i've been researching them recently and would really love to have one... i know they are way different than the geckos i care for. any advice from experience would be much appreciated
what kind of advice are you looking for, I can offer you quite an extensive bit of information if you ask the right questions =]
thank you my first question is do they absolutely need an enclosure? i've heard few people let them free roam i know thats bad but what if they get they're own room or the whole garage space if its warm enough?
free roaming as they get older is fine, but you literally have to have an iguana room if you do that. like special lights installed, and pull up the carpet to replace it with more iguana friendly materials, and put caging around outlets and have to make it so you don't risk hurting the tail or hands when closing and opening the door... it's really a hassle that you have to sit down and consider.. is it really worth it instead of just converting a closet or something and just taking him out to play regularly. and I would never let him roam the rest of the house without supervision.. they can be very destructive lol.. a good idea is to pick a large room like the family room and build an enclosure designed with lots of veiwabilty to be interactive with all the members of the home and company, that's what I have done and it works great
thank you for the reply :] another question is should i try to go for a specific sex like a female for a more docile iggy? im only 16 and have to watch my younger siblings so cant have something that aggressive as i heard males can get
Well, if you get a small one, it wont be possible, they cant really be sexed until a few months old, but if you go for a slightly older one, i would say try to get a female, unless you plan on letting your male mate each season. Most of the aggression developed by male iguanas is actually directly related to sexual frustration haha usually they will just get angry during mating season and then relax again but i have seen iguanas get into that aggressive attitude during mating season and then never fall back out of it.
thank you for all the help i'd love to get a male if i can control his aggression name would be felix ^w^ one last question for now... how long does it take them to become full grown?
They get big enough to impress your friends in about 3 to 4 years with proper care and diet, and they are usually completely full grown by around 6 or 7 years. Also, just to throw this out there, I read a study earlier today suggesting that while the average lifespan of captive iguanas ranges around 9-12 years (because of kidney failure more than anything) this actually has a large amount to do with the amount of available water. Iguanas that are given large pools of water (large enough to actually SWIM in, NOT just sit in) consistently show lifespans exceeding 15, and even 20 years. I thought that was pretty interesting, but it also makes building an enclosure all the more challenging! of course the study assumed that the owner was following very crisp care procedures, such as proper lighting and diet.
thank you so much for the help it should be perfect by the time he or she be big enough i should be out of the house and can deal with it
