im thinking about buying an iguana(im a first timer wanting to know if its the right pet for me since one cost about $100 which is $50 USD)and i have a cage(4ft x 2ft) that i can set up for an enclosure(until it grows),my thing is my mum doesn't like big lizards soo i wont be able to keep it inside but i can keep it outside. i live in the tropics(caribbean)soo its always sunny/humid except when its raining, we even have a few wild iguanas here.My questions are how would one set up and outside enclosure, two when it comes to gettin an iguana accustom to you do you have to spend constant time with it and if training can be done on weekends or is it an everyday step( PS i've had tortoise before not sure if that would count as something).
Can you keep him inside your house for his first year?
Are the temperatures and humidity high enough year round for outdoor iguanas? What is the lowest nighttime temperature in a typical cool season?
It needs four walls, a mesh roof, and a strong mesh floor. You bury the floor mesh under six inches of dirt, and this stops any burrowing predator. Form the floor into a 16 inch low mound to make the rainwater run off.
Make the walls eight feet tall. The lower four feet should be solid material like plywood. The upper four feet should be 1/2 inch X 1 inch mesh. You can decorate it with a virtual forest if you want to. You should use 16 inch stips of 1/2 X 1 mesh (or 16 inch strips of sheet metal) to bury 12 inches into the ground all around the enclosure, so nothing can dig under the walls to get at your iguana. This will stop snakes that are large enough to eat him. I had an escaped lizard-eating snake invade my house because it smelled my iguanas from afar. How odd is that, for a suburban house in the San Francisco Bay Area. A snake may smell your ig from a mile away and travel that far to investigate.
The roof should be 1/2 inch X 1 inch mesh so the rain can get through it. Inside the enclosure should be a small highly elevated shelter 16 inches deep (make the top 26 inches deep so it sheds rainwater), 16 inches tall, and seven feet long, with strips of carpet for cushioning (igs love to lay on soft surfaces). This is sized so your ig can have it for it's entire life, and where your ig can get out of the rain and the sun, and have a commanding elevated view which they love.
The downside: Out of sight = out of mind. REmotely housed iguanas tend to be ignored and get spordic feeding and attention. For the first year your ig will need to be picked up at least three times/day, and will need to be fed and watered every day for 20 years. Don't put any other animal in with the iguana, it will make him crazy.
I would cover the floor with smooth four inch stones so he can't eat the dirt. Beware the size of the stones. I bet a big iguana can swallow a golf ball, and they are well known to eat gravel up to at least 3/4 inch. I would probably repeatedly plant edible plants in the floor so he can have the fun recreation of eating them down to nothing.
About the other issues - others have covered them in this thread. If you have more questions, feel free to ask.
Things to consider- 1- are you able to find a vet that treats reptiles. This is a common problem, so locate and confirm one BEFORE you actually need one.
2- Can you afford the vet care? Which can go into well over $500 USD.
3- Are you willing to commit to having a pet that may or may not like you for 20 years.
4- can you afford $30 USD per week? Are you willing to grow some of your own foods?
5-Can you afford a larger enclosure in the next year, one that is secure so he does not escape?
6- Have you looked to see if Green Iguanas are legal in the Carribean?
7- You must spend at least 30 minutes, 2times a day teaching your iguana to tolerate you.
8- are you willing to prepare yourself for breeding season. Females develop eggs every year even if there is no male present, they will not be fertile-but often they have emergency situation that require vet intervention or spaying which here I pay over $600 to have my females spayed.
Males become very aggressive during mating season, this can be dangerous and it last several months.
9- Because you live in a tropical climate you will have to keep his enclosure pretty clean. Pooh and left over food will invite many annoying insects and critters.
10- are you willing to put up with that animal no matter what? Chances are at some point you WILL be bite- this is not the iguanas fault, you may not turn him loose or punish him for what he is.
Captbob is right. First off, despite this being an iguana bored and I help people with their problems... I personally dont recommend people getting them.. Especially kids. But when people come here and already have them, of course give advice.
The $50 is the cheap part of the deal. Then you got to buy food, lighting, heating (which may or may not be much in the tropics).. Caging can cost a good but.. And then vet costs. Take that iguana, then think of what a large mastiff (one of the largest breeds of dogs).. And line 4 or 5 of them side by side and thats about the expense of 1 iguana.
Beyond expenses.. They are wild animals brought into captivity store bought or not. You can only tame them not really train them if you get my drift, and even taming them you'll likely get bloody a few times assuming the ig doesnt become raging terror. Not trying to scare you, but they are much better as a display pet most of them are not dog tame as is often viewed with owners online.. Some are and they get right along beautifully.. Most are not.
on top of this getting an iguana is a long term investment. When you get out of school (assuming you go to school I have no idea what your age is).. Well going to college with a reptile is pretty much an imposibility for most people. Both financially and finding a place to keep it. Most of the time they are put out for adoption or the parents have to look after them.
There are a number of smaller reptiles many of which are very tame and nice to keep. Dont get me wrong for people like us that are nuts with keeping big lizards that want to give us too many "love bites".. We enjoy the hobby despite these factors.. But I would not dive into the green biting machine until you are older, out of college and self supportive.
well they can sell expensive little glass cages, wood mulch, defective uvb coils or a 10 dollar bulb that is 50 cents at a store.. etc etc.. for a few hundred dollars and rip people off. The iguana is just the bait for the trap BB..
