"Mommy/Daddy what a cute little dinosaur !! I WANT ONE !!!"
Our first trip to the vet with our largest iguana Mel, who was 3.5 feet at the time, found a little girl lying on the floor of the vet's office staring in at Mel in her Rubbermaid* transport.. Several times we heard similiar phrases uttered from the girl but fortunately, after rolling up my sleeves and showing her mother my forearms and the MANY lacerations from simply handling Mel before I could clip her claws, Mom decided (quite wisely) that the cat would be enough for them for now.
One of the BIGGEST challenges with green iguanas is simply where to keep them. Despite the hearty claims from the pet store salesperson (who, for the most part I tend to look upon as the equivalent of used car salesman - although, as with all things, there are ALWAYS exceptions) that a 10 gallon tank will be fine for your new iguana, keep in mind that they ARE salesmen. Well, in all fairness they ARE right. The 10 gallon tank will house your little lizard just fine - for MAYBE 2 weeks. Green iguanas, when properly fed, housed. and generally cared for, will pretty much TRIPLE their size within their 1st year. What the pet shop is counting on is that you will come back when you figure out that you need a bigger tank and they will get another sale.
If you notice, when you see green iguanas for sale in pet shops, for the most part they are not usually more than $20. Sometimes they are actually FREE. This is mainly because the pet shop knows that they are going to be making a bunch of money off of you in the form of iguana SUPPLIES. The large pet store chains are JUST as guilty of this as everyone else. Think you're getting a bargain on supplies simply because they are a large chain and can order in bulk ? Think again. A complete order that we made from our supplier for Dharma cost under $250 including a "scratch and dent" 55 gallon tank. That same order, when priced out at a large PetCompany chain store cost in excess of $400. SO, instead of wasting your money on a 10 gallon tank we suggest that you start off with a MINIMUM of 35 gallons. IF budget and space provide we would even go as far as recommending that you buy a 55 gallon tank as your 1st enclosure as you will be able to get several years out of it before you need to upgrade. If you so choose, ask your store/supplier about possibly buying a "scratch and dent". If you don't mind a small scratch here or some cracked plastic trim there you CAN save a lot of money. Ultimately, since green iguanas can grow to 6 feet PLUS and live for up to 20 years, you will most likely end up either building a custom enclosure or dedicating an
ENTIRE ROOM in your house solely for the purpose of housing your ig.
In fact, if/when it comes time for you to upgrade your enclosure the first time, you MAY want to seriously consider building/purchasing a custom enclosure at THAT point. Assuming that you have the room and the finances this could quite possibly be the best overall way to go. Remember, ALWAYS try to prepare for at LEAST one move ahead of where you are. An ounce of foresight and thought could save you hundrends of dollars in the long run.We will be starting a section on custom enclosures in the near future - once OUR custom 6x6x3 enclosure is finished. That way we can give you approximate budgets for building materials, suggestions, etc.. In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding building your own enclosure, feel free to contact us.
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