Iguana Care Essential Guide
Without a doubt the iguana is a fantastic animal, make a great pet and of course finding out more about them is what everyone who owns one, or would like to own one, should do. There is so much advice out there on the internet about these pets that it’s hard to know who to believe.
But the worst thing you can do is disregard important iguana care advice because they do need a lot of special care. If you are not fully aware of the needs of your pet it could easily come to harm.
One of the biggest myths surrounding the issue of iguana care is the diet. Most people are under the assumption that a few leafy green vegetables and it’s happy. But most of these vegatables have low nutritional value and as such don’t provide the right amount of good stuff your pet needs. Be warned when caring for your pet that you don’t promote bad habits by continually feeding it the wrong foods. Your iguana is a creature of habit and will continue to eat what you give it. It’s hard to change its dietry pattern if already well established.
As you are here looking at this I assume it’s because you want to have a healthy, happy pet. If you want to provide good care you must ensure it gets the right balance in it’s diet which should include a wide variety of vegetables. Try different things and your pet will soon tell you what it likes and what it doesn’t. But generaly an iguana will enjoy a variety of vegatables as well as fruit. Make sure however you do not give your pet fruit that could choke it. In other words anything with a pip or stone should be avoided unless you remove them first.
Another important part point to keep in mind is the iguanas cage. You really need to plan ahead when it comes to buying a cage. If your pet’s care is important to you then you need to buy an iguana cage that it can grow into. Some will grow as large as six or seven feet in length (including the iguanas tail). And it will need some good headroom in the enclosure for you to provide it with room to climb. They can grow quite large and a lot of owners don’t bother to invest in a new cage after it grows to adulthood. These people clearly do not care for their iguana pet .
An iguana is a wonderful animal that makes a lovely pet but they do require a lot of attention. There is so much more to learn about them and you should read as much as you can on the subject. And if you find your pet requires too much care please try to find a loving, caring home for it.
Lets take a look at some of the reasons to have an iguana as a pet:
1. Iguanas are vegetarians.
If you are a pet owner, chances are, you have to go to a pet shop and buy food. Its bearable if you have to buy only the simple dog food or cat meal, but what if you have to buy mice? Or worms, cockroaches, crickets, and the like? Most of the time you have to hold these tiny creatures and feed them to your pet.
You dont have to go to a pet shop to feed your iguana. You can simply pick greens from your garden or buy fresh vegetables from the grocery. Isnt that simple?
2. Iguanas usually hit it off with their owners.
Unlike some lizards and snakes, iguanas are known to interact with their loving caretakers. Some would sleep beside their masters as evidence that iguanas can be very close to human beings.
Some are calm when held by their owners, but would twist and bite when held by a stranger. Nevertheless, some are so tame that anyone can hold them. Some iguanas would even allow their owners to dress them up in silly outfits.
3. Iguanas live a long time.
We all would like to have a pet that would live very long since you are going to invest emotion, not to mention money for food, medicine, and veterinary services. While rats, hamsters, or bearded dragons may live only a few years, iguanas, like cats and dogs, may live up to 20 years. Actually, the oldest iguana on record lived up to 29 years! You are going to have to provide iguana care for a long time.
4. No hair or fur will stick to your clothes or worse, get into your nose!
If you are asthmatic, you very well know the difficulty of being around animals that would make you sick. Iguanas, however, being reptiles, have none of the fur and hair that would send you to the hospital.
5. Iguanas are very educational.
Children will learn a lot when they care for iguanas. They have to know about temperature, rainforests, animal husbandry, importance of proper care of lizards, etc. It maybe good to take note too that these lizards are distant relatives of dinosaurs and taking care of them will provide children with a venue for study of the prehistoric creatures. Iguanas are also good subjects for Show-and-Tell, research work etc.
As you can see, there are lots of reasons to become an iguana owner. Why not live up to the challenge? Go to your nearest pet shop and get an iguana for you and your family now! You won’t regret it.