Iguana owners, need advice for a newby

[01mlplover]

Last Saturday I bought a baby iguana from earl may. They didn't know anything about them and some of their reptiles were dying so I felt like I was saving him or her from death. I came home and instantly read everything I could about them.

I'm working on getting a bigger cage at the moment. I'd rather not hear rude remarks about how he's being kept in to small of an aquarium. It's only temporoary. I don't have a uvb bulb yet and I know it's important so I'm trying to find the cheapest place to buy the power sun bulb.  I did buy a heat lamp though that I turn on and off through the day so he doesn't get to hot.

Anyways I figured out he's about 3 months old and I'd just rather hear some tips and advice from actual owners if possible. I never seen myself owning an iguana but I'm excited to watch him grow and keep him for years to come.

I also have a ball python so I'm not a first time reptile owner but iguanas are totally different.

Here's a pic of the little guy. He loves to sleep on his hammock. I got this pic as he was falling asleep so he looks drowsy
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[rearing_palomino164]

I don't know much about them. I work for a vet office who specializes in exotics as well. I've only heard the doc say that iguanas can be hard to care for. My brother used to have one growing up, but it passed away from a bacterial infection. We were both very young and I couldn't tell you much about. Just that I remembered being scared of it and it would get mad and whip you with its tail. It hurt bad! UVB bulbs are important as well as the night and day heat bulbs. Don't know the recommended temp. to keep them at or if they need any humidity in their tank. There may be an exotics vet close to where you live. If you call in someone may be able to answer your questions.

[SeashellnBubbles]

I do exotic animal rescue and am a vet tech, so yeah....I can help you When you get a latger cage, go for longer with an undertank heater as a heat source. Don't fall for the "hot rock" crap...they can burn a reptile quite badly.
Iguanas like to climb, too, so a tallish tank is a good idea, as well. They're mostly vegetarian, but will sometimes eat crickets and such when they're babies. mix in a vitamin powder as it states on the product.
Now the hard part. This guy may get up to 6 feet long and will require room of his own as he ages, or an outdoor cage, of course. If that's too much, you may want to try finding him a new home. Other than that he looks great, so keep up the good work!!

[Dainty]

I do not know much about iguanas so I am only coming to offer advice on buying cages- I would try and build one yourself. I did a quick google ass im only familiar with making rodent cages (I'm on the train on my iPhone so can't do much sorry) but it seems like there are a lot of resources on different ways to go about it. It won't be dirt cheap but there are certainly ways to make sturdy cages that are relatively inexpensive and functional even if they aren't particularly pretty (although I see some people working with wood and making beautiful enclosures if you have the money and skill/handy friends) however I am not sure since he is so young what an ideal young iguana enclosure would be. I have seen people make enclosures for young reptiles etc out of large storage bins, cutting out the sides and cover and replacing with hardware cloth. I would see if that could be an option?
Again I wouldn't take any of my advice straight without doing further research but maybe it's something to look into?

[kaoskat]

He's a cute little guy! I hope you are able to care for him! Good luck!

[01mlplover]

Having the room is no problem. He'll have a nice spacious cage when I'm able to buy one. I'm afraid me building one is out of the question. I'm not very knowledgable with that kind of stuff.