My iguana sleeps during the day

Discussion in 'Iguanas' started by mandee420, Jan 22, 2009.

  1. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    I have to iguana's and they sleep during the day and up all night,is that ok? I think they do this because i have there lights on at night cause in the morning i let them out of there tank all day they have a tall tree in there room they love to climb to the top and sleep is that ok for them? They hate being in there tank.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  3. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    Hi,
    You need to make some serious changes or you will have two very sick iggies.
    They dont want any lights at all at night, this is why they are sleeping all day.
    Lights in tank should be on 12 hrs a day, say, 8am to 8pm.
    If you need heat in tank at night then you should use a CHE which gives off no light at all.
    They also need access to UVB during day, a Reptisun 10.0 would do.
    You need a basking spot with a temperature of around 95°F. They need this to digest their food.
    If you can use something like a Mega-ray or Solar-Glo, these will provide both the required heat and UVB.
    Keeping two iggies in same tank is NOT A GOOD IDEA, they grow to about 6ft and need massive amount of space, a single iggy needs at least a 7x4x4ft tank. They are solitary animals, the only reason they are not fighting now is their living conditions, their daily cycle is totally messed up.
    They also need a good diet of Endives, Escarole, Spring greens etc with a little fruit now and then.
    Avoid Kale and Spinnach as these block the absorbtion of calcium.
    Their food should be dusted with Calcium powder and vitamin supplements.
    Do not use cat or dog food they will suffer from kidney/liver problems and die early when they should live around 15 years.
    A good caresheet can be found here Iguana Answers
    They refer to a 5% UVB but it is now known that the higher % are better.
    Please make these changes a.s.a.p.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  5. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    hi
    how should i make these changes? I was feeding them at night since there light was on at night,i kno they need the heat to digest food,and i do give them supplements.But what i dont understand is i thought they need that uvb all the time so how do you make it dark for them at night if that light needs to be on all the time. How about that night time light they sell at pet shops?
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  7. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    They are together now i have dem in a 55 gallon tank there still kinda small they have room for now. Im not keeping them there for long. Im going to set up a bedroom for them. I will hang there lighting up and everything. If you have some advice for me about fixing up a room for them that will me nice.
    thank you
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  9. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    I start work at 6 am so would it be ok to turn there lights on before i go ?
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  11. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    Hi Mandee,
    Firstly how big are these iguana's, we need to know the length of them, measure them in inches from the nose to begining of tail.
    A 55g tank is nowhere near big enough for one let alone two iggies. No wonder they hate being in there.
    They dont want any lights on at all at night they should be turned off at about 8pm. Not even these "night lights" that petshops sell.

    You say you go to work at 6am, are they supervised while you are away or do they just roam round the room. They should NEVER be left free all day un-supervised, the risk of injury are very high.

    This is a very temporary measure can you place an MVB in a clamp lamp above the tree they use, so they can get within 14 inches of it, during the day, this way they at least have access to proper heat and UVB.
    Place a bowl of food at bottom of tree so they can help themselves, you should also have a large tray of water, a cat litter tray will do, near the tree so they can poop etc.
    The MVB can be put on a standard timer, on at 8am, off at 8pm.
    You really need to make some changes within the next couple of days. If you can't make these changes, to be honest with you, and I dont mean to be nasty about it, I recommend you take them back to shop or even a vet and try and re-home them.
    The setup you have now is totally inadequate and they will get sick very quickly, if they aren't already.
    Do a lot of reseach into the setup and care of iggies, get it setup and running correctly then get an iggy.
     
  12. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    Do you think its a good idea to setup a small bedroom for them?
     
  13. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    Hi,
    If you can do this, go ahead as soon as you can.
    Have plenty of trees, climbing branches, a large pool, but make sure you can move it easily as they will definitely poop in it, should be changed daily.
    You will need at least 2 MVB's in clamp light holders, Mega-rays are in short supply so suggest you use the Solar_glo 160w, you need 2, ie, one each so they dont fight over it, you will also need at least 2 CHE's 250w in reflectors, make sure they can get close enough to benefit from the light and heat, about 16" will do and obviously make sure they can't touch them to avoid burns etc.
    The floor you can cover with newspapers, easier to keep clean.
    The MVB's need to be on 12 hrs a day and no lights at night.
    The CHE's will probably have to run 24/7 to keep room warm enough. Depends on size of room.

    There is one problem with using a complete room, namely the door, if you can put a viewing window in it, that would be great, so you can see where they are before opening.
    Otherwise I would suggest you have a screen with door in it just inside the main door, that way you can get into room without hurting them if they happen to be directly behind the main door when you open it.

    I may be stating the obvious here but make sure the window can't be opened and dont use curtains they will climb them and rip them to shreds.

    If you can do all this, it will be a fantastic setup.
    Let us know how it goes.
     
  14. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    do you think i should start turning the lights off tonight? Do you think it will confuse them?
     
  15. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    Definitely otherwise they aren't getting any sleep.
     
  16. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    when i setup there room do you think a ceramic heater will help to warm up a room?
     
  17. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    How is the room heated normally ???
    As I said in other post you will need at least 2 ceramics to create hot spot for them
     
  18. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    Something else which we haven't talked about as yet.

    What sex are they???
    If you have one of each THEY WILL BREED and if they are young, the female will have serious problems if bred too young.
    If you dont know what sex they are, they will know long before you do, then it's too late.
    Two males will fight to death if in small cage.
    Two females are OK.

    I would seriously consider selling one of them as it appears you know very little about iguana's.
     
  19. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    i think i have 1 female and 1 male i heard its hard to tell but if she is a female im planning to get her fix
     
  20. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    the room is the warmest in the house and i have them a humidifier
     
  21. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    one has spikes the other not really
     
  22. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    i know im not an expert but i try my best i dont want to give any of them away because i love them. I think im doing a better job with them then where they were. they had over 12 of them in a small tank on top of each other. I feel there better with me then where they were
     
  23. bruno

    bruno Moderator

    Messages:
    1,677
    I would get the male "fixed", a male in the breeding season which will start soon is something you do not want. They become nasty, vicious and very agressive and WILL ATTACK YOU so be warned.

    Can I have some straight answers now please, you haven't answered them.
    1) How old are they
    2) How long are they
    3) What are the temps in the existing tank
    4) How do you measure them, is it digital or stick on analogue thermometers

    You say it's the warmest room in house, so what are the temps in there. No guess work the actual temperatures.
     
  24. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    i had them going on six months when i got them 1 was i would say a hatchling the other wasnt as small but not big either. there tank without light is 75 to 80 degrees with light about 90 to 95. the room is about 70 sometimes 72
     
  25. mandee420

    mandee420 New Member

    Messages:
    39
    1 measured out to be 32 the other one is a wild 1 but the other 1 is a few inches smaller
     

Share This Page