How To Properly Wash Your Iguana

The temperature and the amount of water for washing

Water must have the appropriate temperature, as the temperature of the bathing water must match with the iguana temperature. Water should have from 29 to 32 ° C.

If, during the washing, water Cools down, remove some water and add some hot water, and mix it with hand. Do not pour water directly at your iguana and do, if iguana is in the bath, not tap water in the tank from the pipe as the iguana can be scared by stream of water (unless it is already used to).

The level of water should not exceed the height of iguanas recumbent position, especially if we have an iguana which is  not used to swimming. If we have iguanas that are used to swimming, we can have water so high that they can swim but you have to be present at all times, that any accident does not happen ! If iguana is not used to swimming, then you can begin with a little bit of water to adapt it and every time you bath him, add it a little more.

At the bottom of a bathtub can be installed against the sliding base (fabric, rubber, …) that iguana will not slip and will feel better. Only swimming could be something new for your iguana and you need to get used to water, since some iguanas not only show dissent when in contact with water, but literally go crazy! Some can, although, feel very good in water.

When you put iguana in the water you can pour it’s back with it, it will be calmer, and also give him a gentle touch and a nice word.

If it tries to get out of the water, let it calm down again and slowly put it in the water (do not force him and push him in the water bath because it will become very unpleasant for him).

Do not leave iguana alone in the bathroom in a tub or pool (or elsewhere)! Take all the time possible so no accidents can happen. Even if it is already used to a bath, do not leave it alone without supervision! Not only iguana can drown, but could be otherwise damaged or undercooled!

Keeping Your Iguana Clean

Iguanas are extremely clean animals and the cleanliness section starts at a reasonable living space, that means large enough terrarium, in which iguana may be moved unhindered and not forced to lie down to go after their excrement. The faeces must of course be removed from the terrarium as soon as possible, also you should be regularly removing the terrarium food that is left over, pieces of dead skin … and regularly clean the surface and terrarium containers for food and water. Grime in the terrarium is not only a medium for bacteria but also creates a very unpleasant odor and iguanas can not feel good in soiled and smelly terrarium!

Iguanas “personal hygiene” means to maintain regular baths in a tub in the bathroom or in a plastic bathtub for infants. Several times a week (best it would be every day) iguana is bathed to remove the residues from the skin, dust particles and other debris, which we may find on our pet.

Swimming may be short (10 minutes) or longer (up to 45 minutes) depending on whether iguana likes bathing and how it is used to it … In swimming, however, you may not use any soap or detergent!

You must remove any objects around the bath  that may fall on iguana or hurt it.

Green Iguana Care Is Not An Easy Task

It is a shocking fact that more than 50% of iguanas do not survive beyond four years of age and that is only because majority of people do not know how to attend to these wonderful reptiles.

The implications are not difficult to understand. When you buy your pet iguana from the store, the dealer could give you advice that is misplaced and that could cause severe problems to your iguana. It could be something as inane as advising you to only feed your iguana with cricks or recommending you to keep the temperature of the enclosure at 25 degrees Celsius; both of these may not be the right advice and you may not realize it until too late.

You therefore must be well prepared with information that you can pick up from specific literature about reptile care and must ensure that you buy your iguana only from experienced breeders. The need to identify the right vet and consult him prior to making your purchase will equip you with the correct information and put you in the right frame of mind, when you approach the pet store.

You must also be aware that iguana care is much different from the care you would extend to other animals. It can be very demanding and unless you are prepared mentally to go the distance, you should not look at the iguana as your pet. Hence you need to know about all the different aspects of Iguana care ranging from its terrarium, diet, lighting and temperature before venturing out to buy your iguana.

If during this learning process, you harbor any doubts about how you are going to manage all of it, then you need to relook at your decision. You must also remember that the physical space required for a growing iguana is huge and unless you can ensure this space, you would be guilty of improper iguana care and that could prove quite costly in terms of the mortality of this reptile. Finally, even if you can manage all the other requirements to satisfaction, you need to ask yourself one more time, whether you will be able to stay with this animal for an extended period of time and give it your personal attention and love. Only if the answer is an emphatic yes, you should go ahead with your purchase.

Basic Info On Green Iguanas You Need To Know

Geographic Range:

Green iguanas are found in South and Central part of America.  This huge sized lizard also lives in islands through the Caribbean region and also in coastal eastern Pacific.

Habitation:

Green Iguanas inhabit at tree tops.  Younger iguanas live in the lower canopy areas.  This typical tree type habitat helps them in sub basking.  They come down only when they have to dig burrows for laying eggs.
They are superb swimmers and they prefer to stay in and around water areas, so that they are able to fulfill their requirements of swimming and diving deep beneath the water.  Even though they prefer the forest environment, they are pretty adaptable and they adjust very well to an open area as well.

green iguana

Other information:

A three year old Iguana weighs about 1kg.  When the egg hatches, the length of the iguana measures from 17 cm to 25 cm.  Well formed mature iguanas weight about 4 to 6 kgs.  When fed and looked after properly, they also weigh close to 8 kgs.

Even though they are described as green iguanas, they vary in colors.  As they grow older, their color is uniform.  Younger iguanas have both green and brown color shades.  The color change assists them in thermoregulation.  Especially during the mornings, when the temperature is low, the skin grows darker so as to easily absorb heat from the sun’s rays.  These color changes are identified especially in males and they are due to the sex steroids present in their body.  6 to 8 weeks before courting, the males pose a bright gold or orange color.  Fully grown and mature females adorn the green color.

Development of the Iguana:

Close to 65 days after they have mated, the female iguana lays eggs.  The number of eggs laid depends on the size of the female iguana, her health condition and her maturity.  The egg of the iguana measures about 15.4 mm in diameter.  These dull cream colored eggs are deposited by the female in the nest.   Once she has laid the eggs, the female goes back to have a look at the nest to ensure that the eggs are safe, but she does not necessarily stay back to guard the eggs.

The incubation process takes about 90 to 120 days.  The temperature should be around 85 degrees to 91degress Fahrenheit.

Please Care Your Green Iguana Nicely

It is not well known that iguanas are very sensitive and appealing animals capable of exhibiting very distinct individual traits. Each of them is unique and requires handling that is specific to their own requirement and that includes feeding them, taking care of their hygiene and also maintaining their enclosure such that there is no room for any infection to set in.

Green iguanas are no different from their other friends and take to greens and protein very well. While protein is good for overall health and can be found in tuna, chicken, it has been observed that green iguanas also prefer leafy greens like carrot tops, kale over lettuce and cabbage. Berries like raspberries and broccoli along with tofu also need to be an essential part of their diet. External vitamin supplements in powdered form can also be added to their diet. The importance of clean drinking water cannot be over estimated here. In addition to drinking purposes, it is required for the maintenance of hygiene. The temperature of water has to be lukewarm so that it does not cause any skin damage.

The terrarium of the green iguanas needs to be designed with a lot of care. You must have enough tree branches and space for the iguanas to move around. Moving and climbing are extremely important activities which help in the overall growth and development of iguanas. Iguanas look to perch higher up as it provides them a feeling of comfort and security. The body temperature of these animals needs to be maintained at a specific degree so that their body metabolism is not hindered. Hence adequate lighting and some electric heat rocks need to be placed inside the terrarium.

To summarize, it has to be said that notwithstanding the infrastructure arrangements, it is the time, effort and love showered by the master that will enable an iguana to lead a healthy life.

Green Iguana Facts Sheet

You cannot find something more wonderful than an iguana as a pet but you need to be aware that they require tremendous attention and knowing more about them should help you give them that care and attention.  Some of the facts that you should be aware are as under:

1. They are vegetarians.

You do not have to visit a pet shop and feed your iguana with worms, crickets or any such creatures since iguanas are vegetarians and they are content feeding on greens and vegetables that you can pick from your garden or grocery

2. Iguanas are easy to build a rapport with.

Contrary to some other variety of snakes or lizards, iguanas are friendlier and take to their owners quite easily, to the extent that they are comfortable sleeping next to the owners.  They are so friendly that anybody can hold them and they even allow their masters to dress them as per their choice.

3. Iguanas have a long life.

As human beings, we tend to become attached to our pets and would like them to be with us for a long time.  That is because we invest our time, effort and money in providing them the best of care.  The good news is that iguanas can live up to 20 years and thus outlive other pets like rats, hamsters.

4. Iguanas do not cause allergy

Unlike some other pets with fur or hair, the iguana has none of these and hence is absolutely safe for even an asthmatic to handle and maintain one as a pet.

5. Iguanas can be very useful for your children.

Besides the companionship provided by the iguana as a pet, the iguana also allows for a good learning experience to children when they learn to take care of the reptile and get to know more about its physiology.

The above facts are useful in taking an informed decision to go for an iguana as a pet and how to take care of them.

Iguana Feeding Information And It’s Eating Habits

Proper nutrition is crucial factor for iguanas, because many diseases occur because of incorrect nutrition. Iguanas are exclusively herbivorous throughout their life, so don’t be fooled that juvenile iguanas can eat various insects, because it is not true and may even harm your pet!

feeding iguana

In one of the shops of small animals in the terrarium of iguana i have even saw the inscription: “… the juveniles consume insects, with age they become strictly vegetarians  ….” Can you think of that? And then you buy iguana in such shop, which probably has already some health problems (if they are feed with such food), and you get a stupid advice that you need to feed iguana with the animal food until it’s young (with that kind of diet you make the maximum damage to iguana) ….

Iguanas daily menu sheet must consist of:

* 45% of multiple leaf vegetables
* 40% of diversified vegetable
* 10-15% of fruit

Feed him 1-2 times a week, however,  you can add cereals to to menu, which should not exceed 5% of the total ration.

It is important that iguanas menu is as diverse as possible! In drawing up the menu, you must use as many different types of leaf vegetables and plain vegetables, also use different fruits but do not overdo it, just keep it in little amounts!

Also important is terrarium temperature of iguana: Iguana digest it’s food the best if the temperature in the terrarium is at least 29 ° C and therefore must be taken into consideration that the temperature during the day, in a certain parts of terrarium, doesn’t not fall below this limit! The fall in temperature below 29 ° C strongly inhibit digestive process!

And do not forget to UVA and UVB light (natural and / or artificial).

Factors That Will Help Iguana Molt - Make It Easy

 

4 Factors That Will Help Iguana Molt :

1. Rough surfaces

Put into terrarium a rugged stone, a branch … so that iguana will be able to rub itself  and you can then help in to remove dead skin. Make sure that the stone will not have sharp edges (the same applies to branches or pieces of wood), that iguana won’t hurt itself when rubbing.

2. Swimming

Moisture (water) will help a lot with molting of your iguana. During molting you bath your iguana daily (it is always advisable to bath it - even when they are not molting) and place a little pool in the terrarium also so iguana can soak itself if needed.

3. Spraying

It is a very easy way of facilitating molt. With the spray bottle we sprinkle iguana several times a day (for spraying, the same as for the swimming-we spray even when not iguana is not molting, as it help to maintain adequate moisture in the terrarium). Use lukewarm water. Spray promptly upon the whole terrarium to create adequate moisture, which also helps to fasten the process of molting.

Warning! Do not spray iguana if the room is cold or exposed to drafts or if it is approaching the time when lights are turned off, and maybe the temperature is falling - Your iguana may catch a cold!

4. Mineral oil

Mineral oil is used only if the if you see stoppage of molting in a certain part of the body (eg, if the old skin in left leg does not want to depart from the new). In that case apply a little oil to the fingers  and masagge the region where the problem is. We do this several times a day until the skin does not resign. The method of massage with mineral oil is very effective for solving problems with “stalled”  skin.