Iguana Health Care Is Important For Your Pet

The health of your iguana can go for a toss if you do not adhere to certain recommendations about its care and you can do this easily by referring to some well known books on this subject. We will however, cover some of the problems that typically occur with an iguana.

You need to be very careful about the breeding of internal parasites and a condition known as the metabolic bone disease.

While the presence of internal parasites is difficult to detect without the assistance of a vet, taking the iguana for a check up as soon as you get it home should prevent the further breeding of any parasites that may be present within the iguana.

If for some reason, you are not able to visit a vet, then the tell tale signs of such a parasitic attack manifesting in your iguana is a lack of appetite, runny motion and sudden loss of weight. This should prompt you to immediately take him to the vet.

The second condition of the metabolic bone disease is far more worrying as if they are not getting fed right proportions of calcium, phosphorus and UV light, they could exhibit stunted growth and would not be able to show the correct development. The ideal proportion of calcium: phosphorus should be 1:1. Growth deficiency in an iguana is serious as they tend to exhibit quick growth and rapid development if taken care of properly.

The deficiency starts showing in the manner the iguana attempts to move around and you will observe that the bones can crack quite easily resulting out of swollen joints in the hind legs, which tend to exhibit weakness immediately. This is a sure sign of deficiency as the iguana is an active reptile that likes to climb and keep moving.

It is therefore important to provide the right lighting, diet and temperature conditions so that these problems do not manifest themselves and your iguana can lead a healthy life.

Pet Iguana Care

The commonest of pet reptiles purchased today are the Iguanas.  These animals grow about 4-6 feet in length.  They reach a weight of about 10-15 pounds maximum and live for about 12-15 years.  With proper care and attention, iguanas can live up to 20 years.
Housing for Iguanas:

A young iguana can be housed in a 30 gallon to 50 gallon aquarium.  But within a few months, this housing would have to be changed.  Enclosures of different shapes and sizes of different materials like glass, wood or Plexiglas can be used.  Make sure that sand, bark or oil are not used as iguanas tend to eat them and are sure to experience stomach problems.  Branches and pieces of drift wood, rocks and bark can be used for climbing and this keeps them active.

Water:

Iguanas require water to survive.  They like to be in and around water areas.  They enjoy drinking water from the dishes provided.   The dishes have to be cleaned regularly and disinfected so that they do not suffer from bacterial infections.

Your iguana needs to be bathed twice daily.  Some iguanas love to bathe, while some are scared and panic when bathing.  Understanding their psychology helps.

Outdoor Sunlight

Iguanas are very active during day time. Iguanas love to bask in outdoor sunlight for about 5 to 10 hours weekly.  Make sure while selecting the cage that, other wild animals are not able to enter the cage and also your iguana is not able to escape from the cage.  Glass cages should be avoided as far as possible.  Make sure that you provide proper diet consisting of wholesome and nutritious diet and water.

Handling with care

Regular handling of iguanas helps in taming them.  Iguanas also are able to express their emotions if they are handled properly with care and affection.   Iguanas can be aggressive sometimes, so take care while handling them.

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Iguana Care - What Is Important

Introduction

Iguanas are found in the forests of South and Central America.  They are wonderful adaptable creatures. They live on trees; deep inside the thick foliage and their places of habitation are close to sources of water.

Close to 30% of iguanas which are sold in pet stores are able to survive till they attain maturity.  This is due to the stress they have to undergo during transportation and also because of insufficient care and nourishment.  The ones which survive are rescued by agencies; some of them are left to their fate due to their large size, ferociousness and activity.  A good environment and proper diet and care would be of great help and they can be tamed into pets.

Housing Requirements

While buying a cage, be sure that you buy a cage much larger than required.   For a small iguana, you would need to buy a cage which is 3 feet in length and 1 ½ feet in width and 1 ½ feet in height.  The growth of an iguana is very fast in the first 3 years, so you need to buy or construct housing accordingly.

Temperature requirements

The cage should be made in such a way that your iguana is comfortable with the changes in the temperature.  Make sure you have placed thermometers so as to monitor the temperatures. Ideally the night time temperature should be maintained between 23.8 to 26.6 C.

Cage Furnishings

A good sized cage with plenty of warmth and lighting is ideal for a young iguana.  Make arrangements for some climbing areas.  If you place some real plants, the iguana would just trample it.  Real plants which are non toxic like philodendron, spider plants and pothos can be placed so that they do not cause harm to the iguana, even if eaten.   Make sure you create more green foliage with lot of leaves and branches, within the cage to make the iguana feel comfortable.

Food and Diet

Place a water bowl so that your iguana can drink fresh water.   Moisture requirements of an iguana are fulfilled from the food it eats; hence make sure the food you give him has lot of water content.

The diet of an iguana should consist of 35% of fresh greens.  The rest of the diet could be made from shredded and finely chopped fresh vegetables.  Fresh fruits can also be added to the diet.  Some of the greens like turnip greens, dandelion, collard greens, fresh hibiscus leaves may be offered.  Herbs like cilantro, oregano and basil may also be fed.  They also like to have carrots and oranges.    Make sure you feed your iguana with protein rich food like alfalfa tablets, powdered alfalfa and alfalfa food pellets.  Add these to the salad.    Fruits like strawberries, raspberries, plums, dates, grapes, soaked raisins etc are enjoyed by iguanas.

Personal hygiene of your iguana

Make sure you provide a large Tupperware basin or container where the iguana’s body can fit. He may want to defecate in this water area and cleaning becomes easier for you.  Encourage your iguana to defecate in this water area, so that maintaining the cage becomes hassle free.

Iguana Care Sheet

This brief iguana care sheet would help you understanding how to take care of your young iguana.  Make sure you understand about your pet so that you are able to do justice to your pet.

1) Make sure you do your research and homework and do not rely on your pet store fully.  Sometimes, it so happens that even pet stores do not have the complete information.

2) Ensure you buy the right set before you get your iguana home.   You need to keep the cage ready before you get this mammal home.

Plan ahead so that you do not end buying a smaller size aquarium. Your iguana would grow very quickly and you would have to reserve a separate room for him.

3) Your iguana would require a basking lamp, fixtures like tube light for keeping the cage well lit.  An under tank heating pad would also be required and this would depend on the iguana’s size.

The iguana’s cage would include basking limb, water, hide box.  Young iguanas like to drink fresh water.

4) The diet would include fresh greens like collards, mustard, turnips, dandelion greens.  You could also feed him a salad made from peas, green beans, sweet potatoes.

Enough amounts of calcium supplements without adding D3 should be fed.  Make sure you read the labels on the supplements.  Make sure you do not overdo the supplements.

5) Ensure that the lights are not on even during the night time.  Just like humans, iguanas do not need lights all night.  Make sure to place at least 2 thermometers in the cage to monitor the temperatures.  Thermostat devices are helpful since they help in controlling the temperatures.

Ensure that your iguana is receiving the right amount of warmth.  This is important for it to help in digestion and the temperatures needs to be maintained at 85 degrees. The temperatures can be correctly monitored if you use the thermometers.

6) Iguanas should be fed a proper diet.  Do not be slack in this.  Make sure you chop the pieces of food, so that it is easier for your iguana to eat the food.    Iguanas do not have the habit of chewing the food; instead they gulp it down completely.

Make sure you take your iguana to a qualified vet in your locality for regular check-ups.

7) Do your own research and find out facts for yourself.  Also get in touch with other people who own iguanas.  They would be able to guide you properly.

Socializing Of Green Iguana

Socialization of green iguana may take several years of patient care. Iguanas have different personalities and they need time to be accustomed to it’s owner. Green iguana shows its attachment on it’s owner only after 5-10 years of good care, while with mammals this link is already set up much earlier. Green iguana can be fully trusted only to one person in the household, which indicates an extremely interest and concern for him and he is willing to devote many hours of their time, and believe me, such trustees are very, very rare.

If you succeed in such a way to converge with your iguana, then there is a possibility that it will suffer from having a separation from you and started to refuse food and may even die. Green iguana can be completely socialized to the extent that they are free to walk in the apartment, welcomes guests, traveling with you in the car and even the need to carry them out to a specific location (outside, where it is hot, in newsprint, in the bathtub and the toilet) .

Iguana should never be left out of the house alone, without supervision, unless in a secured compound and a suitable temperature range. 15 minutes in direct sunlight is enough that the inactive form of vitamin D in the skin is converted to active under the influence of solar radiation.

In such conditions, iguanas can be quickly overheated. If you touch your iguana, it’s skin should be warm, never hot or cold. Warmth is essential for normal digestion. Lounge of iguana must allow the animal to choose between different temperature zones. Life expectancy of Green Iguanas in captivity is with the proper care is 15-20 years.

How To Properly Wash Your Iguana

The temperature and the amount of water for washing

Water must have the appropriate temperature, as the temperature of the bathing water must match with the iguana temperature. Water should have from 29 to 32 ° C.

If, during the washing, water COOLS down, remove some water and add some hot water, and mix it with hand. Do not pour water directly at your iguana and do, if iguana is in the bath, not tap water in the tank from the pipe as the iguana can be scared by stream of water (unless it is already used to).

Keeping Your Iguana Clean

Iguanas are extremely clean animals and the cleanliness section starts at a reasonable living space, that means large enough terrarium, in which iguana may be moved unhindered and not forced to lie down to go after their excrement. The faeces must of course be removed from the terrarium as soon as possible, also you should be regularly removing the terrarium food that is left over, pieces of dead skin … and regularly clean the surface and terrarium containers for food and water. Grime in the terrarium is not only a medium for bacteria but also creates a very unpleasant odor and iguanas can not feel good in soiled and smelly terrarium!

Iguanas “personal hygiene” means to maintain regular baths in a tub in the bathroom or in a plastic bathtub for infants. Several times a week (best it would be every day) iguana is bathed to remove the residues from the skin, dust particles and other debris, which we may find on our pet.

Swimming may be short (10 minutes) or longer (up to 45 minutes) depending on whether iguana likes bathing and how it is used to it … In swimming, however, you may not use any soap or detergent!

You must remove any objects around the bath  that may fall on iguana or hurt it.

Green Iguana Care Is Not An Easy Task

It is a shocking fact that more than 50% of iguanas do not survive beyond four years of age and that is only because majority of people do not know how to attend to these wonderful reptiles.

The implications are not difficult to understand. When you buy your pet iguana from the store, the dealer could give you advice that is misplaced and that could cause severe problems to your iguana. It could be something as inane as advising you to only feed your iguana with cricks or recommending you to keep the temperature of the enclosure at 25 degrees Celsius; both of these may not be the right advice and you may not realize it until too late.

You therefore must be well prepared with information that you can pick up from specific literature about reptile care and must ensure that you buy your iguana only from experienced breeders. The need to identify the right vet and consult him prior to making your purchase will equip you with the correct information and put you in the right frame of mind, when you approach the pet store.

You must also be aware that iguana care is much different from the care you would extend to other animals. It can be very demanding and unless you are prepared mentally to go the distance, you should not look at the iguana as your pet. Hence you need to know about all the different aspects of Iguana care ranging from its terrarium, diet, lighting and temperature before venturing out to buy your iguana.

If during this learning process, you harbor any doubts about how you are going to manage all of it, then you need to relook at your decision. You must also remember that the physical space required for a growing iguana is huge and unless you can ensure this space, you would be guilty of improper iguana care and that could prove quite costly in terms of the mortality of this reptile. Finally, even if you can manage all the other requirements to satisfaction, you need to ask yourself one more time, whether you will be able to stay with this animal for an extended period of time and give it your personal attention and love. Only if the answer is an emphatic yes, you should go ahead with your purchase.