The green iguana has long been one of the most popular lizards for domestic maintenance in the United States. In recent years, this exotic reptile has increasingly become a domestic pet and on our continent. The animal belongs to the herbivore and leads a woody way of life. Growing up to an impressive size, such a lizard requires a huge terrarium and a lot of attention.
How many iguanas live at home?
If you manage to provide the animal with good care, the life expectancy of the iguana in the home can be 15 to 20 years. During this time, the male will reach from 1.2 to 1.5 meters in length. The female has slightly more modest dimensions and does not grow more than 1.3 meters in length. The undoubted attractiveness of an iguana as a pet is that throughout its life it shows a calm character and relative unpretentiousness.
Green iguana - content at home
Before you get an iguana home, you need to understand that it needs careful care, and its proper maintenance will require a lot more financial costs than buying the lizard itself. In addition, the individual can be a carrier of salmonella, which is transmitted to a person if the hygiene rules are not respected (constant washing of the terrarium and hands after each contact with the iguana).
If you are ready for a new exotic pet, you need to learn the basics of iguana maintenance at home. First of all, you can not let a green iguana move freely around the house. First, it can cause a fire, turning over the lamp, which climbed up to warm. Secondly, it can rise to a hard-to-reach place, where it will be problematic to remove. Thirdly, it will damage wiring, furniture, carpets and other interior items. Fourthly, the green iguana will carry Salmonella around the house.
Terrarium for the green iguana
The only sure way to keep the iguana at home is in the terrarium or aviary. In a city apartment, this can be a problem, because the terrarium / aviary must have at least 2 iguana lengths, that is, about 3 meters. Width and height should be about 1.8-2 meters. Such a significant height is necessary to enable the iguana to climb up branches like it does in the wild.
Other requirements for a terrarium for keeping an iguana at home:
- Heating . As a tropical animal, a green iguana should be surrounded by a similar climate in your home terrarium. For a young person, one heating lamp is enough, whereas for a grown-up lizard, they need 5-6 pieces, so that they warm up all of her body. The temperature of the air in the place of heating (under the lamps) should be 35-38 ° C. There must also be a place of cooling at a temperature of 27-29 ° C, where the lizard can cool down a little, if it is necessary. At night, the air temperature in the terrarium should not be below 21-24 ° C. Do not use heated mats and stones, as this leads to burns of the abdomen and legs.
- Lighting . In addition to the heating lamps in the terrarium, there must be a UV lamp with a UVB wavelength of 290-315 nm. Otherwise the iguana will develop rickets. The lamp should shine 12 hours a day and turn off at night. Replace it every six months. Putting the terrarium in the open sun, replacing the UV lamp, is not recommended, as this can lead to overheating of the animal.
- Humidity . In addition to installing a swimming pool, the terrarium needs to maintain a high humidity level (75%). To do this, spray the inside of the terrarium from the spray gun 1-2 times a day.
- Substrate . They can be large sawdust from the bark, a green lawn mat or newspapers with printing ink. You can not use sand, nutshell, wood sawdust (especially cedar), a substrate of corn cobs. Swallowing them leads to intestinal obstruction and death of the animal.
How to take care of an iguana at home?
If you managed to keep all the rules for your pet, your green iguana at home will feel comfortable. That the lizard properly grows and develops, pleased you with the longevity, activity and good mood, it is necessary to pay attention to care: to make for it the balanced diet and not to forget about hygienic procedures.
Bathing iguanas at home
Caring for an iguana at home includes swimming. This procedure improves the metabolic processes of the body and facilitates the molting process. Do this in the bathroom, pre-heating its walls and filling it with water with a temperature of + 30-35 ° C. The duration of the procedure is 30 minutes, while you need to monitor the temperature. To a green iguana herself could get out of the water and rest, in the bath you need to put a snag or a branch. At the end of the bath you need to dip the reptile with a soft towel and transfer it to a warm terrarium.
What to feed the iguana in the home?
An extremely important issue of iguana content is her diet. Since the green common iguana is a herbivore, no animal protein is needed. The diet should be made up of green, rich in calcium, vegetables and fruits. In this case, the proportion of calcium and phosphorus should be 2: 1. So, what does the iguana eat at home:
- 70-80% of its diet consists of dark leafy greens, rich in calcium (cabbage, mustard greens, chicory, greens and dandelion flowers, watercress, mulberry leaves, hibiscus);
- 20-30% of the diet - it's fried vegetables (pumpkin, zucchini, carrots) and fruits (raspberries, strawberries, kiwi, melon, mango, apple).
- In addition to the basic diet, calcium supplements are recommended, which are sold at pet stores.
Reproduction of the iguana
Sexual maturity of the green iguana occurs at the age of four. They multiply in the winter. During this period the male chooses a place for mating, marking him with a secret from his paws. The process of courtship for the female is accompanied by the fact that it swells and becomes noticeably brighter. After 2 months after mating, the female lays eggs - from 20 to 70 pieces. They are in a hole dug by it for 4 months, after which the young are hatching. Breeding iguanas at home does not always go smoothly. This requires special knowledge and very much attention throughout the process.
Diseases of iguanas
The main diseases of iguanas contained in captivity are:
- rhinitis and pneumonia - antibiotics of the ampicillin group are used for treatment;
- wounds and injuries - with fractures every day, as a drug that stimulates the fusion of bone tissue, a dark brown aqueous solution of mummy is given from the pipette to young iguanas - 1 drop once a day, adults - up to 3 drops. When wounds use turpentine liniment, 10% solution of potassium permanganate, for the time of treatment, water from the aquarium is removed;
- metabolic disorders - is treated by optimizing the temperature regime, correcting the diet;
- diseases of the digestive system - it is important to adjust the diet of the reptile;
- violations of molting - it is necessary to increase the humidity of the air;
- salmonellosis - 2% of Chloramine, Vircon are used for treatment, as a preventive measure, the iguana is fed with fresh feed and vitamin-mineral supplements;
- fungal infection - treated with generic and topical agents (Clotrimazole Ointment, Mikoseptin, Tetracycline tablets);
- mites - the body of a reptile must be lubricated with a mixture of vegetable oil and alcohol 1: 1, with solutions of arpalite;
- eye diseases in the iguana (temporary edema of the eyelids, blepharospasm).