Green Iguanas as Pets

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There are a few things that an iguana habitat must provide in order for your iguana to survive: controlled temperature and humidity, proper lights for heat and UV rays, and of course enough space for your iguana to be comfortable. But these are really just the basics for survival – to really thrive, your iguana will need a few other things for it’s comfort and health. If you want your iguana to have the healthiest possible life, you’ll need to accessorize it’s habitat with the following:

1) Substrates – substrates compose the surface of the iguana habitat. In choosing a substrate for your iguana habitat, you should remember the fact that iguanas constantly flick their tongues. This habit allows your iguana to process different types of information about their environment. You should not use anything small like wood chips, sand, or gravel as a substrate because of this reason. Anything that sticks to the tongue of the iguana is likely to be eaten. Sand and gravel can be very dangerous to the iguana if they are ingested. This goes for any particulate materials.

Instead of these materials, you might try blank news stock or some other non-toxic paper. Another common substrate is indoor/outdoor carpet, or artificial turf. Many people prefer using linoleum tiles for the ease in cleaning.

2) Basking and climbing accessories – Iguanas are arboreal. In the wild, iguanas spend most of their time up on trees. This means that you need to provide some sort of climbing material in your iguana habitat. Try including some shelves in an iguana habitat to simulate branches of trees.

If you include branches in your iguana habitat, you should provide some that are big enough for your iguana to lie on comfortably. You should also cover them with some sort of material that will help them in climbing. One option is to cover the branches with carpeting. The branches will also serve as basking places for your iguana. These spots are where your iguana will go to in order to relax.

3) Food and water dishes - you should provide your iguana with dishes for food and water. Although iguanas are not really inclined to drink often, it is still important that you provide them with a source of fresh water daily.

Iguanas love to soak in a water dish, so you should provide one that’s just the right size for your pet. It should be big enough so that the iguana won’t tip it over when getting in and it should be shallow enough so that the iguana won’t drown. You should also realize that after soaking, an iguana usually likes to poop in the water. This means that you will have the responsibility to change the water in the dish and sanitize it regularly.

4) Hiding places – like all of us, there are some times that an iguana will just want to be left alone. For this, they’ll need to have a safe hiding spot in their habitat. There are a variety of solutions – caves, logs, large rocks; anything that provides a shelter for the iguana to hide behind.

When you add these accessories to your iguana habitat, you can be sure that your iguana will be living in a very ideal enclosure. This means that your iguana’s health and well-being will be secured.

If your looking for the very best in iguana supplies, visit our online store.  And if you’re interested in learning more about caring for your iguana, sign up for your own FREE copy of our Iguana Care report.

If you have a growing iguana, you may find that you need to construct a custom reptile cage for it. Adult iguanas get very big, so you’ll want to look around your house to find a convenient spot. You may want to build outside, or it may be easier for you to build in an empty room or the garage. You might even be able to make use of an unused closet.

It’s important that iguanas have lots of room to move about freely, and because they like to climb, they do best in a tall cage. Iguanas need a habitat that is at minimum one and half times as long as the iguana, and the depth of the habitat should be equal to the iguana’s length. Adult iguanas should have a home that’s six feet high at minimum, to allow them that room to climb. It’s also important that the home be kept at the proper temperature and humidity, and of course, it should be escape-proof.

For younger iguanas, it’s comparatively easy to cover a closet for use as an enclosure. Taking off the doors allows you put a screen or Plexiglas cover over the front. Of course, if you use Plexiglas, you’ll want to make sure that you allow for plenty of ventilation so as to avoid problems with overheating. Variables like temperature and humidity are easier to control in an enclosed spot like a closet, and the area over the rod can be closed off with screen to provide a spot for the UV and basking lights.

If your iguana is more than four feet in length, you may be best off building him an outdoor enclosure. As long as you live in a warmer climate, iguanas can do quite well outside, but if they will need to be protected from low temperatures when the the weather gets colder. It may help to have an indoor area, like a garage to use in cooler months. An advantage of outdoor enclosures is that it allows your iguana the opportunity to bask in natural UV rays from the sun, which is so important for it’s health. If you use your imagination, you can find many other solutions for providing a habitat for your adult iguana. These are just a couple of ideas to get you started, remember there are plenty of ways to make your pet comfortable with your own customizing ideas. Don’t forget that your pet will live a longer and much healthier life if it has a proper habitat.

Owning exotic pets is a fascinating hobby, and can also be a challenging one.  Iguanas as a pet come with their own challenges, and one of the biggest is taming your iguana.   Most of us are familiar with having domesticated pets like dogs or cats that readily accept people.  But iguanas are a wild creature, and are not born tame.  They are a prey animal, which means other animals eat them – so it is instinctual for them to be skittish and afraid of other animals that they feel may pose a threat to them.  This includes their owner.

However, it IS possible to tame your iguana, and teach it to accept your touch.  With time and patience, iguanas can be taught to accept having humans and even other pets around without them panicking or going into a defensive position of running and tail-whipping.   This video shows a perfect example of an iguana that has been very well tamed.

Taming your iguana will not only take a lot of patience, it also takes persistence – you’ll need to work with them on a daily basis.  The first thing to remember is that your iguana will see you as a predator initially, so you’ll want to try to minimize that appearance.  Don’t reach down to your iguana, and don’t lean over them in what may seem – to the iguana – like a threatening stance.  It’s better to be on the iguana’s and use a slow approach; avoid rapid movements.  Talk to your iguana, and let it get used to hearing your voice.

Before you ever actually touch your iguana, let it get accustomed to having your hands near it.  Use slow movements to change its water and feed, so it gets used to seeing your hands in its habitat.  After it seems calmer – which may take several days to a couple weeks – try giving it food from your hand.  While the iguana is eating its food, gently touch its back.

If you continue with daily interactions like this, always taking it slow and easy, you’ll soon start to see more and more acceptance from your iguana, and before you know it, you’ll be able to interact with your iguana with little or no apprehension on its part.  Good luck!

It’s always best to read up as much as you can on information about green iguanas, to learn how to tame and train them, how to handle them properly to avoid injury, and how to feed them correctly.   By taking proper care of your pet, you can enjoy its company for many happy years.

There are thousands of people who keep pet iguanas in their homes, but it’s only recently that there’s been much information available on proper care of these fascinating pets.  Of course reputable pet stores will give good information on care, but there are some stores that will give bad or incomplete information so that they can make more sales.  There’s also a lot of information on the internet, but be careful to double check information that you find online, not all of it is true.

Iguanas are the most popular pet lizard, and are quite affordable to buy in pet stores.  If you want to buy an iguana, your best bet is going to a specialty reptile store – you’ll find the most knowledgeable help and service.   While iguanas aren’t difficult to care for, they are a very high maintenance pet – you need to keep in mind the veterinary, food and housing needs of this special pet. Iguanas must be fed and caged properly, or they can become quite ill and have much shorter than expected life spans.

So obviously you must be prepared to give your pet iguana the tender loving care it needs.  It’s habitat needs to be kept clean and sanitary.   Remember that iguanas can carry salmonella, so should be kept away from babies, pregnant women, the elderly and anyone else who may have a weakened immune system.

The green iguana is the most common iguana pet.  They are herbivores, meaning they eat plants, and in the wild, are a prey animal – other animals eat them.  Because of this, their instinct is to live in a place with plenty of shrubbery/foliage, where they can climb and hide. If you have a pet iguana, you need to provide a home that mimics the kind of habitat they have in the wild.   It will also need to be kept at the proper temperatures – like what they are accustomed to in their tropical natural habitats – and that allow them to receive the needed UV rays from the sun, or provide alternative light sources.
It’s also very important to know the proper feeding of your iguana, and how it’s digestive system is made up.  Bad nutrition and unsanitary living conditions are the biggest causes of bad health and death for pet iguanas, so it’s necessary for you to be certain that you’re able to provide the proper diet and habitat needs of your pet iguana.

Like any other living creature, iguanas have tastes of their own.  While one iguana may love to eat hibiscus flowers, another may turn up his nose at them – each iguana will have certain foods that it likes or dislikes.  So be prepared to experiment a little with your pet – and remember, when you have a pet iguana, it’s life really is in your hands.

When we talk about pet iguanas, we’re usually talking about the most common species, Iguana Iguana, or green iguana.

The green iguana is found in South and Central America, and also on some Pacific islands.  It is a very popular pet in Europe and in the United States. Read More

Some Myths about Green Iguanas

There are many ‘facts’ going around about iguanas as pets that are more fiction than fact.  People who are considering having a pet iguana should be careful that they filter out the truth from the myths, or they could interfere with their ability to properly care for their pet iguana.   While some of these myths might not be too harmful, others can be downright deadly. Here are some common myths about green iguana care that you should know about: Read More

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…And Keeping It Healthy

Green iguanas have become the ‘cool’ pet to have lately. They are one of the most popular reptile pets, but many iguana owners are surprised at how big their little tiny iguana grows after a couple of short years.  If you bought a little pet in the store with a cage and accessories his size, it doesn’t take long before none of it fits your pet anymore.   If an iguana is healthy and cared for properly, they can and do grow quite large – up to 6 feet!   So – how do you get a healthy iguana, and how do you keep it that way?

The first step is choosing a healthy juvenile iguana right from the start.  While shopping for your new pet, look for lizards that are alert and active. Check the body carefully – make sure it has all its limbs! Also, make sure the iguana doesn’t look too think and that there is no sign of injury, scratches, bumps or lumps on it’s head, body, legs or tail.

If you watch carefully, you can see the difference between a healthy iguana and one that might not be healthy.  Healthy iguanas are active and curious, with wide eyes and a flickering tongue.  An ill iguana will often remain still, and might have dull eyes and skin color.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that an iguana that sits quietly in the cage without moving around will be easier to care for, and don’t pick an iguana that looks thin or sickly because you feel sorry for it.  These are signs that the iguana might be less than healthy, and you can end up regretting your decision later.

Once you have a healthy iguana in your home, you’ll need to give it a safe and comfortable home in order to keep it that way.  Smaller iguanas do well in an aquarium of around 30 gallons.  I like aquariums for smaller iguanas because their less likely to be able to escape and also less chance of injury to delicate toes and noses.

When your pet outgrows its ‘starter home’, you’re best bet is to custom built a cage that will fit it when it’s full grown.  That will prevent trauma caused by changing homes frequently.   It doesn’t matter if the cage is larger than your iguana needs, it will eventually grow into it.

Your iguanas diet will play a huge role in determining how healthy your pet will be. The best diet contains lots of green leafy vegetables that provide the vitamins and minerals they need.  Don’t give too many fruits, or your iguana can get obese and unhealthy.

Having a healthy iguana means that you have to take the responsibility for providing adequate care for your pet when it’s well, and getting vet care if your pet becomes sick.  Your pet can bring you years of companionship if you take the time to consider each aspect of its proper care.

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Tips For Building an Iguana Cage

Iguanas are known as an arboreal creature – that means they prefer to spend their time in trees.   Iguanas are a prey animal, and they find safety from predators up off the ground in high trees.  This is something you need to keep very much in mind when you’re building a home for an iguana – they need to have space to move and room to climb so that they feel secure and safe. Read More

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If you’re interested in having a pet iguana, you should be studying up on all the information about them that you can find.  To help you along, here are some vital facts on the reptile:

• The term “iguana” is typically used when talking about any member of the lizard family Iguanidae.  They are characterized by short, powerful limbs with sharp claws.  They use their claws for climbing and digging.  Iguanas love to climb, which means that it’s best to give them a tall habitat with branches and shelves that provide plenty of opportunity for their favorite activity.
• Iguanas have long, strong tails that can be used like whips for self defense if they feel cornered or in danger.  They can also use their tails for swimming.
• You’ll notice a flap of skin below the throat – this is called a dewlap.  You can clearly see it in the photo above. It’s especially pronounced on male iguanas, and can be used to intimidate predators or impress the lady iguanas.  It also has a practical use of helping somewhat to regulate body temperature.
• Iguanas have a crest of soft spines that run down their neck and back.  Generally, male iguanas have longer spines than the females.
• Male iguanas tend – in general – to be a bit bigger than females of the same age.  They have larger heads and their body color will be brighter than that of females, especially at breeding time.
• Both sexes have about a dozen pores underneath their thighs that are used to secrete a substance that the iguanas use to mark their territory.  These femoral pores become more obvious in mature male iguanas, and are used to help grasp the female during copulation.
• Iguanas have scaly skin, like other reptiles. While they don’t change color like chameleons, their skin color does alter with exposure to light. Younger iguanas will be more of a pale green than mature iguanas, who often turn to a more brown or reddish color.
• Iguanas have very accurate vision and a keen sense of hearing and smell, all to ensure their better survival.  The iguana, despite its appearance, is a prey animal,  and must always be on the lookout for predators. While they may appear clumsy, they are excellent swimmers and climbers which allows them to escape any danger.
• Female iguanas will lay eggs about 2 months after mating.  When it’s time to deposit the eggs, she’ll dig a hole and lay from 25 to 40 eggs.  The eggs will hatch about 2 weeks later.

Iguanas can make really fun and interesting pets, provided that you learn as much about them as possible.  They are a high maintenance pet, and require special care to keep them healthy.  But if you’re prepared to do what it takes, it will certainly pay off for you as you can enjoy the company of your iguana pet for up to 20 years.