Green Iguana care sheet.

© Adam Burgi – www.journeyoftheanimals.com

Approximate Size: 5 ft+

Life expectancy 15 years, oldest recorded age of 29 years.

Enclosures and enclosure size:

Please keep in mind that these creatures can grow to 5+ft long. They will require a very large living space. I have heard of more then one person that have had an iguana or two and the lizard had free roam of the entire house just like you may have a cat with run of the house. People that allow their iguanas have free run of the house will often setup 1 or more basking areas in the house for their iguanas along with food and water of course.

Now letting our iguanas have free roam of the house is not always an option we can have. So we must then make sure that the enclosure that we keep our iguanas in is large enough. Because of the size of an adult iguana the larger the enclosure the better. With my research I have found that the standard minimum size is 1 ½ times the length of the iguana for the length, 2/3 the length of the iguana for the width and the length of the iguana in height. This means that if you have a 5ft iguana (and you will have one that long if you buy one and he grows to adulthood) then you would need a enclosure at least 7 ½ long x 5ft high x 3ft wide.

I have also read somewhere else that the cage should be at least 4ft x 4ft x 6ft. Now both of these dimensions seem pretty small to me for a 5ft lizard. Basically what it brakes down to is the bigger the better. Also iguanas are climbing lizards. So the length and width should be as big as you can provide and build it all the way to the ceiling if you can / want to, and that will help makeup for the length and width slightly (make sure you provide branches that are at least slightly wider then the iguana is for climbing.).

You must also remember to give your iguana proper lighting and heating. A basking area should be setup. This is done with a dome type light fixture that can be bought at most pet store or home improvement stores. The light bulb in the fixture does not need to be any type of special iguana bulb or something. A standard household light bulb can often give off enough heat. The temperature of the basking area should be between 85-95 degrees F. The basking area temperature should be taken with either a infared tempurature gun or a probe type. Never use the stick on type of thermometer because they have been tested and have been found to not be a reliable type of thermometer. Also make sure that you are taking the temp on the surface where the iguana will be basking.

The rest of the cage should be kept at approximately 75 – 85 dropping no lower then 65 at night. Also never use any type of heating pad, heat rock or anything else that is electronically powered and the iguana would lay on it for heat. Reptiles do not sense the heat from below but from above instead. These heating pad type heaters can burn the underside of your pet.

Iguanas also require full spectrum uvb lighting for proper care. The full spectrum lights often come as florescent tubes. Brands that are often suggested are Reptisun, Zoomed and T-Rex but there are many other brands of bulbs out there. Most bulbs will have a number on the package such as "Reptisun 10.0". It is suggusted that you go with the higher numbers since they produce more uvb light. One other type of bulb that was suggusted to me was the T-rex active uv heat bulb. I do not have any information on the T-rex active uv heat but it may be something you would want to check out. You can buy a florescent bulb fixture from just about any pet store that carries those types of bulbs or from your local home improvement store. Now please do not let the fact that these are florescent bulbs confuse you. You can not just put any florescent bulb in, like the ones from your garage or something. Your standard household florescent bulbs do not put out the full spectrum light required by these animals. These heat lamps and full spectrum lighting should be on for 12 hours per day to help mimic the natural light from the wild.

One final note on iguanas that have free run of the house. Extreme caution must be given when having a free roam iguana. Iguanas could knock over heat lamps which could cause a fire. Also you iguana could find some the most unlikely hiding places and squeeze themselves into very small area. This can cause harm to your iguana when the task comes of getting your iguana out of those tight places. Iguanas can also carry the bacteria salmonella. This means that your iguana could spread the salmonella throughout the house. And one last thing, your iguana could cause damage to furniture, carpeting and wires. The last thing you want to come home to is an iguana that has died because it chewed though an electrical wire.

Temperament:

The iguana can make a wonderful calm pet with proper care. In the first week or so after you bring your new iguana home it is wise to handle it very little. Maybe a few minutes each day. You need to let the iguana get used to its new environment and surroundings. In the beginning your iguana can be very skittish and uneasy. But this can be expected with many new pets. Take your time and remain calm. With frequent handling your iguana will start to calm down and can actually seem to like to just sit on your lap sometimes while being pet for short times. You may also wish to invest in a harness / leash for your iguana for outings. Make sure you get a proper harness for your iguana, many pet stores sell harnesses designed for iguanas and other larger lizards. Make sure that you start out by getting your iguana used to the harness inside your house first. I would suggest starting out by placing the harness without the leash on your iguana for short times each day and each day leave it on for a little bit longer then the day before. Once your iguana is used to the harness then you can start taking him out to get some natural sunlight. Now you will not be able to walk your iguana in the same manner that you would walk a dog. In most cases you will more then likely just hang out in the front yard or something. But it can still be a very enjoyable time for you and your pet. However never leave your iguana unattended and I would also recommend to never let go of the leash. Remember that these lizards love to climb. He could be 20ft up in a tree before you know it.

Diet / Feeding:

Iguanas are herbivores, and this means that they are plant eaters. They do not require or should ever be givin any type of animal protine such as but not limited to crickets, meal worms, wax worms or any other type of meat. Some of the items that you should feed are greens. Greens can be some of the following. Collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens (you can pick these right out of your yard but make sure they are not treated with pesticides and you wash them before giving them to your iguana) and more. Mixed vegetables and fruit should also be feed such as squash, zucchini, yams, raspberries and blackberries, bananas. Many people feed their iguanas a “salad”. They make this salad by mixing a variety of the greens, fruits and veggies. Variety is always important in any animal diet. Not only is it good for their health but in my opinion it also makes them happier (would you want to eat the same thing day after day?). Many people would also suggest to always wash all fruits and veggies before feeding them to your iguana. You should also dust the “salad” with a calcium powder that is manufactured for iguanas 3 days per week. The calcium powder is very important for the health of the animal and the animals bones. There is also commercial iguana food that you can buy from the pet store. However I do not believe in these types of food because as I said your iguana should have the variety. By variety I do not mean different colored and scented pellets.

For a water source most people use a misting bottle and mist the cage 2 times per day. The iguana can then lick the water from the sides of the cage and also any logs and other stuff in the cage.

Sexing:

Sexing an iguana can be very easy once they reach adulthood but can be a little tricky as a juvenile. However I do not have any pictures to be able to help you with this, so please check out http://www.greenigsociety.org/malefemale.htm for information on how to tell a male iguana from a female iguana.

Breeding:

I am completely against breeding iguanas to be honest. Iguanas are sold in pet stores when the lizard is relatively small and many people do not know just how big these animals can get or the type of care they need to be healthy. So there are many people that end up buying these wonderful lizards with good intensions. However the iguana often outgrows the enclosure that these people have. In these situations people are often left with very few choices. Many of the now not wanted reptiles often end up at reptile rescue centers or humane society, where they are often put down due to the fact that there are more unwanted iguanas then there is room for. Some people release these animals into the wild. This may sound like a good solution at the moment. However in some areas that these iguanas are being released to have very few predators that pray on these iguanas. Again this sounds like a good idea right? Wrong. Because there are so many of these animals released and so few predators the iguana population in the wild can become so large that the environment that they are in can not support them. Also these animals can start to become pests as well. They can cause damage to crops, interrupt electricity and phone services when they climb utility poles and more. So after all that I have said I will stress one more time that breeding iguanas is often not a good idea.

Now even with all of that said I am going to assume there will still be people that read this and decide to breed iguanas anyways. So I will provide some general information about breeding iguanas.

The first thing you need to think about is if you have everything you will need to be able to incubate the eggs and take care of the young. An iguana can lay up to 50 eggs or more. So you need to make sure that first you will have enough space to incubate the eggs. There are many types of incubators you can use. I would suggest using a store bought incubator since these are built just for incubating and should work quite well. There are also plans available on the internet to build your own incubator. The choice of what kind to use is up to you. Once the eggs have been laid in the egg laying box you constructed you should move them to the incubator. The most common medium to be used in an incubator is a mixture of vermiculite and water mixed in equal parts according to weight. This means that if you use ¼ pound of vermiculite then you need to weigh out ¼ pound of water and mix the two together thoroughly. When it is time to move the eggs from the laying box to the incubator the most important thing you need to remember is not to turn or tilt the eggs. Very carefully remove the eggs one at a time and then place them in the incubator in the same position that they were in the laying box. The reason for this is due to the fact that if the eggs are turned even slightly the yolk in the egg can shift and actually suffocate the young iguana while it is still in the egg. Place the eggs in the incubator 1 layer only and bury the eggs approximately ½ way into the incubating medium you have used so that approximately ½ of the egg will be sticking up above the medium.

At approximately 2 months after mating your iguana will be getting ready to lay her eggs. Iguanas dig caverns in the ground, lay their eggs and then fill in the cavern. So you will need to supply the proper container and the proper medium for the iguana to lay her eggs. One option for an egg laying chamber is a large square type of garbage cans laied on its side. I reason I say square instead of the round ones is so it does not move or role. You should cut a hole in the lid large enough for the iguana but not too large because you do not want all the dirt come flying out when she is digging. As far as medium is concerned there are many many different options. Some people just use normal play sand that you can buy from the store. Other people use potting soil how ever make sure it does not have any type of fertilizer in it because some companies put fertilizer in the potting soil before bagging it. Some people use a mixture of potting soil and sand. And then there are other people that use completely different mediums. So do some research and use what you think is best. Now place enough medium in the container you are using so the female has some room to dig down a bit. I would suggest maybe 8 inches deep.

Iguana eggs should be incubated at a mid 80s temperature approx 84 – 87 degrees F. The incubation time needed is approximately 90 – 120 days. The eggs could take more or less time. Often if the temperature is higher the eggs will hatch sooner and if the temperature is lower the eggs will hatch later. You should check on the eggs often. Some people say every other day or so. I however think that they should be checked on once every day. You should watch out for eggs that have mold growing on them. If you see any eggs with mold on them you should remove them immediately so the mold does not spread to any of the other eggs. You may notice that the eggs appear the have caved in a little bit. This is no reason to worry, sometimes they just do that. The rule I go by when incubating reptile eggs is “If it is not moldy or stinky then do not give up hope.”

Now, what to do once your eggs hatch? It is my opinion that you should house no more the 5 baby iguanas together. The more babies you house in the same enclosure then the higher the risk is for fighting and injuries. Sometimes the iguanas are not trying to cause harm but accidents can happen and this could result with some of the iguanas getting toes and / or tails bitten off or even death. So this can mean that could need 10 or more containers to keep the babies in. You also will need to supply heat and lights like described in the enclosure section of this care sheet. In the beginning the baby iguanas can be housed in 20 or 30 gallon long aquariums. However I believe the most common enclosure that people use for baby iguanas is plastic storage tubs such as the ones made by Rubbermaid©. It is my suggestion that you be sure to cover the top of what ever kind of enclosure you use. However make sure that the covers you use allow for the light and heat to get into the enclosure. So screen tops are the best. Again I stress placing a lid on the enclosure. I can not tell you how many times I have heard from people that have iguanas or other types of animals in enclosures without lids and the animals get out and disappear. People then say “I have no idea how he got out.”. When the animal is in the enclosure they have nothing but time and they can use this time to figure out their grand escape. I have also heard many times about these animals getting out and the owners that have not been able to find them, or find them latter and they are dead for whatever reason.

Well there you have it. With this information you should be able to give your iguana the care and love they deserve. It is my opinion however that you should never go by the information you find in just one care sheet or after talking to just one person. Thanks to the internet, research can be quite easy.

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