new iguana

[rabolongo]

I recently got my first baby green iguana and despite all the research I have done i still need help ! can someone maybe help me with info on feeding and lighting. it seems like the little fellow is just not growing @ all

[Bushbaby]

How long have you had him? What are you feeding him at the moment? Do you have a UVB light in for him? What is the temperature in his enclosure. Does he have a basking spot?

They love herbs and other greens. I have a list of food for Iguanas somewhere, will look for it and post it.

[ylangylang]

You need both UVA and UVB, and both bulbs need to be replaced every 6 months, the light helps them absorb calcium which they need allot of to grow.
I feed my iguana a mixture of, carrot leaves, beet leaves, rocket, rose petals and parsley, also some of the iguana food they sell at the pet shops, and sprinkle his food every second day with reptile vitamins and calcium.
If you wanna give him a treat give him some bread (mine loves it)
and NEVER EVER give him an protien, no crickets, no mealworms, no meat, nothing...it totally screws up their liver

[rabolongo]

I have him for almost 2 months now, he was 9 weeks old when I got him and in the 2 months I had him he haven't gained any wieght (15g) and grew 2\3cm. but i must say that he is very active and does not look sick to me !

He is housed in a meduim sized cage with a 5.0 uvb light, a 40 w basking and infra red nightligt. Temp at warm gradients is around 33 degrees C @ day and 28@night.

Currently I feed him a diet consisting of 70% greens, 20% veg and 10%friut made up of watercress, endive, parsly, butternut, greenbeans and mango and I also add igauna dust by t-rex and calcium plus.

is it that i may be to stressed about his growth ?

[petboy]

You might want to add carrot leaves, turnip leaves (arguably the best food for them re the calcium phosphate ratio) & maybe sweet potatoes (they are supposed to help bulk up a skinny ig)

[Trayton]

every 6 months

This always comes up...why 6 months?why not one year?

[jacovn]

I agree with Trayton. But more specifically though, why do UVA and UVB lamps need to be exchanged every six months for Iguanas and Beardies, but if you have one in your habitat for Leopard Geckos, it needn't be exchanged quite as often?

Do all reptiles not use these lamps to build up calcium, so as not to become viable for MBD? (Can't remember the new name for MBD, and don't think I will remember it for the next six months )

[Trayton]

@Jacovn-Leo's don't need Uv lights,but if you were to use one for a nocturnal gecko a 2.0 would be more than enough.

And if you were to use one for your leo it would have to be changed annualy just the same as the 5.0 and 8.0 or 10.0 lights for Iguana's and beardies because it burns for the same amount of hours a day and would inevective or dangerous in the same amount of time.

[rabolongo]

This always comes up...why 6 months?why not one year?

Some people only change their uvb lights once a year and their iggs is healthy and keeps growing. I also had a look on the box of the uvb and they recommend changing it once a year

So is changing it every 6 months not a bit of a waste....

[Bushbaby]

Some globes have a shorter life expectancy than others. Check the lights how many "hours" it should last. Calculate that into days, weeks, and months, and you should have an estimate of how long the animal will be getting UVB and UVA from the light. Some globes have a shorter life expectancy than others.

[EvanO]

Where do i send a word doc with info on iguanas?
Helped me alot, every type of food, what amount is good, lighting, sexing, etc..etc..

[Beetle_Juice]

uv tubes should be replaced every 6 months because they decay quite quickly, meaning they put out a pretty useless amount of uvb after this (especially if you have an asian made tube) if you bought yourself a MVB then you may have a different scenario, if you bought a powersun mvb then they good for about 3 months then you can throw them away, if you bough a MegaRay then this is good for about 18 months

[rabolongo]

you can send me the word doc to xxx.com@lantic.net or dewaalventer@yahoo.com

Thanks alot

[Trayton]

uv tubes should be replaced every 6 months because they decay quite quickly, meaning they put out a pretty useless amount of uvb after this

But I'm quite sure both ZooMed an Exo-terra are "made in china" or an "Asian" country,yet ZooMed is endorsed by Zoos worldwide!As well as one of the largest lizard breeding facilities in the world!So i think its safe to say you can change them once a year withput much of a decay in the UVA/UVB output.(someone add a link to the site that tests UV lights.)

Tests have been done by independant people and the results are published and sent to the companies and posted on the net for all to see.

if you bough a MegaRay then this is good for about 18 months

I've never heard of "Megaray" lamps...what makes them so much better?

[Beetle_Juice]

ok the website that tests all the bulbs (and proves that im not talking out of my ass)

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

i would not lie about something like this
the megaray is the best reptile lamp that you can buy at the moment, it is a mercury vapour lamp and it is what i currently use in my enclosure, what makes it so special is that it is the only lamp that produces the same amount of uv as the sun and it has a very slow decay rate making it BY FAR the best.....but dont take my word for it, read the review on the website that i have attached to the reply