i bought a cage for basking milow out in the sun. he pretty much just sits on the log, but when he wants out, he'll run around the thing and smashes his nose in the wire. this obviously isnt cool. the other day he had a bit of blood on his nose from doing this. any ideas on how to fix this would be appreciated.
If you have to cage just for basking purposes I guess that's ok if you just want to go ahead and let him bask outside. But you at least need to have about half of the cage covered so that he can get out of the sun if he wants. Also have some fresh clean water in the cage with him to prevent any dehydration. What's probably happening is that he's getting too hot and he's trying to find a way out so he can just get in the shade somewhere. Reptiles require a temperature gradient so they can regulate their body temp. If he's out in the sun too long he'll just keep getting hotter and hotter until he gets dehydrated and uncofortable or in an EXTREME case possibly die. So it's important that if you want to bask him outside for a little while that you have a shady part of the cage where he can go to cool down and also some fresh water so Milow can drink if he wants. Also I wouldn't keep him outside on those extremely hot days when the heat can just consume you, because then even in the shade it could become too hot for him. If you notice him starting to go crazy in the cage like you say he does then I'd take him out immediately and put him back indoors b/c he probably just wants to cool off. UncleLunchBox [Edited on 24/4/2003 by UncleLunchBox]
uncle lunchbox, thank you for the reply. i will definately try that approach. to my understanding iguanas only need about 15 minutes of good natural sunlight a day so i don't keep him out too long, usually 15 to 30 minutes. thanx again.
IGUANAS JUST LOVE TO HURT THEIR LITTLE NOSES! I HAD AGLASS TERRARIUM FOR HER WHEN SHE WAS LITTLE (50 GAL) BEFORE I GOT THE BIG ENCLOSURE. WELL THERE WAS A COUCH NEXT TO IN AND SHE KEPT TRYING TO JUMP OFF HER LOG ONTO IT, AND WOULD SMASH HER NOSE AGAINST THE GLASS. I READ THAT IF YOU TAPE A PIECE OF PAPER ON IT, IT WILL HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE INVISABLE BARRIER. AS A JOKE, I WROTE "I'M A WALL, DON'T JUMP ON ME STUPID!!!" ON THE PAPER. (HOPEFULLY THAT WON'T OFFEND ANYONE, IT WAS JUST A JOKE AFTER ALL, AND SHE DIDN'T SEEM OFFENDED AT THE TIME!) ANYWAYS IT DID WORK, AND I GOT SOME GREAT PICTURES OF HER "READING" IT.
