Iguana Survival Guide

Posts Tagged ‘pet iguana’

Health is also the Wealth of Your Pet Iguana

To maintain the health of your iguana does not mean that you need to take it out on regular walks on the park, or have him groomed in your local pet center. These are the things you would do for your pet dog but not for your iguana.

Keeping your iguana healthy is a matter of knowing its basic needs. With all the information about these reptiles already available, there is no reason why you cannot have them growing big and healthy.

Some people prefer to have iguana for their pet because they think that taking care of one is not as difficult compared with other kinds of pets. But then, iguanas can also be sensitive if you do not know what you are doing.

Unlike pet dogs or cats, there is really no high maintenance needed to keep your iguana healthy. All that is needed are some basic necessities that may seem unimportant yet will prove vital in keeping them healthy and fit.

Iguanas are like human. They are fully awake in the morning but needed the darkness of the night to be able to sleep and rest. This is one of the things you have to consider if you have an iguana.

In pet stores today, you will be able to find an assortment of iguana shelters that are complete with the necessary equipments that you pet will need. For example, there are cages available that comes with a bulb that serves as light as well as a heat source for your iguana. Heat is vital in maintaining the body temperature of an iguana. Some owners go to the extent of monitoring temperatures and providing heaters for these pets.

Those who cannot afford these things opt for the more conventional approach of turning lights off in the evening so the iguana can rest. But the problem with this set up is that there is no additional source of warmth supplied to the iguana. In these cases, you may find drifting off to a corner or a place where these reptiles find the heat that their body needs.

For those who want to maintain an orderly temperature monitoring, there are timers that they can buy to ensure that everything is kept well in order. Keep in mind that iguanas thrive mostly on outdoor forest temperatures. That was their home before they were in captivity. It is therefore important that you maintain what they have gotten used to so that they will not find it hard to adapt to their new environment.

First aid is also necessary if you notice signs of illness of skin diseases. Be sure that you have antiseptics or iodine ready for use. If your iguana appears to have an infection, you will notice dark spots or scratches that were not there initially. The best thing to do is to note if these things are starting to get worse or not. Check out the surrounding areas around your pet. Some of these things are caused by the environment that they are exposed to.

If the problem persists, then it is time to consult an expert iguana veterinarian. They will be the ones who will give you advice on what to use on your pet to stop whatever symptoms of illness it is experiencing.

If the health of your iguana is important to you, then you should prepare yourself for the necessary measures in maintaining and keeping them.

Proper Iguana Care Tips

One of the most exotic animals that are kept as pet nowadays is the iguana. Many pet shops do offer some iguanas at reasonable rates. Iguanas are now considered as among the extraordinary favorite pets of people of all ages. They see iguanas as cute strange pets, something weird and wonderful and out of the ordinary.

Just like any pet, iguanas need proper care and attention. Now people would think that it’s just easy to care for a pet iguana, but it’s not. There are some important things you have to consider when housing an iguana. In fact there are several iguana caring tips that you can find in the internet. These tips usually come with iguanas lizards photos to make the discussion more interesting and clear to the readers.

Some of the basic iguana care tips are discussed below:

Cage

A cage is needed to house the iguana unless you want them to roam freely in your house. The cage must be large enough to house your pet. The size will also vary based on the exact size of the iguana pet but the ideal size is up to 6 feet long. It is also important that there’s a sufficient supply of water in the cage, some stuff for the animal to climb on and a hiding place. The cage should be twice the size of the iguana since they are considered to be arboreal, meaning they love to climb.

Food

Iguanas are herbivores. They eat different kinds of green leafy vegetable and fruits as well. Basically, their diet should be composed of tofu at least twice a week, lettuce, broccoli, berries like blackberries and raspberries, and oranges. Fresh food and water is the foremost thing that you have to take into account in taking good care of an iguana lizard. The water and food that should be served to the iguana should be fresh at all times. Unclean water as well as spoiled food can cause some health problems to the iguana that’s why it’s so important to choose the right food for your pet. It’s best to feed your pet lizard early in the morning. This is in view of the fact that food in the morning enables proper digestion.

Temperature

The cage of your pet iguana should have proper heating. It is of high importance that the iguana should be heated by a light or heat pad. Hot rocks are not necessary for they can lead to the killing or burning of your pet iguana lizard. The ideal heating for the cage is approximately between 80 degrees Fahrenheit to 92 degrees Fahrenheit. If the iguana is not heated properly, it may lead to the iguana’s food indigestion.

Lighting

Proper lighting is also of the essence in caring for an iguana. Iguanas when deprived with UV lighting usually become ill with a disease known as MBD or Metabolic Bone Disease. It’s important that your pet lizard is allowed to laze around under the sun. The cage should have special fluorescent that are usually purchased in pet shops that sell some pet supplies.

Sanitation

The cleanliness of your friend iguana is also of the essence. Your iguana and its cage should be cleaned regularly. Proper hygiene of your pet should be practiced so as to prevent it from getting sick. Iguanas are identified to be carrying bacteria known as Salmonella. To keep your pet iguana safe from the threats of these bacteria, it’s best to keep them clean all the time.

How to Take Care of a Green Iguana

When people talk about getting an iguana for a pet, they usually refer to the most common species, the “Iguana Iguana” or the green iguana.

Found in South and Central America, as well as other parts of the Pacific, the iguana has become very popular among pet owners in the United States and Europe in the past few years.

Active in daytime, the young iguana is usually bright green in color, helping it to hide itself from predators in the green vegetation of the forest. With its quick movements and sharp eyesight, the green iguana avoids capture quite easily. As the iguana grows older, its color changes from bright green to a muted green.

An iguana in the wild spends its day trying to find a sunny spot to lie on, feeding, and trying to escape from predators.

Of course, an iguana in captivity is a different case. Though there are no more predators to escape from, an iguana should be well taken care of by its owner. It maybe a popular pet, but taking care of it is by no means an easy task.

Let’s talk about some things to do when taking care of an iguana.

1. Provide a large enclosed space for your iguana.

Since a green iguana may grow as large as seven feet, the pet’s enclosure should be any owner’s top priority.

It may seem that the iguana is contented with a small pen; however, without ample space, it will grow listless and will be stressed, resulting to sickness and even vulnerability to infections.

The enclosure should be a few times the iguana’s length in either depth or width or one and a half times in height since the animal needs to move around or even climb.

Later on, the pet iguana should be given privileges to roam around the house, as long as the owner will make sure that it won’t be able to get out or feed on important stuff around the house.

2. Provide big branches or synthetic structures for your pet’s enclosure.

Not only will the enclosure look more pleasing to the eyes with the addition of the things mentioned above, but they will also make the pen a better place for the green iguana to live in. It will be a good habitat since it will provide a venue for climbing and basking – two activities that contribute to the iguana’s emotional and psychological growth.

For the flooring of the enclosure, one may use mulch (a material designed to keep hold of moisture, prevent weeds from growing, and keep the earth from being eroded) or simply sheets of your daily newspaper.

3. Make sure to provide the enclosure with a good heating device.

You should not overlook this since an iguana not properly heated will not be able to digest its food well.

An owner should provide a good source of UV light for the iguana. The enclosure should not have any part with a temperature lower than 26°C while at least one part should have a temperature as high as 35°C. A spotlight is good for this purpose.

4. While heating and light are important, provide darkness, too.

Six to 10 hours of darkness each night is also important for the iguana’s well-being. The enclosure should be shielded from streetlights or lights from appliances.

5. Pay attention to your pet iguana.

Any pet animal deserves care and interaction from its owner. Just like your regular cat or dog, the green iguana deserves love and affection. If not given the attention it deserves, an iguana may grow listless, sick, and eventually die.

There you go. The tips mentioned above are just some of the things that have to be considered in taking care of an iguana. These are not to be used as a substitute for a consultation with your trusted veterinarian. Professional help is still needed in order to make sure that your iguana will live for a very long time.

Are You Ready for an Iguana Pet?

People think that iguanas make cool pets; they may be right. Some may have the misconception that iguanas are low-maintenance pets; they would be wrong. As with all pets, iguanas have their requirements. However, the main issue in taking care of a pet iguana is not just your ability to provide the iguana’s needs. It also involves your qualifications.

So what does it take to have a pet iguana?

1) Love – of course, you need to love your iguana in order to take proper care of it. When you love your pet iguana, it naturally follows that you will do everything to take good care of it. This is the basic requirement for an iguana pet owner. This is because love lays down the foundation for all the other things that you need to do or have in order to take proper care of your iguana.

2) Patience – iguanas need a very long time to be tamed. You cannot expect an iguana to begin behaving properly immediately. You need to be patient in order to spend the amount of time required to properly train an iguana. You must persevere in order to truly take care of your pet iguana. Remember that patience is not just about riding out your pet iguana’s bad habits; it is about making the effort to train it properly.

3) Commitment – we are not talking about a marriage. However, you need to be committed to taking care of your pet iguana. Some people just buy an iguana on impulse. During the first days, they might take proper care of the iguana. However, as time goes by, they soon lag in their responsibilities and the iguana is neglected. This, of course, leads to some serious consequences.

Before buying a pet iguana, you should realize that iguanas can live up to 20 years. Are you prepared to make a commitment for that length of time? If you think that you can just sell an iguana when you’re bored with it, you would be wrong. You see, a sudden change of owners can affect the iguana very deeply. It would adversely affect the iguana’s health.

4) Finances – taking care of an iguana can be very expensive. You need to provide food, a spacious habitat, and other supplies that are necessary to a pet iguana’s well-being. You will also have to spend cash for regular trips to the veterinarian. Can you do that? Remember that buying the pet iguana is only the first step. You need to spend money to take care of it too.

5) Willingness to learn – some people jump at the prospect of buying a pet iguana without first thinking about the things they need to do in order to take proper care of an iguana. If you are planning to own a pet iguana, you should have the willingness to learn how to properly take care of them. This means that you have to make the effort to read up on iguanas and how to take proper care of them.
6) Time – you need to have available time in order to take proper care of a pet iguana. This does not mean that you need to have time to feed it and clean it. You need to spend some time to play with your pet iguana. This will definitely help the health and well-being of your pet iguana.