is this enough ?

[manteca88]

i have a basking light that gives off uva ....and a ceramic heater for night time....is this a sufficient enough heat and light source?

[bgingras]

Nope,

How old/large is your igauna? What size and type of enclosure do you have?

You need UVB as well:
copied from the IZ caresheet.


Since iguanas are cold-blooded, they need to be able to move into warmer and cooler areas of their enclosures to regulate body temperature. This process is call thermo regulation.
They need a basking spot with an optimal temperature of 92-95F, along with cooler places ranging down to around 75F. Ordinary household light bulbs work great to provide both heat and light. You can easily change to a different wattage if you need to raise or lower the temp. Installing thermometers in various places within the enclosure will enable you to monitor temperature changes. At the very least you should have one at the basking spot and one at the coolest part of the cage. Since wild iguanas bask in the sunlight, heat and light should come from above. Heat Rocks should not be used. There are countless cases of iguanas being burned.
If you live in an area where temperatures do not allow you to expose your iguana to natural, unfiltered sunlight, he will also need a special bulb that produces UVB rays (fake sunlight). UVB is necessary for iguanas to absorb calcium. There are several types of bulbs that emit UVB rays, however the most commonly recommended is the Reptisun 5.0. This is a fluorescent tube that costs around 20 dollars.
A word of caution: Bulbs labeled as “Full Spectrum” mislead many people. These bulbs do not emit UVB.
Iguanas require a day/night cycle. It is recommended that you have yours on a schedule of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness.
Nighttime temps should not fall below 70F; therefore you may need a heat source that also allows darkness. One of the best ways is to use Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHE’s), which screw into a porcelain light socket and give off only heat, not light.

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I personally use a mega ray from Reptileuv.com...I'm using a 100 SB as it puts out both UVB and heat, other use the EB models. Either way my setup is able to keep the basking area around 90degrees, with the cooler area around 75 degrees. You need to have an enclosure large enough to give these kinds of temperature differences, plus also provide the height and overal size requirements of an iguana.

[Merlin]

Your light bulb is little more than a fancy colored household bulb. The packaging on these is deliberatly misleading. A plain household bulb of the same wattage will do the same exact thing at a considerably cheaper price! It is not what the iguana needs. You have to have a specific UVB generating bulb and these aren't cheap!
As for your heating question, the only way to know is to install a digital thermometer that measures the temperature in the basking area as well as in the cooler area of the cage. Otherwise it is impossible to say if you have enough heat. If too much you will roast your ig and if not enough they cannot digest their food which can rot in their gut and kill them.

[manteca88]

i really dont know how old it is i had for like a month now. its about 7 in from head to back not counting tail.....its cage is 30" x 18" x 30" .

[bgingras]

Hello,

Ok I would suggest taking a long look around the site here, you will be needing a much larger enclosure pretty much ASAP. Iguanas grow very fast up to 2' the first year, and can be between 5 1/2 and 7 feet long...thats a big boy.

They also need sufficient room to go from hot to cooler sections of the enclosure, so you must provide something large enough to have such temperature differences of about 90 in the hot section to 75 in the cool. Also they need height, tons of it...6 feet in height pretty soon. to give you an idea, my boy is 3 years old now, he has an enclosure that is 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 8 feet tall...it may not be large enough for him in a couple more years.

The suggestion is to provide an enclosure they they grow into because of the cost of providing a series of intermediate enclosures.

The lighting is incredibly important, and needs to be addressed pretty much now, as it's possibly the most important health related item next to temperature.

What are you feeding by the way? Have you checked the food charts on this site?

[manteca88]

yea i checked online as soon as i got it for food....i feed it asparagus, alfalfa, bell peppers, squash, dandelion and stuff like that.....i vary it ...he/she seems to like it.

[bgingras]

Add collards, mustard greens and turnip greens and you'll be great..definitely look at the enclosure size and lighting as soon as you can though, they are very important.

[manteca88]

so i was thinking on gettting this one.what do you guys think?
Mega-Ray® SB 100 watt Self-Ballasted Flood UVB Lamp

[bgingras]

I like it, it's what I use on my ig and my turtle, they both thrive with them...make sure you monitor the temp on the basking area, and adhere to the minimum safe distance from the iguana. Also make sure it's setup so the iguana cannot make contact with it and get burned. My setup with a 100SB and a 150 CHE holds at 90 degrees this time of year on the basking shelf, which is 6' off the floor.

[blur]

hi there i just got a baby iguana..im not sure must i on both the uv light and the heating light at the same time ??how many hours should i on it ?? where to place and how far away should i place both lights?? must i on both heating and uv lights at night ?? please help me

[manteca88]

yea i had the same question coming...both uvb and basking light has to be on at the same time?

[bgingras]

you need to use whatever it takes to keep the basking area at or around 90 degrees. You should have the UVB on no matter what, and add additional heating as needed. If it requires both lights, then use both. Distance for the UV depends on the bulb, but most florescent bulbs require a pretty close location(under 12"), mega rays should be no closer than 12" and set at around 18"...you should have the lights on as long as it is light out. Mine goes on at 6:30am and goes off at 7pm. Iggy knows right when it's lights out and is already parked in his sleeping spot about 5 mintues before the lights go off.

[bgingras]

manteca88 said:

yea i had the same question coming...both uvb and basking light has to be on at the same time?

The UVB and basking should be the same lamp if it's putting out heat. Think of the UVB bulb as the sun, when it's up the lights are on and it warms up. So when the uv is on have the other lights on.

[prism_wolf]

bgingras said:

you need to use whatever it takes to keep the basking area at or around 90 degrees.

Actually...the temps need to be between 92 - 96 degrees. Any lower and you're compromising internal organ function. Believe it or not...a couple of degrees really makes a difference. If you use flourescent tube lights for UVB you will always need a heat source. The Mega Ray EBs also require an additional heat source. The Mega Ray SB usually does not. All lights run at the same time. Set them on a timer to match the daylight hours of any normal day... .

If you use the tubes, make sure you go with a good brand. Not all are created equal. Here's a site that can help you decide. Go with the top 4 listed in the graphing charts (very easy to read).
www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttuberesults.htm

[bgingras]

prismwolf said:

bgingras said:

you need to use whatever it takes to keep the basking area at or around 90 degrees.

Actually...the temps need to be between 92 - 96 degrees. Any lower and you're compromising internal organ function.

I stand corrected, and in fact need to get some more heat going...90-94 has been my daily temp on the basking.