My green iguana is about 5 months old and is 13 1/2 inches long is this right. hes got a 29 gallon tank.?
The size of the iggy sounds good. He will need a much bigger cahe tho. They get up to 6' long!! Do you have a uvb light? If not you need one ASAP 10.0 would be the best, but 5.0 is fine. If you do have one it needs to be cahnged every 6 months.
Reply:Evanescence has it right cept for one thing.
Id stop feeding it that pet store iguana food
Juvenile or adult.... ive seen that stuff cause kidney failure in iguanas when they mature.
All they need is greens and of course uvb lighting.
And yours needs a much larger enclosure too.
Reply:Check out Green Iguana Society's website and try posting on their message board
www.greeniguanasociety.org
Hibuscus leaves are fine for him. What is his basking temperature? It needs to be over 85 degrees. You also need to make sure he has a UVB light as well as high humidity
Reply:The enclosure for your ig is too small. When they are under a year old they should not be living in anything smaller then a 55 gallon tank. Enclosure needs to be at least 1.5-2 times it's total length. You can not process the heating threw out, plus your ig needs a cool side, again a small tank can not process the color temps. With a 29 gallon tank and a 100watt basking light, I would think your are overheating your ig.
What are you using for floor covering? Bark, sand, pellets, rocks are all bad. If you ig decides to try and taste he/she may swallow, which then may cause blockage at some point, and then need to have surgically removed, or cause death. Newspaper, paper towels, indoor/outdoor are safer, you do need to make sure that your ig isn't trying to eat, if is you need to find something else.
What are your using for the thermometer? The type that are stick on to glass can give incorrect readings. The best to use is a thermometer w/ a probe at the end. You can place them more where your ig needs. Temps: never let drop below 70F ... basking 92-96F if temp is too low digestion is slowed too high food digests too fast and nutrition is lost ... medium/middle 88-92F... cool 75-84F ...at night 73-84F.
What type of UVBs are you using? You should be using 2 UVB lights ... 48inch tubes are the best, because the ends can hang over the tank, and the ends do not produce UVB. ReptiSun 10.0 or Repti Glo 8.0 are the best, but you can use the 5.0 brand also. The distance for the 5.0 and 8.0 should be 6-8 inches from your igs body, the 10.0 should be 8-10 inches from your igs body. Should replace every 6 months. You need to adjust as your ig grows. The basking area should be flat, not at an angle, if its at an angle your igs body is not getting the UV ray threw out body. The coil compact type do not produce the UVB that your ig needs, the "U" shaped can cause eye damage.
You are not feeding your ig enough good staple greens. Some products for iguana food can have some bad ingredients like meat protein, the only brand that is okay to give is Rep-Cal Maintenance Formula Adult Iguana Food, why adult cuz most igs dislike the Juvenile version. Hibiscus should be given as a treat. Romaine can be given occasionally in small amount but only w/ good staple greens, it doesn't have any nutrience it's mainly water ... daily food should have 5-7 good staple greens (2-3 cups a day if not more) ... collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens (if you can find), endive, radicchio, arugula, mache (if you can find), watercress ... some greens to give occasionally and in small amounts kale, bok choy, escarole (all have GOITROGENS that keep iodine in the food from being absorbed) ... you can add some basil into the mix only w/ good staple greens, sometimes this helps the little ones eat ... some things to add (small amounts) snap peas, bell peppers (every now and then), parsnip, sweet potato/yam, acorn squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash ... fruits should only be given every now and then once or twice a week type of thing fruits are like junk food to iguanas ... some fruits to try papay, kiwi, mango, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, honeydew (great water source), canalope (great water source), 12 grain wheat bread ... if anything has seeds make sure you remove seed before you give it to your iguana ... watermelon (seedless) can be frozen and then shaved onto your iguanas food helps w/ hydration everyday ... there are some foods that aren't good for your iguana: spinach has oxalate acids bind to the calcium, so even though spinach is high in calcium, almost none is actually available for the iguana to use, also the oxalate acids can form oxalate crystals which can and do build up in the kidneys causing kidney damage/failure ... some ig owners do give there ig spinach but in very small amounts and only once a month ... corn igs can not digest ... carrots can block calcium absorption ... apples have too much acid is an appetite suppressant ... food should be cut/chopped/diced no bigger then the iguanas head, if they are small having a chopper chop them up, or slice them into very small pieces ... spray/mist food to help w/ water/hydration ... try to learn and understanding the Ca:P Ratio to food
Here are websites that are trusted:
http://www.greenigsociety.org/
http://www.iguanaden.org/
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html
A great book to read and have on hand is:
Iguana for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan
There are some great Yahoo groups that can help you w/ your ig to make sure that you are feeding, housing, lighting, bathing, etc, if you'd like to join:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BabyI...
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Iguan...
Reply:Sounds like you're doing a good job.
No comments:
Post a Comment