Habitat
Before you even br/ing your iguana home, your habitat should
be set up. Make sure it's spacious, At least three iguana lengths long and two iguana lengths wide. Since iguanas live in trees, they prefer to be high. They love to climb. Up trees, on furniture, on your head, so make their habitat high with climbing br/anches. My first cage was a homemade enclosure, a bit larger than a 55-gallon tank. I very quickly learned that flipping the cage on its side, so it was tall, made my iguana very happy. Remember they grow large, so it's best to start off with a larger cage or you'll find yourself having to upgrade every two months.
Cage Layout
Arrange your br/anches so the iguana can get from the bottom of the cage to the top, where he will spend most of his time. It's a good idea to have a shelf half way up for your iguana to lounge on in case it becomes to warm up top. The shelf is also a great place to serve meals. Here it won't dry out as quickly as it would under the br/ight lights. It may be to cool on the floor of the
enclosure for food, and he may not venture down there. The shelf is a great place for a hidey-house (for hatchlings). This is a place for small iguanas to hide out and can be made out of a cardboard box. See the heating page for information on how to heat the hidey-house. Place lighting at the top of the cage. (See the lighting link for more information)
Plants
Plants can be added. Fake plants are a good choice. If you use real plants, do not use anything that can be harmful if eaten. They will take a bite and you can count on it. I use a green crawling plant that is okay if eaten. I put it in a heavy glass jar that he can't tip. It's filled only with water. I don't use soil because they sometimes eat that too. Not good! The water also gives off humidity, which is good for their skin and overall body function. The plant doesn't seem to mind it.
Substrate
Do not use anything on the bottom of the cage that your iguana can swallow. He will try. This includes wood chips, sand, or other materials of this type. The easiest thing to use is newspaper. Tape a few sheets of paper towel to the newspaper for
absorbsion. This makes for easy cleaning when it becomes soiled. I make up about a weeks worth at a time. Also on the bottom of the enclosure should be a large container of water to add humidity. Remember, iguanas come
from humid jungles. They have adapted to this life style. Make sure the water is not so deep that he can drown. If he soils the water, change it.
Free-Roaming
My iguana is now a free-roamer. I waited till he was large enough to not get lost, then I started out by letting him hang out on top of his cage on the weekends, when I was home. I could tell he enjoyed it. When I was sure it was safe, I let him stay there until I felt it was time to get rid of the cage altogether. Now, he has a table set up, which is his main place. His heater, UVB lights, food, plants, and log to bask on are all there. There is a tree next to his table for him to climb down. He commonly can be found wandering around the house, or sleeping in the bathroom closet, on top of the bath towels. If you decide to let your Iguana become a free-roamer, there are some things to keep in mind.
- Make sure that there is no place that he can get lost, like heating ducts. (I found out the hard way)
- Any plants in the house should be checked to see that they are not poisonous.
- There should be no other pets roaming around.
- Watch where you walk, especially when rounding corners.
- Make sure it is warm enough.
- Make sure he has access to food, water, and place to go to the bathroom.
My iguana is trained to use the real rest room as his own. If you take him to the same place to go
every time, he will associate that location as the place to use. A large tub of water is usually good incentive. If you're not sure about letting him have the whole place, you may want to try it in a bedroom where you can close the door and crank up the heat.
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