Iguanas Forum

Click Here To Register and Become A Member Of The RepticZone Family  

Back to Iguanas Forum   Forums   Home   Members Area  

ThePurpleIguana   Cphill58   Galeforce   IguanaRama   Tempestborn   ThePurpleIguana   Tempestborn   Really   Cphill58

Member	Message
#2273003 ThePurpleIguana View Profile	Cage plans? So I’m going to be building a new cage for my iguana Mclovin. The dimensions are going to be 6ft H x 6ft L x 3ft D. I’m thinking of using melanine, but if you have any suggestions I’m welcome to new ideas. only the front will be glass, hopefully i can get sliding Doors :D. I’m going to make ledges and a fake rock wall out of Styrofoam, tile grout and shields all to seal it up to make it safe. I have many more ideas for the cage, I just wanted to know if this will last her even when she is an adult. She is currently 3 1/2 years old and recovering D: she had lost a lot of weight cuz she wasn’t eating, really lethargic and formed some mbd, two of her toes are bent I took her to the vet as soon as i could, she is strong now and is on the path to gaining her lost weight ^- ^ here she is eating her food i like to call it Guan Chow :3 {two types of greens,orng/red bell pepper, pea pods, acorn squash and yellow squash processed for easy digestion} you can see how bony she had got D: path to recovery... and i geuss it begins on my head ???
07/12/12  01:23am
#2273018 Cphill58 View Profile	Message To: ThePurpleIguana   In reference to Message Id: 2273003  Cage plans? Hi and welcome to the forum...hopefully with your attention and compassion she will grow to be nice and plump again.....She has a ways to go and I wish you all the best...here are some great links for food and more quick links page 1 You are on the right track and hope to see more of you and her/him... The cage dimensions you listed should serve well for the rest of it’s life... Something not mentioned often is bee pollen available from the health food store ...open a capsule and sprinkle on the food 1x per week...calcium powder no D3 2-3x a week ...just a light dusting mixed in...and reptile multivitamins 1 or 2x a week ...just a slight dusting stirred in Do you have a UVB lamp? By law it has to state on the packaging that the lamp emits UVB and warnings to humans about exposure. UVB is the same type of invisible wavelength that causes us to tan / sunburn. And also it can harm human eyes if you stare at it for a long period of time...But in reality , very unlikely, just that it has to say it for CYA reasons. Iggy’s need UVB to process the calcium into a chemical in the blood which stops MBD and allows bone to develop properly. I am pretty sure you already know this as you mentioned the MBD prior. If you need suggestions fro proper lights /lamps just ask before you get duped by the pet store. Better to be well armed and informed. Hopefully others will chime in with suggestions for your iggy and enclosure ideas... Very good of you to take this one and do right by it..rewards will come slowly but surely. They usually respond very well and recover nicely. Once again ...WELCOME Chris
07/12/12  05:06am
#2273029 Galeforce View Profile	Message To: Cphill58   In reference to Message Id: 2273018  Cage plans? If you have the space, try to make it about 8 foot long as a full grown iguana can get up to 6 foot. I have been told glass is not the best choice as they can shatter it and get hurt. I’m saving for plexi. now I have plastic mesh with wood frame. It is hard to keep humidity up to %70 like they require. We are always working on Ozzy’s home to make it better.
07/12/12  10:27am
#2273045 IguanaRama View Profile	Message To: Galeforce   In reference to Message Id: 2273029  Cage plans? I’ve made wood/plexi-glass enclosures and I’ve also made pvc/ mesh enclosures. I found that my wood and plexi looked better but the pvc and mesh was cheaper in the long run also glass does tend to crack or shatter if the iguana whips it hard enough but plus I liked how much easier it was to drill holes in the plexi without breaking it. I personally would do 6ft high 7-8 long and 3-4 feet deep. Also as cphil mentioned about the bee pollen, I’ve been using it and it works wonders in help iguanas recover as I just took in a sick iguana and since I’ve had him he’s made leaps in health.
07/12/12  01:45pm
#2273054 Tempestborn View Profile	Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2273045  Cage plans? all of us would dream of the biggest cage ever, but what you have planned is more than sufficient. it is true that iguanas can get 6 feet long, but that’s a max; four-ish is more likely. she has obviously claimed you; iguanas like to perch on the heads of their humans. she has a journey ahead of her but she looks like she has a good starting point. welcome to the forums. jesse
07/12/12  03:24pm
#2273599 ThePurpleIguana View Profile	Message To: ThePurpleIguana   In reference to Message Id: 2273003  Cage plans? Yeah that’s what happened to me at the pet store where I bought her the guy told me the light had uvb and we even asked him more then once and he was like yeah this has it all, so this being my first reptile i believed the guy, thinking he knew what he was talking about. I kept buying the same light and you can geuss what happened over time. I have uvb lights now so she is all good now thankfully ^- ^ Thanks for the ideas, I’ll definitely try the bee pollen if i can find any, I have calcium no D3 i just have to get her a multivitamin. And also about the glass i was thinking plexi or tempered, most likely gonna use plexi. For humidity i was thinking of getting a humidifier and running a pipe through it to the cage. Any other suggestions for keeping the humidity up are all welcome. thanks for the welcome guys :D
07/16/12  05:07pm
#2273611 Tempestborn View Profile	Message To: ThePurpleIguana   In reference to Message Id: 2273599  Cage plans? www.puritanspride.com. the cheapest vitamins and supplements on earth. excellent quality and fast, cheap shipping. you can’t even believe the lights if it says it right on the box. i sent one i bought from bulb-o-rama (it had pics of reptiles all over it and talked about "beneficial uvb light") to chris (because uvb meters are expensive). he tested it; it had exactly 0 uvb output. so even the manufacturers will outright lie. jesse
07/16/12  06:08pm
#2273639 Really View Profile	Message To: Tempestborn   In reference to Message Id: 2273611  Cage plans? The best thing you can do if you don’t have a solar meter or know someone who does is make absolutely sure your iguana gets about five hours a week of real sunlight. If you leave him outside make sure the cage is escape proof (and believe me -- that can be a challenge and I know that first hand) and that your iguana has access to both sunlight and shade and cool water. You can do more sunlight in the summer and less in t he winter because they will store it, but always shoot for at least five hours a week. This is in ADDITION to your UVB bulb, not instead of, okay?
07/16/12  09:18pm
#2273675 Cphill58 View Profile	Message To: Really   In reference to Message Id: 2273639  Cage plans? Glass is way too expensive...once tempered it can not be cut. Plexi is expensive too, but you can cut it as well as drill holes for latches and hinges. I have a regular humidifier set up with 2" black ABS pipe. That pumps humidity into the area I want for Maxine. I have done many threads on it....wonder if I can find one , or I guess i will just re type it again. Here is one older thread...3/4 of the way down... Humidifier
07/17/12  07:23am

Back to Iguanas Forum   Forums   Home   Members Area