New owner, help!

[rob461]

Ok, so about four months ago I was handed a 2ish year old iguana and a 55 gallon tank. He has a 15 Watt 5.0 UVB light that has never been replaced the entire time the first owner owned him.

He had no heat light, I got him one now it is ExoTerra Sun Glo 100W, and in the new tank we built him (Pictures Below) it keeps it around 85 at the top and 75 at the bottom.

We used to have a night time heat light for him, but I broke it, first question do I need to replace this? It still stays around 75 where he sleeps, so I didn't think it was nessary.

He was fed nothing but lettuce his entire life, so he is very small for his size, but the vet says he will grow fast due to proper diet now, we give him calicum powder two times a week, and thanks to this website we now feed him a nice diet of mostly fresh green beans and collard greens. They are cheep and close to home at Giant Eagle, so we stick to thoes two and mix in fruit for treats a few times a week. Mostly Canaloap, it's his favorite.

I kinda got off in a tanget, my real questions are; Is that bulb UVB bulb big enough to work for him? I have read that the 5.0 is enough, but everything always says 100W after it, not like 15. Seems low.

If you can see anything else I am doing wrong let me know, I am pretty lost when it comes to what they need... he was going to let it loose if my girlfriend and I didn't take it, so we where basicaly forced into taking with out any real privious knowlage. Since I have read a lot about them using mostly this website and a few others, thanks!

picasaweb.google.com/Rob461/Carl#

The basking spot is now on the left, the second picture shows it on the right, but that was the first night, we moved it over to the left after I trimmed the tree.

We put him in here three days ago, from his 55 gallon tank. It is about 5.5 feet tall, 4 feet wide and 2 feet deep. The wood is oak and it is plexy glass. I am not a carpender, but it gets the job done for now.

I orginaly posted this on "The Green Iguana Society Messageboard", but they are not as popular it looks like, and i need to get him a new UVB bulb, and want to go tonight so trying to get a faster responce, thanks!

[Merlin]

Sept 5, 2009 16:03:11 GMT -8 rob461 said:

Ok, so about four months ago I was handed a 2ish year old iguana and a 55 gallon tank. He has a 15 Watt 5.0 UVB light that has never been replaced the entire time the first owner owned him.

Regardless of age, that bulb is not sufficient. For a flourescent you would need a minimum of 2 4ft 5.0 tubes.

I got him one now it is ExoTerra Sun Glo 100W, and in the new tank we built him (Pictures Below) it keeps it around 85 at the top and 75 at the bottom.

You need a basking spot of 90-95 degrees.

We used to have a night time heat light for him, but I broke it, first question do I need to replace this? It still stays around 75 where he sleeps, so I didn't think it was nessary.

If the temp doesnt go below70 degrees the night time heat is not necessary

He was fed nothing but lettuce his entire life, so he is very small for his size, but the vet says he will grow fast due to proper diet now

Maybe, maybe not, it depends on how stunted it is. It may never reach a normal adult size but it will grow some.

thanks to this website we now feed him a nice diet of mostly fresh green beans and collard greens. They are cheep and close to home at Giant Eagle, so we stick to thoes two and mix in fruit for treats a few times a week. Mostly Canaloap, it's his favorite.

Look at the diet section again! Collard greens and green beans by themselves are not adequate. You need to be feeding a mixture of colllards mustard and turnip greens daily. This should be 80-90% of the diet with the addition of some grated veggies and a little bit of fruit as a treat here and there.

Is that bulb UVB bulb big enough to work for him? I have read that the 5.0 is enough, but everything always says 100W after it, not like 15. Seems low.

NO! 5.0 is only the percentage of the amount of UVB, compared to the amount of visible light, that a bulb gives off. Whether its 40 watt or 15 watt it will still be marked 5.0, but one will give off much more UVB than they other. And a flourescent bulb only gives off useable uvb for a distance of 8-10 inches from the bulb. Truthfully, for a larger cage you need to be looking at mercury vapor lamps like the Megaray www.reptileuv.com They are about the same cost to set up as the fluoresents but will only ned to be replaced once a year instead of every 6 months.

If you can see anything else I am doing wrong let me know, I am pretty lost when it comes to what they need... he was going to let it loose if my girlfriend and I didn't take it, so we where basicaly forced into taking with out any real privious knowlage.

Iguanas are a complicated animal and there are a lot of things you need to know. One of the best things you can do is go get a copy of James Hatfields, Green Iguana the Ultimate Owners Manual. Its the best book out there on iguana care.