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#169698
Spiny-ig
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Igs are cute, & cheap! 
HAAAAA, HA, HA. I’m making a joke here and hoping to catch the attention of anyone thinking of purchasing a "cute little ig" that they see for $20 or so. My new hatchling rhino is coming Tuesday (not exactly $20, but the rest still applies). I didn’t keep track of how much was spent on Dwayne, but this time I payed attention. Here is the list of items we had to purchase before arrival: 20G Long tank - 37.99 (Longs are more expensive but important for heat distribution)
screen top - 19.99
hood light fixture for uv - 34.99
reg light fixture for heat light - 9.99
uv (sun) bulb - 34.99
heat bulb - 39.99
heating pad - 19.99
several thermometers, humidity Gage - 10.99 & 3.99
2 hides - 23.99
small water bowl - 6.99 Grand total around $250... and we already had the vitamin & calcium supplements as well as greens & veggies (for Dwayne) so I don’t know those extra costs off hand. It is also important to keep in mind that in just a few months we will have to build a much larger cage, as this is just a set up for the baby to adjust! There will also be a vet visit for both igs as soon as the new baby has acclimated to the new setting, but I don’t know the exact figures on that either at this time. I am VERY thankful that I have not attempted to own and care for an ig before now even though I have loved them for over 10 yrs. Though I have loved and kept herps since I was very young, I did not attempt to keep an ig until I was out of grade school/high school and college as well as financially, and geographically stable. They require so much time, devotion, resources, knowledge, and YES A LOT OF MONEY, so don’t be fooled by the price tag placed on the animal itself, and don’t think that anything you’re told about care is not essential! I am not trying to preach here, but rather state the facts. Please take this into consideration.
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10/25/04 2:21am
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#169700
Ryoflex36
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Message To: Spiny-ig In reference to Message Id: 169698
Igs are cute, & cheap!
Not cutting at you, but if you know how big there going to get why not just build the big enclosure to start with? You wasted all that money for nothing in my view. It doesn’t matter how small they are to any enclosure. You can start big no matter what. I personally think you wasted about $90 or more. You could have gotten alot of the stuff you named cheaper off of websites, and could have saved some extra money by not getting the tank and hood fixture(unless needed). But whatever you think is best I guess. I just went straight to the point. And built the biggest vivarium possible.
~Ryo~ 
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10/25/04 2:41am
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#169710
HerpKeeper
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Message To: Spiny-ig In reference to Message Id: 169698
Igs are cute, & cheap!
Where did you buy all that stuff at? Sounds to me like they took you for a ride. The price for the tank is decent but I’ve seen some for $25. Even at Petsmart a screen top goes for about $12. You could’ve gotten yourself a fluorescent fixture at Walmart for $7. The reflective clamp light at Petsmart even goes for $6-9 depending on the size. You paid almost double for the uvb bulb because I can usually find them for $20-25. $39.99 for a spot bulb!!! That is outrageous since the most I pay for mine is $9. (Heck you could use just about any 60-100watt house bulb and save yourself even more money). Heating pad? You don’t really need one since you have the heat lamp but there nothing wrong with having one just in case. Everything else sounds about right but if you had shopped around you would have spent a lot less money. You could have spent $150 and then had a lot more money for a cage that would have lasted you for at least a few years. I guess the joke was on you after all but don’t worry, I’m not laughing. We all make mistakes.
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10/25/04 3:25am
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#169719
RAMI
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Message To: HerpKeeper In reference to Message Id: 169710
Igs are cute, & cheap!
in-case someone might want to look for a good deal. I found a 250 Wat lamp with the ceramic thing the light bulb goes into. It only cost about 7 something not including tax. You all might want to go check it out its at the hardware section of walmart were they sell all the light bulbs and extension cords.
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10/25/04 4:08am
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#169768
Spiny-ig
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Message To: RAMI In reference to Message Id: 169719
Igs are cute, & cheap!
I am aware that you can get better deals on certain things, especially at the hardware store or online. We got Dwayne’s new florescent fixture at Home Depot when one of them broke, and know we could have saved a few $ on the clamp lamp too. We could have also gotten a full screen top for $12 or $13, but wanted to get one that is hinged for less stress on the ig, and easier opening so we paid a few more. Especially now that there are 2 of them, we will definitely look into ordering their bulbs online, but that isn’t the point. Aside from the bulbs, you are talking about (literally) a few dollars, and there are things we didn’t have to get at the time, like the supplements and food. Even if you planned way in advance and found deals, the total for proper care would be around $200 for a baby if starting with nothing, and most who buy a "cute little ig" they see do not go home and wait weeks/months looking for the best deals before buying. That is why I posted individ. prices rather than just a total to illustrate where it goes even though I knew I would get some responses like these. P.S. - I also live in Los Angeles, so YES, some prices are just high because I live in an expensive city :)
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10/25/04 9:38am
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#169771
Jif
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Message To: Ryoflex36 In reference to Message Id: 169700
Igs are cute, & cheap!
HAHAHA. This really gave me a chuckle. This Rhino Iguana is gonna need a room sized enclosure when it’s full grown. Can you imagine chasing a 7 inch lizard around in an enclosure that large?! Small iguanas do better (easier to control temps and humidity and monitor daily activity) in appropriately sized enclosures and the 20 long will be great for several months. I do see where you could have saved some money tho. I would have purchased a Mercury Vapor bulb ($35) and used that for both heat and UVB, thus saving cash on the flourescent fixture and bulb. If you really want to use the fluorescent UBV bulbs an appropriate watt household lightbulb would be sufficient for heat. Best of luck with your new little Rhino!! The fun is just beginning! I just weighed my 2 yearlings last night and they weigh 610 and 694 grams. Growing like weeds!!
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10/25/04 9:45am
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#169778
Spiny-ig
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Message To: Spiny-ig In reference to Message Id: 169768
Igs are cute, & cheap!
Ryoflex,
We didn’t feel it would be best to start out a 6" baby (this is a 3-4 week old hatchling!) in a 6-7" cage. It seemed logical to us, and the smaller size was recommended by others who have raised cyclura. It is not only for their safety, but also good for handling & temperament for them to be able to see you and not be able to hide all the time. Yes, the next cage will be 6-7’ and built within the next 6 months or so, however we aren’t going to jump to the half a room enclosure for a couple years.Also, both the heating pad and ceramic basking light WERE necessary. We did not buy the heating pad at first. I set up the new habitat and turned all the lights on for a day and checked the temps. My cool side was at 70 and my basking spot was only at 90, so we had to buy the heating pad. Thanks everyone for all the sources for equipment. We should start a monthly thread with good deals for supplies!
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10/25/04 10:10am
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#176259
Iluviggy
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Message To: Spiny-ig In reference to Message Id: 169778
Igs are cute, & cheap!
yes, prices range dramatically from region to region. i live in new york, and everything here is outrageously priced! i didn’t do my homework in the beginning and ended up wasting a lot of money, but here are some examples:
2 ceramic heat emitters- 250 watt ea. around $30-$40
clamp lamp for ceramics- $20 ea ( oh- did i mention that we were using a fixture for the che’s that wasn’t proper and it broke? $30 flushed down the toilet!)
flourescent UVB bulb and fixture 45.00
cage materials- over $300.00 ( home depot is a rip off0- especially for plexi-glass!)
don’t forget about assorted branches, shelves, dishes, and bulbs that have blown out!
Bottom line- no matter how you slice it, you will end up spending more than what you bargained for w/ an iguana.
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11/06/04 11:30am
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