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Post by jaydsr2887 on Aug 18, 2013 21:17:34 GMT -8
Hey... I'm jay and just wanted to ask a few questions about a free roaming iggy.... I have acquired a 3' ?'' Female iguana and right now don't have the financial meanes to make her an adequate cage large enough to suite her needs so I built her a few shelves for her to hang out on and have her heat and uvb lights hung up for her along with some tree limbs hung up and she is potty trained to use a tupperware bin filled waist high to her to urate and poop in and she has a humidifier going all the time along wit a space heater so that I know it is suitable for her....but my question is.... is that she doesn't come down often and I'm wondering if there is anyway to coach her to become more sociable to come out of her room or off her shelf?.....
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Post by jaydsr2887 on Aug 18, 2013 21:19:19 GMT -8
Here is a pic of my little girl Attachments:
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Post by JennaAndIguanaGwen on Aug 19, 2013 9:07:42 GMT -8
Hi, Jay  I like the setup you have, it sounds great. It's also great that she loves being up there and basking  the more UVB the better. Iguanas aren't always social creatures but one way to encourage her to come down every once in a while is to move her plate of food somewhere that is out of her little nook, but not too far, and within line of sight. It might work best if you start moving it each day by a foot or two from where you normally have her food dish. Do keep in mind that sometimes iguanas tend to not make great choices. If she starts to spend too much time away from her UVB source and her heat source then you are going to have to find ways to encourage her old habit of staying on her basking shelf again. My iguana, Gwendolyn, sometimes decides she just wants to sit at the window and look outside all day no matter how many times I move her back to her basking spot. I'm not comfortable with her being away from her UVB source for more than a couple hours a day so in this case I unclip her UVB bulb and position it above her spot at the window. thanks for posting, Jay! -Jenna |
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Post by jaydsr2887 on Aug 19, 2013 10:17:40 GMT -8
Ok I kinda thought about doing that. ... but she is lazy..... lol and when I try to hold her its like she sits on my lap and climbs to my shoulder then my head and she's goos for a bit then crawls back the hall up the side of her old cage which I still have there to help her up to her new shelf lol.... I can't wait till we move soon cause we will have a finished attic dedicated all to her.... it will always be warm and her humidifier will keep it nice and warm.... and I'm planning on having a dandelion garden up there for her too
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Post by jaydsr2887 on Aug 19, 2013 10:21:43 GMT -8
And one question. .... I can't find the answer anywhere.... can they eat cucumber skins?
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Post by JennaAndIguanaGwen on Aug 20, 2013 18:52:25 GMT -8
just a quick reply:
In an attic? What kind of an attic is it?
I think it will be fine if you don't peel the cucumber skins since cucumbers are only an occasional food.
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Post by jaydsr2887 on Aug 21, 2013 5:47:08 GMT -8
Its a finished attic..... she will have ventilation and everything..... I just thought it to be a good idea cause she will have a lot of room and her own space to call her own a then since we have kids then the sound won't travel up there as much..... an I was just wondering about the cucumbers because we are always getting those small tiny ones and was wwondering if they had to be peeled or not because I give her bell peppers and just drop the whole thing in and let her have at it cause it seems as though she loves ripping them apart lol..... she will literally toss it around and find it and was wondering if I was able to do the same with cucumbers but now that I think bout it maybe a cucumber is and will be a little hard to bite through. ......
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Post by JennaAndIguanaGwen on Aug 21, 2013 16:52:06 GMT -8
I wish Gwendolyn liked peppers; she will barely touch them. She goes nuts for bananas, strawberries, and soaked wheat bread though. Sometimes iguanas bite off more than they can chew (quite literally since they usually don't chew their food). With whole foods like that its possible for her to bite off a portion that's too big and choke on it. This happened with my first iguana and I was worried she was going to suffocate. I didn't know what to do so I just watched her choking and she eventually was able to swallow it but I learned my lesson that day. She may absolutely Love tearing the pepper apart but for her own safety it's best to cut up all her food into thin bite size pieces no larger than her head that she can swallow whole. I generally take a potato peeler and peel squash and occasionally carrots or parsnip or cucumber; things like that.
There is so much to learn about iguanas; I swear it never ends!
-Jenna
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Post by jaydsr2887 on Aug 21, 2013 17:16:42 GMT -8
I agree..... but when she tears into tem bell peppers it reminds me of that scene from jarJurassic park where te t-rex tosses that guy in the air and sswallows him lol..... I love mybaby girl. ... she's sitsitting beside me right now with her head on my lap like a dog....lol
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the more UVB the better. Iguanas aren't always social creatures but one way to encourage her to come down every once in a while is to move her plate of food somewhere that is out of her little nook, but not too far, and within line of sight. It might work best if you start moving it each day by a foot or two from where you normally have her food dish.