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Post by buddasmom on Nov 18, 2004 13:49:27 GMT -8
Me and my husband have started building a new enclosure for our ever growing iguana, but we've run into a few snags. We're not sure what to do about the flooring. We could make it vinyl flooring or that fake grass stuff, but then how would our ig get his belly heat? We thought of making the bottom plexyglass so we could put a heater pad underneith, but plexyglass seems to be hard to come by and expensive. The other question I had was about live plants in an enclosure. I know there are lots of plants that are deadly for an iguana, but are there any that are safe? Does anyone have any experience with this?
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Post by WillemsMom on Nov 18, 2004 15:48:53 GMT -8
Is there a reason why you don't want to use heat from above? I've never tried heating Willie's enclosure from the bottom.
About plants. I've wanted to put them in Willl's enclosure, too. Especially hibiscus. When I looked into it, I discovered I would have to graft my own if I wanted to be sure it was free of pesticides. I may start a garden for him this spring. I would love to give Will a variety of fresh flowers, etc. Maybe someone who knows more than I, will post..I hope so.
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Post by buddasmom on Nov 18, 2004 16:03:33 GMT -8
I've always been told (by my husband for one who's had a few iguanas) that igs need heat for their belly in order to digest better. That's why I wanted to find a way to heat the bottom. Also for heat when the lights get turned off at night.
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Post by WillemsMom on Nov 18, 2004 16:17:59 GMT -8
Let's see what others say. I know they need to be warm in order to eat well. I have a little hand held thermometer that I can aim at Will and check his body temp. He eats well if his body temp is between 92-95. Somewhere around there. I think some people on our board use under heat, but I don't know anything about it. Sorry.
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Post by Merlin on Nov 18, 2004 17:27:15 GMT -8
Iguanas don't need belly heat. As long as their habitat is the proper temp they will digest just fine. Besides a healthy ig will usually be in the top area of the cage so that heating the floor is pretty much useless. Iguanas are adapted to basking in the sun up in trees not to being warmed from below. That is more in line with ground dwelling species.
An enclosure full of living plants is a nice dream. However there are not many plants that will stand up to an iguana bigger than iglet size. If they aren't eaten they are trampled to peices. You ought to see what Zok does to artificials!
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Post by buddasmom on Nov 19, 2004 16:32:54 GMT -8
Thanks you guys. We decided to use vinyl tiles for the bottom. It'll be easy to clean and stay looking nice longer. We're going to put his heat lamp, uv light, and a ceramic heating coil on top of the cage to keep it warm. I figure the bottom can be his escape from the heat area. We got alot of work done on it today. Thanks for your help!
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Post by WillemsMom on Nov 19, 2004 17:30:19 GMT -8
That sounds great. What a lucky little ig.
But, it is not necessary to keep his whole enclosure warm. Actually, it would be better if one end of his enclosure was cooler than the basking end.
It's true he can go to the bottom for cool temps, but as Merlin said, they like height and it would be best if one end of his enclosure was cool.
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Post by JennaAndIguanaGwen on Nov 19, 2004 21:08:35 GMT -8
You said that you tern off the lights at night. Do you have a night light for him/her?  |
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Post by Merlin on Nov 20, 2004 3:37:53 GMT -8
If you are running a CHE the cage should be warm enough without a night light. As long as the cage stays above 70-75 at night you won't need a supplemental heat source. And you don't want a bright light in there at night. I am not a big fan of the reptile "night lights". They say that the animals can't see them but I have seen many herps that would look right at them.
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Post by prism_wolf on Nov 20, 2004 20:02:31 GMT -8
Night lights are generally a bad idea. There are always the eception to the rule, but MOST herps do see these lights.
I don't even use night heat...the house never gets that cold, but if it does I do have the Mega-Ray heat projector which is lightless heat somewhat like the CHE...just not as wide a heat radius.
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