Common Name:Green Iguana Latin name: Iguana Native to: Central and South America. Imported iguanas are generally from Columbia, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, Mexico, and Surinam. Size: Adult iguanas range in size from four to six feet in length. Life span: If properly cared for, iguanas should live more than 20 years in captivity. Special Note: While many people consider the green iguana a beginners pet, nothing is further from the truth. Iguanas require specialized care and management that is generally beyond the knowledge of most novices. It is because of this lack of knowledge that a majority of juvenile iguanas die prematurely. Iguana owners need to be aware of the specialized diet and housing requirements that the green iguana requires. If looking for a great beginner reptile or amphibian pet, consider a corn snake, milk snake, ball python, leopard gecko, bearded dragon, or pac man frog. All of these species are fun and a great way to begin in the hobby! General appearance: Iguanas are what most people think of when they think "lizard." They have five toes on each foot. They posses a fleshy flap of skin under the chin called a dewlap. All iguanas have spines that run the length of the back. Contrary to popular belief, not all iguanas are green. Most juveniles are bright green, but as they age and grow they can range in color from a dull green to brown or even orange with striped tails. Housing requirements: Enclosure: The enclosure for an adult iguana is very large. The enclosure should be at least six feet tall, about 1½ to twice the length of the iguana, and 2/3 to one full length of the iguana wide. For a six foot adult iguana, this is an enclosure that is 9 to 12 feet long, four to six feet wide, and at least six feet tall. Sufficient branches and shelves for climbing and lounging should also be provided. To give you perspective on the size of the enclosure, most small bedrooms are only 9 feet wide. This is why many owners dedicate a separate room as their "iguana room." Some owners also allow their iguanas to "free range" throughout the house. If you allow your iguana to live in its own room or free range, be sure the keep the area the iguana will frequent free of small objects that the iguana may accidentally ingest. Temperature: Iguanas come from a tropical climate and need to be kept warm. Daytime temperatures should be 80° - 85° F with a basking spot of 90° - 95° F. There should be a range of temperatures offered to the iguana to allow it to thermoregulate itself. Nighttime temperatures should be 75° - 80° F. All temperatures should be verified with a thermometer regularly. Heat/Light: Ultraviolet lighting providing UVA and UVB is required for proper calcium metabolism and skeletal development. Without the proper lighting your will become sick and die a very painful death. Proper lighting can be provided utilizing fluorescent tubes specially made for use by reptiles as well as mercury vapor bulbs that also provide some heat as well. Additional heat can be provided utilizing infrared ceramic emitters and incandescent basking bulbs. Hot rocks should never be used under any circumstance as they can severely burn your iguana. Substrate: Iguanas will often tongue lick their surroundings. Because of this most particulate substrate (wood shavings, mulch, sand, or powder types) are not appropriate for most iguanas. Newspaper with non-toxic ink, butcher's paper, paper towels, indoor/outdoor carpeting, or artificial grass all make excellent choices. If using indoor/outdoor carpeting or artificial grass please be sure that there are no dangling strings that could tangle in your iguana's nails. It's also recommended that you have multiple pieces so that you may replace the soiled pieces with the clean set and then clean and disinfect the current set to use for the next cleaning. Environment: Iguanas come from a tropical climate and require a humidity level of 65% to 75%. To achieve this may require several mistings a day. Many people opt to purchase an automatic misting system instead. Diet: Iguanas are strict herbivores. Many older literatures will suggest feeding animal protein or even cat food. While some wild iguanas may ingest the occasional insect while eating leaves, it is not a significant portion on their diet. Iguanas that are fed too much animal protein will develop health problems and will die prematurely. A well balanced iguana diet will consist of about 40% to 45% greens (this includes, but is not limited to collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens (with flowers), escarole, and/or water cress), 40% to 45% other vegetables (this includes but is not limited to green beans, orange-fleshed squashes (butternut, Kabocha), snap or snow peas, parsnip, asparagus, okra, alfalfa (mature, not sprouts), onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, sweet potato, zucchini, yellow squash, and/or carrots), 10% or less of fruits (including, but not limited to Figs (raw or dried), blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, mango, melon (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon), papaya, banana, and/or apple), and less than 5% of other grains or commercial diets. Iguanas should never be rhubarb as it is toxic. Certain lettuces such as iceberg, romaine, and Boston butter lack sufficient nutrients and should only be fed occasionally. Acidic fruits (citrus, tomatoes, kiwi, pineapples, etc.) should also be only fed occasionally as well. Tofu can be occasionally offered as well for supplemental protein, though if too much is given it can lead to long term health issues. Wild plants and flowers are not recommended since they may be toxic to your iguana or may contain pesticides that could be toxic as well. Maintenance: Cleanliness of the enclosure is essential. Waste products should be removed daily and the enclosure should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected regularly. A 5% bleach solution provides and excellent disinfectant. Be sure to thoroughly rinse the solution from the enclosure before placing the iguana back in. Fresh water should also be offered at all times. Always wash your hands after handling your iguana or any of your iguana's cage accessories. Heating/Lighting Your main goal in setting up your iguana's heating and lighting is to provide a warm basking area (90F-94F) and a cooler area (75F-84F) so that your iguana can acclimate itself to the temperature IT chooses to be in at any given time and get the necessary UVB rays so that it can metabolize calcium. Click the name of each item for a picture. All lights must stay on for 12-14 hours and be off for 10-12 hours. Iguanas need to sleep at nighttime in darkness (black lights are available for nighttime heat but will usually disrupt your iguana's natural sleeping patterns). UVB Fluorescent Lighting UVB Fluorescent Lights are cool lights and give off no heat, they must be used together with basking lights. You will need to provide your iguana with a UVB light in an area of its enclosure that it spends most of its time in, preferably high up where it can climb to. It must be positioned 8-14 inches away from your iguana, shining on it with no glass or plastic cover (large holed screen is okay to shine through). Wherever you set up your basking spot is where you will also put your UVB light. This type of light gives off no heat, so other bulbs will be needed to create a basking spot that is (90F-94F) degrees. These type of lights need to be replaced every six months because they loose their effectiveness even if they don't burn out. Iguana Light, Reptisun, and Vitalite are popular ones and can be found in most pet stores in different sizes. You can save some money if you buy the fixture from a hardware store and just take off, and do not use, the plastic cover that most come with. Basking Lights Basking Lights are responsible for heating your iguana and MUST be used with UVB fluorescent lights. In setting up your basking area (90F-94F) you can use any of a number of basking lights available. However, there has been some controversy as to whether these special lights do anything special at all. Using regular white incandescent lightbulbs like the ones you use in your lamps will do the trick just as well. Use round bulbs (not spot or reflector lights) in a silver dome fixture. If you do decide to use spot or reflector lights, use them in a fixture without a dome, otherwise the light may get too hot. The silver backing on spot/reflector lights take the place of a dome. Do not make your iguana's entire cage 90-94 F. The basking area should be at that temperature and your iguana should be able to escape to a cooler area of the enclosure any time it chooses. The cooler area that you set up in your cage should be about (75F-84F) degrees. Your basking area should be the highest area in your cage, a place where your iguana can climb up to like a branch or shelf. Ceramic Heaters Instead of using basking lightbulbs, you may use a ceramic heater. Be sure you use these in special porcelain light fixtures that are specially made to withstand the high heat that the base of the ceramic heaters give off. If you decide to use a ceramic heater be very careful to monitor the temperatures in your cage and basking area. Ceramic heaters can get VERY HOT! Heating Your Iguana At Night For juvenile iguanas (about up to two years old), the enclosure should be about 78-84F degrees at night. Adult iguanas can tolerate nighttime temperatures of 74-82 and even prefer it a little cooler than juveniles. This can be accomplished by using either ceramic heaters or black night lights. You can also find red ones available for night. I personally believe that blue or red light disturbs the natural sleeping patterns of the iguana, therefore I will only use ceramic heaters. When the weather is warm, an adult iguana can safely stay without any heaters on at night if your house temperature is around 74. Never position your iguanas nighttime heating device to aim directly at your iguana, it should always be off to the side of it, so as not to cause burns. Your nighttime goal is not to create a basking area, but to create a warm (not hot) climate according to the above nighttime temperatures. Ceramic bulbs are hotter than light bulbs according to wattage, so you will need to experiment with different wattages and a good thermometer. Heat Rocks I have only one thing to say about heat rocks. HEATROCKS BURN IGUANAS. Iguanas in their natural habitat are heated from above by the sun. And you should be able to create a properly heated basking area for your iguana to bask in, therefore not needing a heat rock. If you absolutely feel that your iguana wants to get belly warmth, or maybe you have been using a heat rock successfully for a long time and your iguana loves it, then get Zoo Med's heat pad and rheostat so that you can regulate how hot the pad gets. And never put your heat pad directly under your lights. It makes the pad much too hot. Thermometers To make sure your temperatures are correct use a thermometer. It is a bit difficult to get an accurate reading by just sticking a thermometer in your iguana's cage. Here are some tricks I use: First of all you should have at least two thermometers in your iguana's enclosure. One should be in the cooler area and one in the basking spot. When I test the temperature I try not to face the thermometer in the basking spot directly in the ray of the light or ceramic heater because it can give a false reading (so my vet has told me). I try putting it in upside down or covered with a piece of paper or move it all around while my iguanas are roaming the house(supervised of course!). After I read it I take it out. I do have one attached to the wall besides the one I test with. In closing this section let me take the time to say, please make sure your iguana is heated correctly because this is one of the main things people do wrong. Check, double check, and triple check, then check again. Don't only trust thermometers, watch your iguana's behavior. Does try to get closer and closer to the heat source? (and I don't mean fluorescent-they give off almost NO heat) then it's probably too cool. Are they running away from the heat source? Staying far away in the other corner? Then it's probably too hot. Use your judgment. you like the live show