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Post by IguanaKing on Jul 15, 2004 7:28:58 GMT -8
Your UVB lamps should be set above a spot that your ig can climb to that allows him to be no more than about 8 inches away from the lamps.
Also, something I forgot before, what are the temps in his habitat? His body temperature will affect his appetite. I recommend using an infrared heat lamp over his habitat, it will warm him quicker than any other method. This lamp, you'll want to put where he can't get very close to it.
Sean
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Post by ullilein1234 on Jul 15, 2004 7:36:21 GMT -8
its about 90 in his tank at all times with a cooler spot at the far end of the tank and a stick going up to the lights. im using a zoo med 40 watt daylight blue bulb and a regular 40 watt lightbulb
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Post by Tesa on Jul 16, 2004 4:30:17 GMT -8
Hi ull, The UVB doesn't have to be above him. I have a new baby that is in a 20 gallon tank and I laid the whole light fixture on the floor. He snuggles up against it. lol I have a different kind of lizard in a glass tank also. For him, I bought some little plastic towel hanger thingies that have sticky stuff on the back and hung the light fixture from them. Be very careful with your temps. I have a 40 watt bulb on my baby and one end of the tank gets up to 96. Are you running both bulbs at the same time, and are you measuring at the exact spot the ig is laying? Your baby's a cutie! I see one problem ..... You have reptibark in the bottom of the tank that needs to be removed. If your lil guy accidentally eats a piece of that stuff it can get stuck in his digestive tract and kill him. Newspaper or paper towels will work better, and it's much easier to clean.  |
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Post by Kerrydaktyl on Jul 16, 2004 6:48:14 GMT -8
Hi! Welcome  Hes a gorgeous little ig! I sometimes freeze food too, or use bought ready frozen peas or beans, I find mine actually preferes them to fresh beans! I use brewers yeast too. At first when he was smalled we did waste alot of veg throwing it away, but once hes bigger you will find a bag of watercress or something doesnt last all that long!! ;D Glad you found this site. Have you seen the post in 'housing' about viv designs? You can get a good idea of other peoples vivs to see where everything goes. Bare in mind the uv bulb has to be placed some where close to his favourite basking spot as the further away the bulb is the less uv the ig can absorb. |
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Post by IguanaKing on Jul 16, 2004 7:30:56 GMT -8
Your high temp of 90 degrees is about as low as his daytime temperature should be, at night it can go a little below 80. During the day it should be no lower than 90 and no higher than about 105, above this your ig will begin to overheat and you will see his mouth open. One thing that its important to remember is that iguanas will actually heat up more from the infrared radiation from your lamps than from the temperature of the air. It is possible to overheat your ig, even though the air temperature might be normal. The temps of your cage furnishings should be considered also, since they more closely represent the light's heating effect on your ig. And yes...the repti-bark must go, I know the package says its safe, but it isn't.  He's a cute little guy. Sean |
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Post by Lyn on Jul 16, 2004 9:00:57 GMT -8
oh your ig is cute, but it shows another problem with your set up....The bark substrate should be removed...anything that poses a choking or impaction hazard should not be used...newspaper or paper towels or even linoleum flooring can be used or repticarpet... but thats gross after a while...good luck...seems the others have everything else taken care of...Lyn
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Post by ullilein1234 on Jul 16, 2004 9:38:53 GMT -8
thanks guys, im going to remvoe the reptibark and try using some paper towels untill i cna get some more money for the carpet. thanks everyone for your help.... by the way hes eating much better now both frozen and fresh foods but he still wont eat infront of me i guess im still i big monster lol  |
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Post by prism_wolf on Jul 16, 2004 16:33:54 GMT -8
Very pretty ig... A couple bits of advice though. Get rid of the bark. This can cause a fatal impaction problem. Igs tongues are sticky and can easily pull the bark in. This stuff doesn't break down. Use newspaper instead. Another problem is the size tank. You need at least a 50 gal. for your baby. This has been tested by a rehabber for www.scalesandtails.org. There is NO WAY to get a proper thermal gradient for an ig in anything less. If you have the basking area just right at 92-96, the rest of the temps are to high. If you have the low end temps correct...the basking area is not high enough. Temps are as important as correct diet and UVB. These three things go hand in hand. Without one right the other requirements set right are useless. |
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Post by IguanaKing on Jul 16, 2004 18:00:08 GMT -8
I never had problems starting my baby igs in a 30 gallon tank...but, then again, if he starts eating well, he'll outgrow it in a couple of months (just like mine did, they weren't in it for very long ). If you're going to go bigger, which you should definitely do soon anyway, you might want to just get his adult-sized enclosure set up next because it won't be long before a 50 gallon is too small also. With the adult-sized enclosure, I recommend an infrared heat lamp, much more of its energy goes to actually heating the ig, rather than the air around him, easily creating a temperature gradient. But, you have to be careful with how far away you place it from the basking area, you don't want to get it too close. I hate to harp on this subject too much (I know I have already), but I've learned a great deal about how igs actually heat their bodies over the last few days. I have been bringing my female iguana, Audrey, to work with me for the last week so I could closely watch her for signs of infection from an attack by Hercules, my male. I work outside most of the time, so I bring her with me so she can get some real sunlight. The air temperature outside has been in the low 90's, so, it should be perfect weather for her, right? The problem is that the infrared rays from the sun actually heated her body well beyond the air temperature and she had a very brief overheat (mouth open) on Monday. Also, in my instrument shop, because of the temperature requirements of some of the equipment, the temperature is right around 72 degrees. But, with an infrared heat lamp, I was still able to maintain her body temperature in the mid-90's without significantly raising the temperature of the surrounding air. Of course I wouldn't recommend the latter situation, but I have come to the conclusion that an iguanas body is designed more to use the infrared rays from the sun rather than air temperature. OK...I'm done with my scientific dissertation...whew! Remember this when building a cage: for an iguana, the most important cage dimension is height. If he doesn't have enough height to play in, he's going to get bored, and a bored ig is likely to cause injury to himself On that note, its also a good idea to start looking now for a good vet who is experienced with reptiles. That way you'll be covered if an emergency should arise. Thanks for reading, I know it was long. ;D Sean |
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Post by mar on Jul 16, 2004 19:21:29 GMT -8
Sean's right don't waste too much of your money on a intermediate sized cage. I have had my ig, Bob, for about 9 years and have built 8 different cage variations. From when he was only 8 inches STL and living in a 15 gallon fish tank (only for 2 weeks as I built a cage) to now at 52 inchs STL inhabiting in a 4x8x6 condo.
The best investment you can make early on is time. Read everything you can get your hands on regarding ig care.
When you take your ig out be careful of the sun and the surroundings. Everything out there is new to him and most of it looks like it will cause him harm so even with a leash on him you are better off with a cage. On the other hand if you cage him that really limits thermalregulation abilities -- you can easily cook an ig in the sun. I am going to put a meat thermometer in a glass jar on my deck tomorrow and see how hot it gets.
UVB is critical to an iguana's health; that being said I don't use a tube in my cage over the summer as I am taking Bob outside of a few hours a day. Once you are not able to take him outside for an hour a day, minimum, his lighting needs to be supplimented by something like a Reptisun 5. Windows are not an option as glass filters out a very high percentage (>98%) of the UVB rays.
Mark
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Post by IguanaKing on Jul 17, 2004 12:04:13 GMT -8
I'm not sure how to simulate an iguana's body in the sun, but I think the meat thermometer idea will scare you with how hot it gets. On a clear day, at Colorado's altitude, metallic objects can be heated to nearly 400 degrees F by the sun. Hopefully an iguana wouldn't get that hot, but its difficult to say...I certainly won't be conducting any real-world experiments in that regard. |
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Post by Merlin on Jul 17, 2004 16:09:01 GMT -8
you might try taking an ig sized peice of meat and use the meat thermometer to test that.
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Post by mar on Jul 17, 2004 16:20:14 GMT -8
It was a cool day today and cloud cover did not clear out until after 15:00. Around 17:00 I placed my oven thermometer in a mason jar and put it on the table on the deck as we sat there comfortably. The level quickly climbed to 50 deg C (~120 deg F) then stayed there constantly. The glass of the jar was cool to the touch, as was the metal lid.
50 C certainly is not HOT but it is enough to kill most any animal you can think of. I still have to tweak my idea of using a green house type building to distill ethanol as an energy source, but I am all but sure that it can be done.
Currently, 19:15 CDT, the sun has fallen behind a house and the mason jar thermometer reads about 30 C while wunderground.com lists local temp as 25 C (77 F)
Merlin, I would rather not put a thermometer in 10 pounds of meat and toss it on the lawn, on the smoker yes, lawn no. Then again 10 pounds of meat is more than I eat in a month.
Mark
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Post by IguanaKing on Jul 17, 2004 18:52:49 GMT -8
50 C certainly is not HOT but it is enough to kill most any animal you can think of. I still have to tweak my idea of using a green house type building to distill ethanol as an energy source, but I am all but sure that it can be done. Yup...it sure is. During the summer, I regularly work in areas where the air temperatures are between 57 C (135F) and 65 C (150F) and I survive through proper hydration (electrolytes, as well as water). I kept Audrey out of these areas though, because I know they're too hot for her. But, I'm sure she'd take a long time to heat to those temperatures because she would only be exposed to the air, not the sun's rays. Merlin, I'm with Mark on this, I'd rather throw that much meat (7lbs. in Audrey's case, 14lbs. in Hercules' case) on the grill, not on the lawn...but then, I'd need to get a bigger grill. ;D Sean |
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Post by Merlin on Jul 18, 2004 4:57:25 GMT -8
LMAO! ;D
I didn't mean and ADULT ig sized peice of meat! I had more in mind a peice of hotdog, hotlink or sausauge!
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Hes a gorgeous little ig!
