Friends giving me and my girlfriend 2 iguanas. Really dont know much about what they should be housed in, what they like to climb on, etc. any help would be appreciated.
i really wouldnt take the iguanas unless you have lots of time, dedication, room, and experience. iguanas can be very rough animals to keep. they should be kept in separate enclosures that are at least 5'lx6'hx4'w. they love to climb and need UVA/UVB lightling. humidity should be kept at 85% or higher. overall temp should be withing the 80s with a basking spot of 95F. they are herbivorious and eat Collard Greens, Kale, Dandelion Greens, and Turnip Greens. provide them with a large water bowl because they will usually use it as their toilet. biochic and Hummingbird can give you much more information
hey g00se - i would *highly* highly recommend going to http://www.anapsid.org . the owner is *the* top mind in iguanas. i would also urge you to purchase melissa kaplan's book 'iguanas for dummies'. fantastic book. here's some iguana basics, though: Habitat: No different species of herps (especially amphibians) should be housed together. Amphibians secrete mucous and toxins that don't effect humans if we wash our hands, but can kill other species. Many herps are also known for eating anything that will fit into their mouths - including cage mates. Different species of animals can spread disease to each other, perpetuate cycles of disease, eat each other, poison each other, or simply cause stress by being forced to live in the same enclosure. Putting different species of reptiles and amphibians is a bad decision 99% of the time. A single adult female iguana will need at least a 6' tall, 4' long, 3' wide cage. A single adult male iguana will need at least a 6' tall, 5' long, 4' wide cage. Both sexes need many sturdy climbing branches to provide exercise and enrichment and to prevent limb wasting. Both sexes also need at least one fluorescent tube-type uv bulb less than a foot away from the primary basking area (on during the summer for ~14 hours each day and on during the winter for ~10 - 12 hours each day), at least one heat night bulb on 24 hours a day, and at least one daylight heat bulb on at the same time the uv bulb is on. All bulbs and electrical equipment should be kept outside the cage, though, to prevent burns and electrocution. Take your iguana outside in the sun as much as possible - the natural sunlight with unfiltered uv rays is vital to the health of your pet. Green iguanas (and many other reptiles) can *not* use the calcium in their diet unless they get plenty of uv rays. Never use a heat rock with *any* reptile or amphibian. These things cause severe burns and electrocution quite frequently. Many pet store employees encourage new iguana owners to purchase a hot rock because they believe it will help the animal digest it's food. Heat rocks do NOT help reptiles digest their food. Wrapping the heat rock in a towel or pillowcase does NOT help - this causes a major fire hazard in your home and your iguana can only feel the heat less which makes them want to lay on the rock more. Very dangerous. Also, iguanas are arboreal animals. They do NOT lay on hot rocks in nature and have adapted to getting heat from above - from the sun. This is why you must provide nocturnal heat lamps 24 hours a day. The iguana's entire cage must be at least 80° F during the day and at least 70° F at night. They must also have a basking area which stays around 90° F to 95° F during the day. Less than a foot away from this basking area (but kept outside the cage) you must have a fluorescent tube-type uv bulb. Replace this bulb once a year, even if it is still lighting up. Do not use any kind of sand, gravel, or wood chips as substrate in an iguana cage. These substrates can cause respiratory problems and be choking and impaction hazards. Reptile grass carpet, coconut fiber bedding, Repti-Bark, or polished river rock make great substrates, though. Iguanas love to have a dish of water large enough for them to climb in to. Many iguanas will also go to their water dish to poop. This is like having a cat litter pan - you'll always know where the poop will be and you can suck it or drain it out easily. Contrary to popular belief, green iguanas DO drink some water and they also love to play in it, so make sure the water is always as clean as possible and completely change it whenever the animal eliminates in it. Because green iguanas are from the rainforest, they need high humidity as well. Making a cage with a small, wire-mesh-covered hole in the bottom is a great idea. Put an ultrasonic (NOT HEATED WATER/STEAM) fogger or humidifier under the cage so that the mist can spray through the wire mesh and into the cage. A humidifier should be on at least 6 hours a day. You can also spray the cage down very well with plenty of warm water a few times each day. The humidity needs to stay above 75% year-round in the cage. Most iguanas like to be sprayed down with warm water each day, anyway. 'Reptariums' do not make good iguana cages. They are not sturdy enough to support a climbing iguana, provide no places for climbing branches to be attached, and are covered in netting that iguana's nails get caught in. Also, the netting makes it impossible to keep the humidity above 30% or 40% - iguanas require at least 75% humidity. Diet: Green iguanas are strictly herbivorous. They do NOT need protein in their diets and should never be fed anything but fruits, vegetables, flowers, and greens. They should have about 75% greens and 25% fruits and vegetables. Green iguanas do not have to be fed every day, but I would recommend feeding them about 5 days per week. The best greens you can feed your green iguana are collard greens, kale, turnip greens, and dandelion greens. The best fruits and vegetables you can feed your green iguana are mango, papaya, berries of all kinds, banana, apple, squashes, and pear. They also love the petals from roses, daisies, mums, and carnations. All flower petals, fruits, and veggies fed to your iguana must be completely free of Miracle-Gro, pesticides, herbicides, glitter, perfumes, fertilizers, etc. Green iguanas may also occasionally be fed kiwi, melon (including cantaloupe, watermelon, honey dew, etc), peaches, carrot skins/greens, grapes, snow peas/snap peas, and green beans. Green iguanas will readily eat these items, but they are not nearly as nutritious as the items mentioned in the previous paragraph. They should *only rarely* (maybe twice a year or so) be given spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, red-leaf/green-leaf lettuce, citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, etc) and tomatoes. These food items are either hard to digest, are calcium-binding (contributes to Metabolic Bone Disease and other health problems), or are not nutritious at all (like iceberg lettuce - it's 95% water). ALL items fed to your iguana should be seedless (except berries, banana, seedless grapes, and kiwi) and skinless/rindless (except apples and pears). ALL items must also be washed, and chopped or shredded. I usually chop the fruits and veggies with a knife, but rip the greens by hand so they don't turn brown too easily. The smaller the iguana, the smaller the peices of food should be. If your iguana is having trouble chewing it or swallowing it, cut it into smaller peices! Feed them all they want! About once a week, green iguanas should have powdered reptile vitamins. I have found the best way to give powdered reptile vitamins to green iguanas is by mixing it into baby food 'gruel'. They love it! Sexing: It is very difficult to sex green iguanas until they are 2 or 3 years old (or even older). Males tend to have longer, larger spines on the backs of their necks than females. Males also have larger gular scales/pouches and lower jaw than females and grow significantly larger than females. Males also have 2 small bumps on the top of their nose which are often absent on females. Adult males can reach 6' in length (including tail) and are generally hard to handle. On males, the femoral pores (large scales on the underside of their hind legs) tend to be larger as well. Handling: Green iguanas, like most reptiles and amphibians, need to be handled often to keep them docile. A green iguana should be handled every day and taken outside in the sunshine. An iguana leash can be a good idea, but I don't recommend them - you need to *handle* your iguana, not take him out of the cage and leash him up and let him go nuts on the end of a rope. Holding your iguana shows it that you are in control, that you will not harm it, and that it can trust you. Touching your skin to his helps you bond, as well. Trying to pick up an iguana on the end of a leash is NOT easy, either. He needs to be trained to stay in your arms and behave. Even if handled a lot, some green iguanas just do NOT like being handled. Never give up, though - if you stop handling an unruly iguana because you don't think it isn't going to get better, it is *only going to get worse*. Stop handling a green iguana and you will end up with a holy terror. Health: Feed your green iguana the proper foods and give him plenty of uv light and climbing space and you should have a very healthy animal. You should still always have a reptile veterinarian near you that you know and trust. Iguanas DO get sick and cat/dog vets do NOT know how to treat them - some won't even look at one. One of the most common iguana illnesses in captivity is Metabolic Bone Disease. They also commonly have kidney problems when owners feed them insects, meat, worms, cat/dog food, etc. If you ever notice any scratches, blood, missing digits, burns, missing scales, or bloody stools, contact your herp vet immediately! A reptile veterinarian should also be contacted immediately if your iguana falls from a high place, eats something he shouldn't, hasn't pooped in over 4 days, seems weak, trembles, has a soft jaw, stops climbing around, stops eating, or otherwise appears ill.
wow...i could probably handle 1 igauana...BUT 2!!! If you were to get these, you would certainly have your work cut out for you.
i had 2 iguanas and i kept them in the same enclosure and they loved each other and would sleep with each other.... all i got to say is make sure you dont have idiot friends that will let 1 go and you will never find it again.
as long as it is a very large enclosure, 2 iguanas can be kept together in certain circumstances. never plan on housing them togeether, though - if you plan on only having one cage with one uv bulb, one heat lamp, one water dish, etc and then the iguanas both turn out to male OR one turns out to be female and the other male OR they just don't get along then you'll be stuck with 2 animals needing 2 of everything when you only have the money/space/time for 1.
