives in the health food section of the grocery store.

p.s. Lots of sources (as above) say that prickly pear pads are good, but none tell you how to get all those darn spine/needles off of them! I'm trying Iguana Yummies as a supplement for Chica just because one of the "sticks" is mostly cactus. (The other two are fruit and veggies.)

[Dawn]

thank you koffee (o:

[godzilla]

Patrick, would it be okay to keep one heat lamp on during the night time to keep the enclosure warm?

It's a red heat lamp if you're wondering...doesn't create much light.

Oh and just got my first iguana...should be fun!

[ChamZilla]

Hello Godzilla and Welcome


If your iguana is a baby you just have to make sure the temperature doesn't go below 75 - 70. Any higher than that your iguana will be to warm for the night day cycle they need. They always need it cooler at night than in the day time. Using a probe thermometer will help you get the best readings....

Hope to hear much more from you

Steph