Care info needed

[Zekey]

Hi everyone....

Elizabeth, this is mainly for you and perhaps I should have IM'd you, but I thought this might be helpful for more than just me.....

At the local H.S., one of the teachers has a pet Iguana which he rescued from someone..... this teacher doesn't know much about Iguana's & just feeds him lettuce mix that he can get from the cafetiria. I went in to see the teacher and the Iguana, and the Iguana looks healthy. He is in an enclosure that is about 7ft tall & 4ft square. There are heat lamps and hiding spots. Other than the lettuce mix he has a prepared food in a bowl (looks like the red beardie stuff I get for Minnie every now & then for a treat). I opened the cage & was about to reach in the pet him when the teacher said that he might bite, because he was a little mean & might have been mishandled (part of his tail is gone), so I went very slow & gentle & started to stroke him & he looked at me & then came towards me & wanted picked up!!!! I didn't know whether to be happy or to cry. I ask 'doesn't anyone ever hold him'? 'no' the teacher said. 'I really don't know how to handle him'. So, I showed him how to gently reach in & stroke him & then lift him out slowly. I told him that he should be handled daily if he was going to be tame. I thought the students might like to take turns "earning" the right to hold him during the class, but he should not be passed around alot.

Anyway, the point of my post is.....

Elizabeth, do you have a care sheet on feeding, handling, housing EVERYTHING for Iguana's. He is an adult male, nearly 3 ft long with a large portion of his tail missing. (I assume his is full grown)

I told the teacher that I would try to find out the proper care for him.

Thank you!

[elizabeth]

My first suggestion is to get a copy of Iguana For Dummies by Melissa Kaplan it really is a good book especially for new owners...

The enclosure sounds great, just be sure that UVB lighting is on the list of lights for it... Just like with other herps for proper growth and digestion etc... UVB is very very important....

2nd what he is feeding him is really a bad choice I hate saying that because I know they are trying hard with something they know little about, but Collard greens if you need a cheap choice would be where I would start... I posted a list of some suggested foods and things not so suggested on the feeding forum....

If the teacher and students have access to the internet here is a definate few suggestions on sites to hit:

www.greenigsociety.org/

www.anapsid.org/

www.iguanaawarenessalliance.com/

www.patricksiguanasite.com/

The first three have some terrific printable sheets on iguana care the last one is written more from a personal perspective of an iguana owner, but I know he is very knowledgable so I would definately recommend his site to people too...

On the IAA site I actually have a few care sheets and a food chart that I helped in the creation of, so feel free to print those and give them to the teacher....


As to the handling it is a MUST I know they can be intimidating but if they ever want him to calm down then it is a definate must that he is handled... They may want parental consent forms signed before students handle the iguana just to protect the school and teacher from any legal issues... But the teacher certainly should be handling him... Just move slow, talk softly and stroke him gently when he will allow it even better pick him up and cradle him to your body... So what you did handling him was great... I know what it feels like to handle one that was mistreated as my Lucky he is still not the most gentle soul but he is gaining more and more trust all the time... So just keep encouraging the teacher to handle him and if you can too that is even better...

They just need to keep reading up on him but sounds like they are off to a good start the big issue will be to get the diet changed... As well as making sure that they are misting the enclosure or have a humidifier in there to help with the humidity they like a tropical climate and a nice warm basking area... Please feel free to give the teacher my email or for yourself to email me anytime with questions or leave me a pm on here!! I am very dedicated to being sure that the correct information is given to people... If I don't know the answer to something I will certainly do what I can to help get the right answers... A vet check is always a good recommendation as well...

(Sorry this is a little long winded...) What are the long term plans for the iguana??

Just for general information from a question that was asked in the iggy board:

Iguanas are strict herbivores and they do not need animal protein in their diet... If you feed an iguana animal proteins you can shorten their life span and cause kidney failure...

Mini list:

collard greens
mustard greens
dandelion greens

green/red/yellow peppers
various squashes
green beans
snow peas
sweet potatoes/yams


occaisional treats:
Fruits (watermelon, mango, strawberried blue berries, figs etc..)(not citrus)
wheat bread
cooked pasta no sauce
cooked white rice


try to avoid things like:
lettuce
corn
tomatoes
cucumbers
onions
olives
zucchini
radishes

Some iguana owners supplement in calcium to their iggy diet just try to use calcium supplements without vitamin D3 in it... you should look for plain calcium carbonate supplement... some people use things like fruity tums crushed that works well, there are some reptile vitamin supplements without D3 in them... There are many iguana informational websites out there that give a very detailed list on the food choices and even food prep!!

[Zekey]

Thanx Elizabeth for the great info!! I knew that you were the one to go to!!! I'll print out the food list & the list of the site & give to the teacher when they are back after christmas break!

Thanx again!

[elizabeth]

Keep me posted on how things are going!!

[elizabeth]

Any news on how things are going??