Iguanas come from various places. One such place is the forests of Central and South America. They love the warmth and sunshine, they live in the trees by the edge of the jungle and in clearings. Iguanas are active during day-light hours and sleep like babies throughout the night.

In their natural habitat, Iguana’s can be seen sunning themselves on large tree branches or feeding among the tree leaves. Iguanas are very territorial and a single large male can guard a territory not much bigger than a residential lot and will run off any other males that are in sight.

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Healthy, baby Iguanas should be an iridescent green. As they reach maturity, their colors begin to change and vary. Some become a paler green, blush, striped or blotchy. These are all normal variations.

As they continue to grow, they tend of develop more shades of cream and brown. Their eye color also begins to vary. Iguanas have a remarkable ability to change their color to suit their moods and camouflage needs – so don’t be disappointed if the iguana sold to you as a “rare” color, changes back to a more common shade. The Iguanas diet may also influence their color.

Mature Iguana’s Colors, as well as their behavior, also change dramatically when they are in breeding season. At that time, they tend to develop shades of rust and orange.

Lastly, a couple of more items we should point out is that Iguanas also change colors, every five to eight weeks when they get ready to shed, during the summer. Finally, the environment temperature will also affect your pet Iguana. They will get darker in color as the temperature drops.

Very popular as pets, the Iguana have spread to the United States through trade. Iguanas were first reported outside of captivity in Miami, Florida in 1966 and are now overrunning the everglades. In Texas, they slowly and carefully worked their way up from Southern Mexico to Southern Texas, where they have been established at least since the 1990’s. Luckily, expansion further North of Texas is unlikely due to irregularly freezes, but with the warmer temperature trends anything could happen. For Puerto Rico iguanas have completely overrun the island and are a major pest.

Next to food, proper temperature and sunlight are the most important keys to keeping your pet Iguana, long-term happy and healthy.

Iguana’s normally sunbath to control their body temperature. If they are too cold, their immune system and digestive system will shut down. In northern climates, indoors and in confined spaces, your pet iguana can not perform normal bodily functions (thermoregulate). As a result, it will rely entirely on you to keep its body temperature correct. You can accomplish this by creating a temperature gradient within the Iguana’s living quarters with a temperature of eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit on one end to a basking area of ninety-six degrees Fahrenheit at the other end. Be sure to use several thermometers in the care to keep track of the temperature. You can turn off any lights in the room if the temperature does not fall below eighty-five degrees.

There are several ways to keep your pet Iguana warm. “hot rocks” or “sizzle stones” unfortunately, are not one of them. Eventually, they will scald your pet. Forty watt incandescent light bulbs, placed a few inches outside of the cage, works well. This option will allow your pet Iguana to choose a location on his perch that best meets its heat and light needs. Heat lamps pointed into the care are also acceptable as long as they do not melt the vinyl mesh or start a fire. Lastly, it’s not ideal to hang heat sources inside the cage as it will likely be moved by your pet Iguana or even burn your pet’s skin. Use caution.

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If your looking for a different kind of pet, why not consider an Iguana? They are becoming increasingly popular pets across the U.S.A. and for people who are looking for something a little more exotic. They may look a bit scary, but they are usually docile and gentle creatures.

Before you bring an Iguana home, be sure to do some online research to learn if this is the right pet for you. Don’t hesitate to visit our showroom and we will be pleased to provide you with all the details you need and how to keep a pet Iguana. Here is some general information on Pet Iguanas to help you decide if this is the right pet for you.

For starters, you must understand that the Iguana is a reptile so it will require some special care and diet. Just as with other reptiles, Iguanas are cold blooded so their body temperature is ever changing in-line with changes in the atmosphere temperature. As a result, you must keep in a warm and comfortable place where there will be no drastic changes in temperature.

Next, keep in mind that your pet Iguana must be trained, from day one, to avoid any hostilities. Remember that Iguanas are from wild habitat so you need to tame him. Make your pet Iguana, comfortable so that he calm when you approach him. To achieve this milestone, you must handle your pet frequently, pet him and talk to him, in a gentle fashion. Do not shout or try to scare him away. If he or she becomes aggressive, for any reason, do not lose your cool and handle the situation calmly. The basic idea is to make your Iguana feel at home so that he starts liking you and your family members.

Iguanas are not fussy eaters, so you can give the them a variety of foods. In their natural surroundings, they feed on vegetables, flowers, fruits, so try to give your pet Iguana different kinds of diets on a regular basis. They also require a lot of protein in their diet so don’t hesitate to consult with Petware Hour of your veterinarian for pet supplements.

Iguana’s are natural herbivores and should be offered a large variety of dark leafy green vegetables, supplemented with a small amount of sweet and vegetable fruits and flowers. The bulk of the diet should be compromised of leafy green vegetables, such as mustard greens, parsley, collard greens dandelion greens, beet and turnip greens, escarole, spinach, and kale. Some items, such as lettuce, offer very little in terms of nutritional value, so it should be avoided. For treats or as supplement to the greens, your Iguana will love apples, bananas, papaya, mangos, snap peas, sweet peppers, and grated squash. Be sure to feed your Iguana on a daily basis. Offer food after heat lights have been turned on and your pet has had a chance to warm up. Do not feed your pet Iguana any animal proteins such as meat, dog or cat food, biscuits, etc.

Iguana Diet Guide

All pets require regular health check up’s by your local, trusted veterinarian, so keep your Iguana happy and healthy with regular trips to an animal doctor. We can also tell you that some species of animals are much more susceptible to certain ailments than others. Here’s a run-down and a few health-related items to watch for:

Metabolic bone disease is caused by an imbalance of phosphorus, calcium and, and vitamin D3. Its most common effects are a weakening of the bones or impaired functioning of the body’s organs. Be sure to feed your pet a proper diet and keep correct temperature ranges in the Iguanas environment to help prevent MBD. Symptoms of this disease include excessive swelling of the lower jaw, some curvature in the tail or back, the lower jaw may be shorter than the upper jaw.

Captive Iguanas face a higher risk of improper diet, a lack of water or humidity which can lead to kidney disease, unfortunately. Common signs to look out for are weight loss, anorexia, dehydration, swollen abdomen, loss of muscle tone and eventually a lack of elimination. In some cases, your pet Iguana might not show any signs and act perfectly healthy even a couple of weeks before their kidneys fail. Your veterinarian can check blood levels of the phosphorous and calcium in your iguana to try to prevent kidney failure. If caught early enough, treatment would consist of diet and improvement to living arrangements. A strict plant-based diet, access to water and frequent misting helps prevent kidney failure.

As with most pets, Iguanas are highly susceptible to both external and internal parasites. A parasite is commonly known for living in or on another living thing. Internal parasites are somewhat more difficult to diagnose. They product microscopic eggs which pass through your iguanas feces. As a result, fecal parasite exams should be performed routinely for newly acquired reptiles. A fresh specimen, collected within twenty-four hours will need to be collected and refrigerated or kept in a cooler on ice and submitted to your veterinarian. It’s generally a good idea to have your pet tested a few times with negative results in order to ensure your Iguana is without parasites.

External parasites include mites and may be found on your pet Iguana. Mites are well known for sucking blood and appear as bright red, black or dried blood in Gcolor. They are frequently found roaming the body, tucked under the adges of scale around the eyes, ears, or other skin folds. Mites are very difficult to eliminate. Treatments should be considered and applied under the guidance of a veterinarian. Other pet’s and the immediate environment should be treated as well or the mite infestation may reoccur. Remove all organic substrate and treat all items in the enclosure. Boil rocks, bake wood, and bleach bowls and the enclosure.

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