AboutDiane Expertise I am well versed in all aspects of the care and keeping of green iguanas. This includes all husbandry issues pertaining to the Green Iguana. I am not a vet so I cannot answer medical questions, other than ideas for normal supplementation, removing stuck shed, dropped tail and mites and other general health questions
Experience I own 3 green iguanas, two of which are rescues. I've had my Iguanas for 7 years. I own a yahoo group dedicated to raising healthy iguanas. I've rescued and rehabbed several young iguanas and have placed them in wonderful forever homes. I prefer taking in the "hard cases" that need critical care.
Organizations Scales and Tails Exotic Pet Rescue (one of the founding members)
Publications One of the Co Authors of the Book "The Iguana Dens Care and Keeping of Giant Green Iguanas"
Education/Credentials I was a vet tech for a small animal practice for 6 years.
Past/Present Clients I own a yahoo group dedicated to raising healthy iguanas.(babyiguana)
I have answered several Iguana questions on the "reptile" forum on here.
Question My question is for the last 3 weeks my ig tongue hangs out of his mouth. Ozzy is approx 1.5 yrs old. His jaw looks swollen also. To the best of my knowledge he is getting the best of everything. We have a cat that seems to like teasing him but has never touched him. Thanks for your help on this.
Dan
Answer Hi Dan,
Two things come to mind. Many igs, when they have kidney problems will hang their tongues out of their mouth. With a swollen jaw, that is generally a sign of Metabolic Bone Disease.
MBD is caused from a lack of proper uvb. Without proper uvb, they are unable to absorb/process the calcium in their foods. Many times, this isn't the fault of the owner, but of the pet store that the owner asks for information at because they, many times, really know what is good and what is bad, and they also do not keep up with current information on uvb lighting products. I"m including a basic care sheet which will give you the info on uvb along with other care information.
With kidney disease, only a vet can diagnose it with blood work. MBD, many times a vet can tell just by looking at the iguana. Xrays may be taken to see both the kidneys and bone structure.
If the tongue is also due to the possibility of MBD, once proper care is given and a good source of uvb is provided, igs generally can recover and actually reverse the MBD. As I said, I do suggest a vet visit to properly diagnose your ig. There are links to finding a vet i the care sheet below. The vet, depending on the severity of the MBD can prescribe a prescription strength calcium supplement. If not, you can use a good supplement such as the REP CAL brand that contains nothing but the calcium. Also, diet is vital so be sure to change your igs diet as may be needed according to the info below. One word of caution.....please don't try to give more calcium that recommended as that over supplementation with calcium and or vitamins is as bad or even worse than under supplementation.
Iguanas have many, many special care needs..when those needs are not met, iguanas will suffer in many ways...which can include metabolic bone disease, no growth,kidney and liver disease....and death...its important to give an iguana all the recommended care to help them thrive in captivity....below is the basic care an iguana needs...anything less and they will not do well in captivity.. If their care is not right...they will not be active or eat..PLEASE read the entire care sheet...and print it out if needed...also be sure to read the enclosed links I listed at the bottom.....
HOUSING:
Don't let the pet store tell you that an ig will only grow as
big as the cage it is in!!! That's NOT true!!! Don't waste your money on a 10 gallon tank...that's big enough to bring them home in, but that's about it. To give you an idea how fast they grow, an iguana will outgrow a 75 gallon tank within the first year. Start with nothing smaller than a 55 gallon tank,but, since iguanas are arboreal, a tank does not offer the height an iguana needs.That's a very good reason to start with a cage that is bigger.The size that is required for an adult iguana is 6-7 feet high, at least 6-7 feet wide and no less than 3 feet deep.Its important to remember air circulation and also that you have to keep the humidity up. Also, that you have to be able to provide the lighting and heating from the top, so a screen or mesh top is needed, or a solid top with holes cut out and covered with screen for the lights to shine through.(the screen covering the opening prevents the ig from being able to touch the heat source) If not, you will harm your ig health wise.
LIGHTING:
Supplying uvb can be done in a few ways. By special lights that come in fluorescent tubes or special screw in bulbs (mercury vapor)that are designed to produce uvb and heat. The tubes do not produce heat. UVB is needed by the Iguanas to be able to absorb the calcium in the foods they eat. With out the uvb, they will develop metabolic bone disease. There are tubes that say ''full spectrum'' but they do not produce any uvb.
With the correct tubes, they must say that they produce BOTH uvb and
uva. The uvb needs to be 5% or higher. Repti Sun 10.0 and the Repti Glo 8.0's are a great source for uvb. The old "favorites" are the repti sun 5.0 or the Iguana light..which are the same tube, just different package. These need to be positioned 6-8 inches over the iguana for the 5% and 8% and 8-10 inches for the 10% so that they get the uvb that is needed. The tubes need to be replaced every 6-9 months as that they stop producing UVB long before they stop producing light.Using a fixture that holds two uvb tubes of at least 3 feet in length will provide adequate uvb for your iguana. There has been new studies that have proven that compact uvb lights, both the spiral/coil type and the ones that look like long "U's" laying on their side and a few other brands are causing what basically amounts to snow blindness in reptiles. To read more on this, you can go to http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm On the mercury vapor , they also produce heat. They also produce the uvb and uva. The best on the market now are the Mega Rays.(http://www.reptileuv.com) The distance from these are greater than the uvb tubes and the directions must be followed that are listed for the light. When using the mercury vapor lights, you don't need to have one light for uvb and one for heat. The Mercury vapor lights provide both.
For daytime heat, if using the tube uvb, regular household incandescent light bulbs produce heat. I like the halogen bulbs as they produce a nice bright light for your ig. The wattage will
depend on the size of your iguanas enclosure. and the room temperature.Of course, the best uvb is from the sun and if you are in an area that you are able to take your iguana outside in a proper enclosure, (Never a tank or enclosed, solid cage)
BASKING AREA TEMPERATURES:
Igs MUST HAVE a basking light...they digest their food by the heat.
This light/heat can be provided by a regular household light bulb that produces heat.(or if using a mercury Vapor light as mentioned above)Depending on the size of the cage, you may need anywhere from a 60 watt to a 100 watt bulb.
The basking area temps must be maintained at about 92 to 96 gradient ...no lower..no higher...they NEED the heat to digest their food!! If the temperatures are too low, digestion is slowed, too high and the food digests too fast and nutrition is not utilized as it should be.
This, again, is for 12 hours of daylight (the same time your UVB lights are on).You can place this bulb in a silver dome fixture(be sure it has the ceramic socket) and it MUST be placed so that your ig cannot climb on it..or touch it. On top of your screen
cage is safe but..if your ig likes to hang from the top of the
cage..you will have to raise it up some how to prevent burns.
Remember..if you must move it, monitor the temps again!!!!!!
This cannot be stressed enough. In order to maintain those temps,
it is VERY important to use thermometers. Using a GOOD digital is a necessity!!
A THERMOMETER IS A MUST!! It needs to be at the igs level....where he lays in the basking area to see what the temp is there...if your thermometer is NOT where he lays,you will get an improper reading for his basking area and you will burn your ig (watch for panting or mouth gaping open - signs of overheating)or the temperatures in the basking area will not be in the correct range. The best are the digital ones that have the probe. Some also give the humidity reading along with the temperature in two different areas.
You will need a basking shelf or branch. The placement of this depends on what height you need to maintain the temps mentioned above and keep your iguana within the recommended distance of the uvb source. Be sure to make it at least twice the width of the ig. Keep in mind the distance the UVB light needs to be from the ig also. This is almost the hardest area of the cage to get correct..it requires a lot of monitoring of the temps until YOU ARE SURE they are correct.
WATER:
Keep a shallow dish of fresh water for your ig at all times.
Some igs will 'poo' in their water dishes, so you may have to change
it more than once/day. Providing a 2nd water source, such as some type of low pan for a small ig, or a cat litter box(filled with water) for an adult ig is a good idea.Keep water shallow enough that your ig can touch the bottom freely, as too many younger igs have been known to actually drown!
HUMIDITY:
Igs MUST HAVE humidity. They are of the Tropical Rain Forest.
This means you need a humidity gage. Humidity needs to be high!!!
Almost raining!! 60% is the minimum... I wouldn't go above 70-75%, although most of us can't get that high...that's why misting your ig several times a day helps. You can use humidifiers or vaporizers can be necessary to get a humidity level that is needed.
TEMPERATURES:
in the entire cage need to be varied. The basking area
(branch or shelf nearest the heat source) has already been covered.
You need to have a gradient temp in the area of 75-96. Sound confusing? Basically, you need the "basking" area, a middle temp area and a cool area. Basking area..92-96.....mid range gradient temp..88-92 (Ambient)and cool side 75-84.Igs cannot regulate their body temps. They rely on the sun (natural or by way of light bulb) and the shade (cooler area of the cage) to do that.
NIGHT..... LIGHTS OUT!!!!!! At night, if the temperatures drop below 75-80 degrees(depending on the iguana age)you need to provide a heat source in the form of a ceramic heat emitter(which can also be used during the day) or a special nighttime bulb(red or deep purple) that does not produce any bright white light.Some iguanas do not like the colored lights and do try to hide from them. Its up to you to see this and switch to a ceramic heat emitter to prevent your iguana stressing
DIET:
Iguana Iguanas are herbivores.... They DO NOT need animal
protein, they cannot digest it... it will KILL them!! (Kidney disease)
Basically, the diet needs to consist of Collard Greens, mustard greens, turnip greens,dandelion greens,escarole, endive, chicory, arugula,(torn in pieces smaller than their head) winter squash (butternut or acorn squash), parsnips (grated or shredded) all placed in a shallow dish. (This is not a complete foods list, but is a good start.)
There are 'good' foods and foods for treats (those used only once in awhile). Fruits are treats..to be given a few times a week. (This doesn't mean that you cannot give your ig a piece of fruit every day..one small piece a day is fine.) Again,I cannot stress enough the importance of diet. NO COMMERCIAL prepared ig food..no bugs, worms, tuna, chicken, monkey biscuits,dog or cat foods, eggs, cottage cheese... NO animal protein!!!!!
SUBSTRATES:
This is what you use on the floor of your igs enclosure
DO NOT USE anything that is bark, litter,chips...no loose substrates!!...Many are toxic and more so, your ig will ingest these items and it will KILL them. You can use paper bags, newspaper, paper towels, no pile carpeting or towels(wash first,and be sure there are no loose strings )
HEAT ROCKS KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!they can overheat, they cause burns (igs cannot feel the heat) they will KILL... if you have one and you ig loves it.cut off the cord and place it on his basking shelf and it will absorb the heat of the basking light. Never use heat rocks or heated caves!!!!
This list is by no means complete!!!! Below are listed some very good informational sites.They will be with us for 15-20 plus years with proper care and a little luck. Providing them with the proper needs will help them live a long, healthy, and happy life. Remember, we are the ones that pulled them out of the natural environments..it's our job to give them as close to a natural habitat as possible.
The information contained in the caresheet was originally written by me for use at the iguanaden website(2003) and also in the book"The Iguana Den's Care and Keeping of Giant Green Iguanas"(2005)
If you have any questions, or don't understand something please let me know
