My brother just got an iguana today

[antigone382]

His name is Fatty (don't ask why, my brother named him). He's little, but he hasn't been handled much, so he still doesn't like people at all. His former owners are some friends of ours who just didn't have the time to pay attention to them the way they knew they should, so they gave him to us. It's also mating season, so he's even more aggressive than usual.

Does anyone have any tips about the care and feeding of iguanas? I pretty much know the basics, but any pointers would be appreciated.

Edit: I'm a little irked that my brother took on this responsibility without really learning a lot about iguanas, but all I can do is try to learn about them for him. I at least owe it to "Fatty."

[mopinko]

1. don't know much but

i do know that a full grown iguana can be a handful, and a sexually mature and frustrated iguana can be downright dangerous. i have seen a few very unhappy big ole iguanas.
i can also tell you that they need full spectrum lighting, and the bulbs need to be replaced every 6 months.
find a vet that does exotics and get him a checkup. you'll get good, accurate info that way.
my kids have been bugging for a reptile of some sort. they were all set to go shopping, cuz they had $60. i said, ok, that will buy a lizard, now you need a tank, a heater, lights, food, check-up. the animal is the cheapest thing. if you can't afford the rest, you can't afford a pet.

[Phentex]

2. That's good info....

My son wants one too and I can't imagine why. We have two dogs that love to be walked and played with and are basically underfoot all day (which I love). I don't know what people "do" with iguanas. I picture it sitting in a tank in my son's room all day. No thanks!

[mopinko]

3. there are much better reptiles out there

although i agree that they are strange pets. i don't get it either.
bearded dragons and chameleons are good. you just don't want something that is going to get tooooo big. same with snakes.

[blindpig]

4. care sheet should be available at

www.kingsnake.com

Iguana's are not the easiest critter to keep well. They require lots of space, excellent light, good ventilation and appropriate food.Get one of those criteria wrong and you've got a sick lizard.

[legally blonde]

5. you also want to be sure

to handle the iguana regularly (as with all reptiles). Also, learn how to trim their nails and do it often. Iguanas have very sharp nails that can leave nasty scratches (if you are scratched, make sure to wash the area well with antibacterial soap). Good luck! :hi:

[InvisibleTouch]

6. The right diet is the biggest concern.

I've had several iguanas in my time. Some (usually females) are great pets, and some (usually males) are not, but they all have a distinct personality, and they can get very tame. They're aware and alert, with distinct likes and dislikes, and they'll love to look out a high window and watch the world go by. They're not "beginner reptiles," though, much as the pet stores will try to convince you of such. You have to be very careful with their diet, to make sure you give the right calcium/phosphorus ratio. Not enough calcium=bone deformities and eventual death. This isn't a "maybe" - this is an iron-clad certainty. I've seen several iguanas die of calcium deficiency because they were getting the wrong diet. It's not a pretty sight.

Do not feed iceberg lettuce, which has precisely the wrong mineral balance; also stay away from fruit cocktail and canned dog/cat food, all of which the pet stores might recommend to you. Give a good variety of fresh ripe fruits and green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and dark-leafed salads. Adult iguanas in the wild are primarily folivores (leaf-eaters), though young animals need some protein in their diet. There's some controversy about it, but you can give a young iguana mealworms or waxworms (waxworms are better, IMO, because they lack the hard shell and potentially dangerous mouthparts of mealworms), crickets, and pinkie mice - but in moderation. The majority of the diet should still be leaves and ripe fruit. Variety is the key.

You'll also want to supplement with a good calcium formula made especially for reptiles (otherwise you risk having too much phosphorus in the mix). Vitamin-D supplementation isn't a bad idea either (Vitamin D is needed to metabolize calcium), especially if the lizard isn't getting direct sunlight or enough full-sprectrum fluorescent light. Direct light is not light filtered through glass or clear plastic, which screens out the vital UV rays. If the animal is tame and calm, there are iguana harnesses that will let you take him outside in the sun with you on warm days - but always supervise, and remember that a reptile can die of overheating, can only regulate his body temperature by moving from a warm to a cool spot or vice versa.

Stay away from "hot rocks" that pet stores (again) will try to sell you, with the claim that the "belly heat" will help the lizard digest his food. In the wild, reptiles absorb heat primarily from above (the sun), not from below, and if their back isn't warm while their belly is hot, an animal in captivity doesn't realize he's warm enough, and will often sit on a hot rock until the skin of the underside burns. Supply a heat lamp in one corner of the cage, so the lizard can bask as he needs to - but be sure there's a cool area too, so he can move back and forth. A thermometer in the hot side and the cool side is a good idea.

You can see just from this brief overview why I say they're not beginners' reptiles. A purely carnivorous lizard or an uncomplicated snake is much easier to take care of and provide with a balanced diet. Still, if you're willing to keep up with their dietary needs and give them enough UV light, they're well worth it. They're beautiful animals. Please look into a good book on iguana care that will give a lot more suggestions about food than I could give you from memory. I recommend anything by Melissa Kaplan, for instance, such as:

"Iguanas for Dummies"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764552600/qid=1105244913/sr=2-2/ref=pd_ka_b_2_2/002-2894882-8588049

Or do a web search for her feeding recommendations.

BTW, a note on iguanas and breeding season, since you mention that ... a male iguana, kept alone, will sometimes react to his female owner as a potential mate - especially at "that time of the month." And iguanas are not gentle with their mates. One of mine once jumped on my head, dug in his claws, and then took a piece out of my finger when I reached up to pull him off. But then, he was a pugnacious little guy anyway....

Best of luck!

[InvisibleTouch]

7. BTW, iguanas and dogs...

...do not mix. The iguana sees a dog as a natural enemy, and will get very stressed out. Depending on personality, will panic and run, probably hurting himself, or puff himself up and fight, and that long tail can inflict quite a blow.

My 15-year-old Pomeranian to this day reacts badly when I say the name of my years-deceased last iguana. The two of them were not friends, to say the least. Now I have 2 dogs and no iguanas, but I keep them out of the reptile room none the less. It's possible to keep multiple species in the same household, as long as they each have their separate areas.

I imagine similar caveats are true of iguanas and cats....