Post by Bagheera on Apr 2, 2013 15:11:05 GMT -8
Hello everyone. I'm Bagheera and I am new to Iguana Zone. Although I do not currently have an Iggy, I most definitely plan on getting one sometime in the Spring or early summer of next year due to expecting a baby girl in July
I have long wanted an Iguana but I don't really support Pet Stores when it comes to Iggy sales. I see a lot of baby iguanas for sale on craigslist due to the owner losing interest in them or some other reason. Most often, when I see pictures of the iguanas, more often the babies or juvies, they are almost always housed in small aquariums with substrate and barely or none of the right lighting/heating. Depending on how things go between this July and the time I turn 21 next summer, we'll definitely have a baby iguana. Hopefully, it's not too much of a hassle having both a 1 year old and an Iggy but I do hear of people with children and iggys so it's not impossible. I just want to get a routine/bond started with my baby first
I have a small question on enclosures. I'm definitely going to build a custom enclosure out of plywood or melamine. The cage plans I've came up with are 6'Lx3'Dx6'T. I know a lot of people say 8 feet or bigger or 10 feet as a minimum but as of right now, I don't think I can really go any bigger. Would this work out alright for an Iguana as long it is allowed free roam time and time to bask outdoors? I live in Ohio and the summers here are nice overall so it'll be getting a lot of outdoor time, especially in spring and summer.
One last question is one that has really been giving me a tough time to answer on my own. I know the whole "salmonella and reptiles" thing is highly exaggerated but should I be worried of my baby girl getting sick from the iguana? She won't have any access to the iguana for a very long time but I know I'll be doing a lot of handling and taming and carrying it around, etc. Should I wear different clothes or something when I'm tending to the Iguana? What should I do about free roaming? Maybe I could block off an area somewhere just for him where he can bask, explore, eat, etc? Say maybe part of the living room that she won't have access to? Good hygiene is pretty much second nature to me so the hand washing I'm not worried about. I just want to know are there any extra precautions I can take so that it won't be a problem keeping one in the same house as a toddler.
I do plan on getting the Green Iguana Manual by James Hatfield in a week or two and thorougly reading it so when I do get an iggy next year, I'll be more knowledgeable on their care. I'm also currently researching reptile vets in our area so once I do get one, he'll have a good vet to go to regularly.
Thanks for reading my post

I have long wanted an Iguana but I don't really support Pet Stores when it comes to Iggy sales. I see a lot of baby iguanas for sale on craigslist due to the owner losing interest in them or some other reason. Most often, when I see pictures of the iguanas, more often the babies or juvies, they are almost always housed in small aquariums with substrate and barely or none of the right lighting/heating. Depending on how things go between this July and the time I turn 21 next summer, we'll definitely have a baby iguana. Hopefully, it's not too much of a hassle having both a 1 year old and an Iggy but I do hear of people with children and iggys so it's not impossible. I just want to get a routine/bond started with my baby first

I have a small question on enclosures. I'm definitely going to build a custom enclosure out of plywood or melamine. The cage plans I've came up with are 6'Lx3'Dx6'T. I know a lot of people say 8 feet or bigger or 10 feet as a minimum but as of right now, I don't think I can really go any bigger. Would this work out alright for an Iguana as long it is allowed free roam time and time to bask outdoors? I live in Ohio and the summers here are nice overall so it'll be getting a lot of outdoor time, especially in spring and summer.
One last question is one that has really been giving me a tough time to answer on my own. I know the whole "salmonella and reptiles" thing is highly exaggerated but should I be worried of my baby girl getting sick from the iguana? She won't have any access to the iguana for a very long time but I know I'll be doing a lot of handling and taming and carrying it around, etc. Should I wear different clothes or something when I'm tending to the Iguana? What should I do about free roaming? Maybe I could block off an area somewhere just for him where he can bask, explore, eat, etc? Say maybe part of the living room that she won't have access to? Good hygiene is pretty much second nature to me so the hand washing I'm not worried about. I just want to know are there any extra precautions I can take so that it won't be a problem keeping one in the same house as a toddler.
I do plan on getting the Green Iguana Manual by James Hatfield in a week or two and thorougly reading it so when I do get an iggy next year, I'll be more knowledgeable on their care. I'm also currently researching reptile vets in our area so once I do get one, he'll have a good vet to go to regularly.
Thanks for reading my post
