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Post by Larrys_Dad on Oct 19, 2004 8:47:59 GMT -8
I recently Upgraded my iguana'a Cage and built a 3 Foot By 4 Foot Cage with Chicken wire. It is a basic bow with Lots of room for the Iguana to climb and get lots of running room. His old cage was a 50 Gallon Fish tank and I use just pet Store Lights one UV and on 50W Bulb those did the trick cause the cage retained heat. Now that the new cage i made is completly open what will be the best method and best lights to keep him at the right temprature threw out the day and at night. I was planing on using plexi glass for the floor with multiple under tank heaters so at night he can keep warm
What sugestions do you have for the best lights, as well as maby night lights or floor heating so he will stay nice and toasty
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Post by Yoda on Oct 19, 2004 13:33:59 GMT -8
;D First of all are you aware of the dangers with the CHicken Wire...I hope you mean the plastic Mesh and not the Real Wire... Many Iguanas have lost their toes to that stuff... as they get caught in the little creases where the wire is twisted......not good. The chicken wire can also cause problems with nose rubbing ...causing painfull skin injury's that can lead to infection... As for the Heat issue ... if possible you will want atleast 3 sides to be solid .. in order to maintain heat.. open air mesh designs are difficult to maintain heat and even worse for humidity.. I would say your best bet is to enclose a few sides as you will have a dificult time trying to provide Gradiants ...( Idealy you want 3 temp zones ) 90-95F Basking area 80-85 Warm area 75- 80 Cooler area. It is imparative that a Iguana is able to Thermo-regulate to ensure short and long term health. Hope this helps.... Cheers James and Yoda Ontario Canada
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Post by IguanaKing on Oct 19, 2004 15:06:34 GMT -8
How high did you say the cage is? Height is the most important cage dimension for an iguana, it really shouldn't be much less than 6' tall.
Like James said, if you're using actual metal chicken wire, you really need to get rid of that, it causes all kinds of injuries.
In an open air environment like that, one of the best ways to easily give him a temperature gradient is with an infrared lamp. His hot, basking area can be directly beneath the lamp, just make sure not to get it too close to him because he will overheat even though the air temperature might only be in the high 80's. The zone around this area will be gradually cooler due to the infrared actually heating other objects which, in turn, heat the air. So, when the iguana wants to cool off, he just moves out from underneath the lamp. This is the method I use for mine and it does an extremely good job of helping them thermoregulate in a more natural manner. Feel free to ask more questions about this method if you're interested in further explanation of how to safely set one up.
For night time, a CHE should do the job fairly well, or you could just use a human-type heating pad and put it in the spot he normally likes to sleep. Its very important that if you use ANY under-belly heating solution at any time, that it NOT be anything from a pet store, hot rocks and heat mats made for reptiles are not made to any kind of decent safety standard and you risk burning your iguana. In fact, the safety of these products is so poor that injury to your iguana is almost guaranteed if you use one. In this case, only a heating pad made for human use is safe enough to use for your iguana. One very important thing to consider with your night-time heating solution is that it gives off NO visible light, iguanas ideally should get 12 hours of sleep in complete darkness. This photoperiod is critical to both their physical and mental health.
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Post by Merlin on Oct 19, 2004 15:16:57 GMT -8
I agree Chicken wire is not a good thing to use with iguanas. It can take their toes right off! Also as has been stated an open sided cage is very difficult to heat correctly.
Are you sure the bulb you are using is a UVB bulb? What is the name of the bulb? Some of those pet store bulbs are horribly misleading in their labeling.
Undertank heaters are basically worthless in an iguana cage. The ig is going ot stay as high in the cage as he can get and heating the floor is just wasted.
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Post by Larrys_Dad on Oct 20, 2004 8:28:02 GMT -8
The Current cage my iguana is in. Bare in mind he is 4 months old still a baby, is an 50 Gallon fish tank. I have the Green matting for floring I read not to use wood chips cause they can eat them axidently. Yes Im using a under cage heat pad bought from PetCo Exotera Pad I tested it before i put it on and it runs all day never gets to hot and helps him at night. And a heat rock but i wrap the rock in hand towels to prevent the iguana from ever touching the rock just getting the heat. The lights im running right now are ZooMed Basking Spot Lamp 50w and I don't rember the name brand of the UV bulb.
The current structure of my failed cage is 3 Feet Wide By 4 Feet Tall just a square box. I designed it so he has plenty of room all around to do what he wants, as well as the front of the cage is detachable so i could promote him to explore out side his cage in my room and at the same time go back in his cage when he gets cold or wants to go back home.
So what im gonna do now is remove all the chicken wire and use Plexy glass to enclose all 4 sides to retain heat and that way there will be no wires he can get hurt on. I will just put in a bunch of ropes logs sticks stuff for him to climb on. Will Plexy glass work for retaining heat and a safe cage for the iguana?
I have just abandoned my new cage for my Iguana after what you read I would never put him in harm's way and I will just keep the 50 Gallon tank he has now till he grows bigger and needs a new sise cage. Basicly I made the other one to promote him to climb and get more exersise.
I am still extremly intrested in building a new cage for my Iguana but luckily my Wife found this site and now with time we will learn the real mothods not book's on what to do for my Iguana
If you guys can name for me the best Heating lamps, Nights light names of the product where to get them and any other methods or stuff I can do for my iguana in his 50 Gallon fish tank to better promote his health would be greatly appreicated.
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Post by Yoda on Oct 20, 2004 13:43:18 GMT -8
;D
Im sooooo glad you have not taken offence to the remarks about the chicken wire...anything you read here is always in the best intentions for you and your Iggy....
I just love brainstorming about cage designs..and you have come to the right place for help ..between Tesa, Dom ( and everyone else here ...way too many to mention) you will find a abundance of up to date accurate information .....
Glad to hear you scrapped the Chicken wire...
Yoda sends Happy Head Bobs ...
Cheers
James and Yoda Ontario Canada
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Post by Yoda on Oct 20, 2004 14:36:34 GMT -8
oh ya ....as for lighting...you will absolutly need a UVB producing light ...dont confuse thei with a light that is only a UVa ... Popular ones are ...Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 florecent tubes.. or the new Mercury Vapor Lights from www.reptileuv.com The UVB Lighting is crutial to the health of your iguana ...unless you can provide time outdoors everyday in the real sunlight......(not sitting in a window) ...an never ever bring the iggy out in the sun in a glass tank....it can act like a magnifying glass and overheat the Iggy... As for heat you really only need a regular light bulb ...you will need to play with wattage to see what works best.... For night heat ...use a ceramic heat emmiter (CHE) or a red heat light ...whatever you use be sure your Iggy cannot contact the bare bulb....and get a nasty burn. As for the other things you can do to ensure a happy Iguana ...Try your best to provide some different levels in the tank ...Your Iguana needs to be able to Thermoregulate ( move to different temperature zones to maintain optimum body temperature for proper food digestion as well as physicall and mental health .....just remember this animal is a Master Climber ...that is what they love ...to climb as high as they can ....soak up UVB rays and eat the tender vitaman rich folliage in the canopy of a humid rain forest......cover all those areas and maintain good husbantry and you will have a Happy healthy Iguana.... James and Yoda P.S Ciggerette butts are not on the suggested food Items list........go figure...lol tesa.proboards24.com/index.cgi?board=health&action=display&thread=1097718118
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Post by IguanaKing on Oct 20, 2004 16:56:46 GMT -8
I'm also glad you didn't take offense to our suggestions Larrys_Dad. James is absolutely right about the UVB light, this is an absolute necessity for a healthy iguana. Check out the site he recommended, not only do they have one of the best UVB bulbs you can buy, but they also have an excellent heating solution available. It is a 60 watt IR emitter that gives off no visible light, so it'd be perfect for night-time use also. One of the best things about an emitter as efficient as this one, is that almost none of its thermal energy is wasted by the bulb itself...thus, it remains relatively cool to the touch and WILL NOT burn your ig, even if he comes into direct contact with it. Heh...not to mention the fact that BobMac, the guy who runs reptileuv.com, and iguana GOD, is a hell of a stand-up guy, you will not receive finer personal service from anybody else. Here's an example for you of what I am using in my habitat, just to give you some ideas. My iguana habitat is 8'L X 4'W X 7'H. For lighting I have: 1) 1 48" flourescent, internally ballasted fixture with two Sylvania Sunsticks to take care of a broad spectrum of light frequencies other than UVB (It is my understanding that other frequencies may be beneficial to an ig's mental stability). The fixture and tubes can be found at a home improvement warehouse like Home Depot. 2) 1 60W MegaRay EB Flood from www.reptileuv.com. This is a mercury vapor flood lamp with its own electronic ballast and in-line on-off switch. This lamp wins, hands-down, in the UVB contest (well...OK...it plays second fiddle to natural sunlight, but just barely ). It doesn't come with a fixture to screw the bulb into though, so you can buy one of these at Home Depot, its about $10 for a 12" clamp-on reflector hood with a ceramic socket (ceramic sockets are best, they last longer and don't care about heat...although the MegaRay generates very little heat). 2) For heat...1 250W red IR heat lamp about 24" from the basking spot (the hot area). Its a power hog though, and you have to make sure neither you nor your ig touch it while it is operating...even momentary contact will cause a fairly significant burn. When this one burns out, I'll be switching to a MegaHeat model, they're more efficient on power and completely safe for you or your ig to touch. If you have a cage as large as mine, IR is the BEST way to heat your ig, their bodies are designed to absorb IR from the sun. They can heat up very quickly with IR heat, and when they want to cool down, they simply move out from underneath the lamp. The best part for you is that this type of heating doesn't significantly raise the temperature of your space, just keeps your iggy nice and toasty without making you sweat. As far as the other heaters you have, under-cage is safe, theres no direct contact with the ig there, but they're not very efficient at heating the cage. Wrapping the heat rock in a towel? Now there's an idea. Just make sure it stays wrapped up so your ig can't come into direct contact with it.
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Post by Yoda on Oct 20, 2004 17:47:35 GMT -8
;D Here is a example ....just to give you a Idea. James and Yoda
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Post by Larrys_Dad on Oct 21, 2004 9:01:00 GMT -8
Im loving all the sigestions you are giving. I will never take any sugestion as a insult that would just be plain ignorent and would ultimatly hurt my iguana.
Well a lil back round first might be good. Im 22 still live at home, saving up for a place probly have one in a year or so. So my options on sise of a cage is limited as well as my funds for getting my iguana the best possible stuff.
Im gonna have to completly redue my iguana's cage to make it the best possible for him.
To start it is 3 Feet wide by 4 feet tall. Chicken wire has been removed. The front of the cage i made removable to promot my iguana to explore around my room and for easy cleaning and getting at my iguana. There are NO levls in the cage but I can certanily make some.
With that in mind I have a 3 Foot by 4 foot tall Empty Box made out of 1*2 wood. What do you sugest I do to make this a good habitat for my iguana as in levls, floors places to put heating also What is the best stuff to use for enclosing the cage, right now it is just the fram made out of wood. I was thinking of maby using plexy glass, then i saw others with plastic for cage souronding.
What is the best material to use to enclose my cage to substitute for the chicken wire
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Post by Larrys_Dad on Oct 21, 2004 9:32:34 GMT -8
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Post by WillemsMom on Oct 23, 2004 15:52:29 GMT -8
Is Larry the name of your ig? He is adorable! What a sweet little guy. I'm glad he has such a responsible Dad.
Sean..about heat. I use the IR bulb for heat in the daytime, at your suggestion, and I love it. It's getting colder in the eves now and my che burned out. What would be your first choice for night time heat? Another CHE or a human heating pad. If the heating pad, do you have a brand you recommend? Thanks
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Post by IguanaKing on Oct 23, 2004 16:06:06 GMT -8
Well...its fairly well-known how I keep my babies warm at night...but, its my personal choice and risk, so I won't continue recommending that to anyone. The CHE would be the best way to go, it actually emits a fair amount of IR, which is what igs' bodies REALLY respond to. Heating pads, i.e. conductive heat, really aren't very efficient at heating an iguana...unless of course you roll or fold the heating pad and just place it under his chin (the dewlap is the BEST conductor of heat through contact, it'll actually heat his whole body quicker than having his whole belly and NOT his dewlap in contact with the heat.) But...you might go give BobMac's site another look, that MegaHeat bulb is IR and doesn't emit visible light. Its MUCH cheaper than a CHE, doesn't use as much electricity, and by all accounts I have read so far, people love it. Mark's got one, maybe you can ask him what he thinks about it. I know I'm getting one as soon as I get my 250W (whose glass portions have been broken on two occasions and it still WON'T QUIT) to stop working. ;D
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Post by EsotericComposer on Oct 23, 2004 19:48:24 GMT -8
Wow those pictures are HUGE!!
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Post by Tesa on Oct 24, 2004 6:19:59 GMT -8
I resized all of the pics and reposted them. Please limit picture size to about 640x480 pixels. They are much more easily viewed (and loaded) that way. Larry's a sweetie! ;D
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