All too often I hear of people keeping their pet in a small iguana cage. Anyone serious about keeping Iguanas as a pet should surely do the research before buying an animal that can grow to more than six feet?
I am constantly coming across stories of people who do not realise how large an iguana can grow and eventually end up either letting the animal loose into the community, keeping the iguana in a tiny, completely unsuitable cage or actually dumping it somewhere never to be seen again.
Many people seem to think that an Iguana will only grow to the size of the vivarium or enclosure they are in, this is not the case!
It is these wrong views that are causing so many Iguanas to be dumped and let loose into the community.
After hearing so many stories about dumped Iguanas iI decided that with my experience of keeping and breeding reptiles for the past 15 years I could offer some great advice to those of you wanting to keep these beautiful reptiles as pets.
Iguana Cage and housing requirements-
I am going to start with advice on the enclosure as this I feel this is a far more important issue than where they come from and other basic information. After all, it is the size an Iguana can grow to that forces people to abandon them.
If after reading this you can say that you are fully aware of the size of the enclosure needed and how big the Iguana will grow to and still want to get one, then I feel my job will of been done and you can read on to find out more information.
The cage/enclosure you keep an Iguana in is a very important factor. A baby Iguana can grow from a 7-10 inch cutie into a 5-6 foot dinosaur within three years.
A hatchling Iguana will have doubled in length in just 6 and a half months and by its 15th month will have tripled in length to approx 2 feet! This rapid growth is often what catches people out and causes so many Iguanas being abandoned.
Due to this rapid growth it is wise not to start off with too smaller enclosure as in a very short amount of time it will of out grown it and need replacing. A good size enclosure to start with for a baby iguana would be an all glass aquarium with fitted or screen top lid. They are very easy to clean and being all glass they allow a nice amount natural of light in.
I would recommend a starting size of about 36inches to make sure you get your Iguana has a nice size home for a while and you get your moneys worth out of it. This size enclosure should house your iguana for the first 12-18 months.
Once they have reached 18months I would recommend an enclosure being at least 48inches long but to save money I would go straight for a larger size right away, maybe 5 or 6 feet. Once an Iguana reaches 4 feet I would recommend building an enclosure yourself.
There are some excellent cage plans on the market that help you to build beautiful Iguana cages that they will live happily in for their adult lives. The Iguana cage plans I would recommend are here.
Next time I will talk about substrate for your Iguana cage and also furnishings. Thanks for reading,
Until next time.....
Paul
