# NEED HELP WITH BABY GREEN IGUANA FAST



## jerogreg (Oct 30, 2006)

Hi I recently got a male baby green iguana from a friend who cant keep it cuz his mom said its the devils child :laugh: and she would kick him out if he didnt get rid of it. He also was not able to take care of it he had it in a empty ten gallon with no heat lamp.He called me at 10 p.m. saturday night and said he wuz going to just leave it outside 2 get rid of it but we're in new york and its winter so I told him we'll return it so just leave it at my house over night in my spare 20g long so long story short the petland discounts in new york dont sell iguanas officially but long Island can sell what ever they want but no refunds.The iguana only cost $10 so we said just take it for free and they still said no so I said I'll take it knowing he would go back to the original plan.What I need to know is what is the size of the enclosure while they are little cuz my dad shipped a Very Very large iguana cage to my house in Atlanta since were moving in a few months.I need all the info you guys have.The iguana I believe is male and his name is rex he has a great temperment and is really really laid back I heard human contact helps tame them and the past few days hes been play eating and sleeping on my chest he's like a baby.Is it normal that he always goes to sleep at 10 p.m.? Any info you guyz have would be appreciated and any supplies you recommend will be bought by my friend and my dads shop. Thanks for all the help.
This is the cage he sent.







But Im goin to buy this one in stead so it can go in my bed room.







Which is better?


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

ok where to start.

cage:
The second cage is way better, not only because its bigger but because it is glass, and iguanas like moister. They hardly drink water, and get most of there water from the food they eat and the moister in the cage. These guys get HUGE, and when grown up, neither of those will do. The need a 5x5x5 foot square incloser.

diet:
Dont feed them lettuce. It has no nutritional value, and once they start with it, it can be hard to get them to eat other things. A large majority of there diet should be greens. Colard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, or dadilion greens(flowers are ok left in, the like them). I usually do 50% greens every day chopped up with the other 50% being fruit and vegitables. acorn squash, zucini, green beans, peas, ect. You will have to google iguana diet, because the fruits/veggies that are good for them is way to long to list here. But there are some that can be fed sparingly(as treats) while others are a staple part of there diet. And you will find many opinions about what is best for them, so read alot and make your own choices.

lighting:
they need uva & uvb light, so you need a light that hits both of those parts of the spectrum. A full spectrum bulb is good. zoo med 10.0 is an excellent & affordable choice. Its also recomended that they had a seperate heat lamp for night time that doesn't have light, but keeps them warm.

as far as him being male, if hes really small then I dont think there is a way to tell (unless mabey hes seen a vet). So I wouldn't make assumptions about that.

you should also add calcium supplement to his food. MBD I cant spell (metabolic bone disorder) is common in iguanas and a very ugly thing to let happen to your new pet.

I hope I covered things ok to get you going. And be happy he is a nice guy, because mine still hates me and I baby him







pm me if you run into trouble


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## ChilDawg (Apr 30, 2006)

Lettuce, per se, is not a bad thing...it's Iceberg and other relatively nutrient-free lettuces that are the problem. "The Iguana Handbook" has a list of greens and fruits that are good for iguanas and ones that are deleterious to that taxon as well.

A great care sheet on iggies from a well-known author on the subject http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/icfs/


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Please know now that this iguana is going to be a serious commitment, lots of work and probably run you quite a bit of money. Iguanas can be moody creatures and one truly has to know how to read them in order to work with them properly. Spend time getting to know your animal to figure out signs so nothing bad happens. Also, a decent amount of contact when young will definitely help for when it gets old - you don't want to be tail whipped by an adult!









For food, the suggestions everyone else has given you are good. I would also suggest checking out this fairly comprehensive list as it's a pretty good one in providing a balanced diet but also variety:

http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

I too think the second cage is by far the better option. It looks easier to keep humidity up, to sterilize/clean and to provide multiple basking points for the iguana.

For now with the 20 gallon long you want to make sure you have:
-a lid... if you're having trouble keeping humidity up and it's a screen lid cover part of it.
-heat... and for this I would suggest an under tank heater to provide some constant, higher temp, along with a heat lamp to give a basking area
-water dish placed over the under tank heater... will also help to keep the humidity up a little with daily mistings
-something to climb on

The substrate is up to you but for the time being I would suggest going with something like newsprint or paper towels. This will make it easier to clean and is always recommended for new animals anyway because it allows one to keep track of bowel movements and such more easily.

Hope this helps. GOOD LUCK! And give us some updates when you can. (Not to mention pictures!!)


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## jerogreg (Oct 30, 2006)

Thanx guy Rexx is doing great.he very chill and now his diet consists of apples grapes lettuce and oranges and some squash.Hes een sleeping on me rite now as I right this comment We bought him that extra large exoterra cage for him with som drift wood to climb He also is my moms best friend and she enjoy seeing him sleep on themake shift perch we made for him.He is also starting to shed when they start to shed do they turn slightly brown ?


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## jerogreg (Oct 30, 2006)

This is him on his little make shift perch sleeping but the quality is not great cuz its a camera phone and my camera got lost on our way back from atlanta its either in Atlanta or in jfk air port.














This perch is only temporary.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Wow. He's just a little guy! Cute though.









Sounds like you're taking good care of him.

By the large exoterra cage do you mean the 24x18x24 cage? I have that one for my carpet python. It's nice. But he'll grow out of it pretty quick! The bright side to that is you'll have a free tank to put something else in.


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

awesome glad to hear he is good great


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## jerogreg (Oct 30, 2006)

Mettle said:


> Wow. He's just a little guy! Cute though.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 How fast is it gonna take for him to outgrow it?


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Not sure - never owned one personally and the people I know personally that have owned iguanas have gotten them through adoptions of neglected/abandoned animals. Maybe someone else can fill this in?


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## bevisndbhead (Feb 12, 2007)

Ok first of all STOP feeding him citrus products letuce is bad, feed him collard, mustard, and turnup greens instead. You can feed them grapes but not every day feed him them mabye at the most once a week.


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## jerogreg (Oct 30, 2006)

Yo guyz how would you guyz travel in a car with an iguana for 12 - 14 hours? Or with a bearded dragon seeing as its pretty much the same thing.Im asking this cuz on friday Im going to georgia and we're driving.I cant ship him so he's taking the trip with us.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

small pet carrier, power inverter to plug in a heat blanket or pad in your car... spray bottle handy, and wear shorts and a tshirt in the car cause you will prob be blastin the heat the whole time!


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