Green Iguanas - General Care

Diet

Intestinal Inoculation

Hygiene

Visual Security

Focal Heat Source

Sunlight and Artificial Sunlight

Water

Cage Mate

Diet
Juvenile iguanas should be fed daily. A good diet consists of vegetable material (broccoli and its leaves, Swiss chard, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, beet, collard, mustard and turnip greens, carrot tops and thawed, frozen mixed vegetables). Chop all of the ingredients into a size easily handled by the young iguana. Then mix them thoroughly and store the mixture in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. Once or twice a day, offer a small amount of this mixture after it has been liberally sprinkled with an appropriate vitamin-mineral supplement (Reptical and Vita-Life, Terra-Fauna Products, Mountain View, CA 94042; Reptovite, Verner's Pet Products, Long Beach, CA 90807). Nekton-Pet (from West Germany) and other Nekton products are available for sale in some veterinary hospitals.

Particular attention to calcium supplementation is essential because young, growing iguanas are very prone to calcium deficiencies. Nekton-MSA, Reptical or Vita-Life should be used to supplement all juvenile iguanas. Growing iguanas may also be fed "expanded" guinea pig or rabbit pellets (pellets allowed to expand by absorbing water), either plain or as a top dressing over vegetables. This is a convenient way to add necessary vitamins and mineral (contained in the pelleted food) to the iguana's diet.

An alternative method of vitamin-mineral supplementation works well in all but the very small iguanas. Empty gelatin capsules can be filled with Nekton-Pet and/or Nekton-MSA powder. The filled capsule is then inserted directly into the iguana's mouth using a pilling device originally designed for use in cats This direct method of supplementation ensures that the iguana receives its required supplement and also eliminates the waste associated with sprinkling the supplement on food.

Older iguanas can be fed daily or 2-3 times per week, and can be offered the same items as listed above. Plant material, such as dandelions (flowers and leaves), clover, rose petals, and flowers of hibiscus, carnation and nasturtium, should be offered as well. Many health food stores carry dried dandelion and other edible herbs that can be offered to captive iguanas all year round. Fresh fruit (bananas, berries, apples, peaches pears, and plums) can occasionally be included in the diet.
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Intestinal Inoculation
A fairly recent discovery has provided a probable explanation for the premature deaths of young iguanas despite apparently adequate diets. In the wild, young iguanas obtain needed intestinal bacteria and protozoa by eating the feces of adult iguanas. The microorganisms acquired this way are essential for digestion of plant material. Baby iguanas are not born with these microbes, so young iguanas reared in captivity never acquire them.

All newly acquired, domestically raised (not wild-caught) iguanas should receive fresh feces from a healthy, parasite-free adult iguana (preferably wild-caught). One dose should inoculate the iguana for life.
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Hygiene
Next to adequate nutrition, no other aspect of husbandry for captive reptiles is more important than sanitation and hygiene. Many bacterial and fungal diseases of captive reptiles result from their daily exposure to fecal contamination and a damp, filthy environment. In the wild, reptiles have acres of land and water over which their feces and uneaten food can be scattered. They rarely, if ever, come in contact with this material. This is not the case with captive reptiles. Owners of captive reptiles engage in a continual struggle to prevent bacterial buildup caused by inevitable deposition of waste product and uneaten food.

An iguana's cage floor or aquarium bottom can be covered with clean newspaper (unprinted preferably) or butcher paper. The next best material is indoor-outdoor carpeting. Paper towel squares can also be placed end to end to cover the entire bottom of the enclosure. When one of the squares becomes soiled, it can be easily removed and replaced without disturbing the entire floor of the enclosure. Under no circumstances should pea gravel, corncob material, wood shavings, sand, kitty litter or sawdust be used. None of these items promotes adequate cleanliness, and they may be eaten while the iguana is feeding, resulting in intestinal impaction.

Iguanas are frequently displayed on moss. Even though this is visually attractive, it is a poor husbandry practice because this material remains continually damp, promoting serious skin infections.

A captive iguana's environment must be kept fastidiously clean and dry. Any object that becomes soiled with feces or urine should be removed and cleaned or replaced as soon as possible. The enclosure should be set up so that it can be easily cleaned. Human nature dictates that the more time it takes to clean the cage and the more complicated the task, the less often it will be done. Make the enclosure functional rather than beautiful.

Reptiles are highly susceptible to poisoning from pine oil cleaners, such as PineSol and Lysol. These household cleaners must be avoided.
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Visual Security
A hiding place into which a captive iguana can retreat and be free from constant visual scrutiny should be provided. Visual security can be provided by supplying cardboard rolls (from toilet paper or paper towels) for small iguanas or cardboard boxes for large iguanas. Optimal visual security can be provided, however, by strategic placement of artificial plants. Because iguanas like to climb and bask, some of the branches and artificial plants provided should be arranged to allow this activity above the floor of the enclosure. Silk artificial plants are visually pleasing and easy to clean and maintain, and also withstand the use of disinfectants.
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Focal Heat Source
All reptiles require a warm environmental temperature to raise their body temperature and increase their metabolic rate and activity level. The optimal environmental temperature to provide for captive iguanas in their enclosures is between 85° and 103° F.

Wild reptiles bask in direct sunlight. Captive iguanas do quite well when a "hot rock" (Sizzle Stone, Terra-Fauna Products) is provided. The iguana has the option of lying on it (totally or partially) to obtain heat as needed. A heating pad may be provided for larger iguanas. Care must be taken to ensure the appliance is functioning properly. Malfunctioning hot rocks and heating pads can cause serious burns.
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Sunlight and Artificial Sunlight
Captive reptiles rarely receive adequate exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, especially when they are housed indoors. Captive reptiles, especially iguanas, must receive direct sunlight to benefit from its UV component. Ultraviolet light is necessary to properly absorb dietary calcium.

Window glass and plastics filter UV light. Consequently, reptiles must be housed in screened or wire enclosures during the time they are to be exposed to direct sunlight. Also, a shaded area must be provided so the iguana can avoid heat stroke from overexposure to sunlight.

An alternative to direct sunlight for reptiles housed indoors is an artificial UV light source, such as a Vitalite (Duro-Lite Lamps, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071). When an artificial source of ultraviolet light is provided, do not place any glass or plastic partition between the light source and the iguana.

To approximate a natural photoperiod, it is best to supply 10-12 hours of daylight and 12-14 hours of darkness each day, with a gradual increase in the number of hours of light supplied in the spring and a gradual decrease in the number of hours provided in the fall and winter months.
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Water
Water can be made available to captive iguanas in a variety of ways. A standing water source, such as a filled ceramic dish, can be available for bathing and drinking. Spraying water on artificial plants and allowing the iguana to lap up this moisture is another suitable strategy.

The bathtub is a wonderful and practical recreational area for a pet iguana. Swimming is great fun to observe and provides excellent exercise for the iguana. The tub is also a practical, relatively escape-proof "holding area" for the iguana while its enclosure is being cleaned. The tub should be filled so that its shallowest portion allows for submersion of about 2/3 of the iguana's body. The water should be warm and of a temperature comfortable for a human bather. Iguanas may be allowed to occasionally swim in chlorinated swimming pools as long as the activity is closely supervised and the iguana is thoroughly rinsed off with fresh water afterward.
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Cage Mate
A cage mate for an iguana is not advisable. Iguanas are not particularly sociable animals and are quite territorial. The addition of a cage mate invites unnecessary aggression and fighting.
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