Iguana rescue

[laura-jayne]

So hopefully tomorrow im getting my first iggy. Hes a rescue, not in ill health that i know of just couldnt be housed anymore.
Ive done tons of research and reading also spoken to alot of people but i am majorly worried i wont get it right for him! Hes only young i think about 5 months. We have roughly 3ft by 2 1/2 ft by 4 1/2 ft viv for him ready and set up. Been running it for about a week now to make sure its all working and so far so good! I do understand he wont be staying in this long when we get our new house he will be having the spare room =]
I also read about uv bulbs and uvb bulbs is therea diffrence? As im worried i dont have the right bulb for him. Ive been told its right but read elsewhere is isnt :s. Help?!
Its the diet im most worried about. some people have said feed insects the others say not. Id rather not but whats your imput? I also read on IGUANA CARE BASICS- 101 (care, tame, taming, handle, diet, heat, temp, cage, light, aggressive) not to.

Could anyone who owns one give me advice on what you feed yours or even a weeks meal listings woull help. Im stocked up on salads fruits and veg but so many diffrent sites/books/people say feed this whilst the other says dont :S Im in a right pickle and worried i may do it wrong by him!

Any advice would be greatley appreciated, Or any iggy owners who could post pics of set ups, meal lists anything would be great!

[cooljules]

all igs like and dislike diff things, mine do..

um...i just put the food in, have done for the last 14 years but it will maybe take time for it to settle and eat...

dont pester it and NEVER pick it up from above..

wait till its hungry, then try to feed it by hand...it will start to trust you

i hear women on the rag makes them turn nasty..in males

uv strip, 10% but years ago it was 2 and 5%

they like to be out in the summer...they like to swim and can stay underwater for 30 min etc..

[laura-jayne]

What do you feed yours on?

Also i forgot to ask is there a diffrence between the red and the green as the one we are getting is a red

[ShaneLuvsMonitors]

Originally Posted by laura-jayne

What do you feed yours on?

Also i forgot to ask is there a diffrence between the red and the green as the one we are getting is a red

Nope none the red is either a different locality of the green or a morph of the green

[laura-jayne]

Menu? Anyone i just read not to give them spinach then read on another site its a must! the confushion is unreal!
Also is the whole male taking a dislike to a lady thing true? Any female keepers here that may want to ad their imput? As well im a female although ive handeled lizzies and other animals with attitute this one may prove more of a challenge!

[ShaneLuvsMonitors]

spinach should only be fed in small amounts i think once a month?

as for a menu there a good link i have to safe ig menu but i cant remember what i did with it.

[laura-jayne]

hehe well if you find it let me know =] Im getting rather exited now cant wait to see him tomorrow!

[boromale2008]

u think its hard for menu u now lol when i had an ig 16 years ago we were told to feed it dog food lol.

[benny]

Hi
from a female perspective (im Jay bennys missus) yes they do react to female time of the month. our female iggy gets a bit temperamental around me at the monthlys, male iggys can be the same.
As for a feeding regime we use grated butternut squash, spring greens, watercress, rocket as a staple as she loves it, we add in mango, papaya bell peppers, carrot (sparingly and grated) curly kale (once or twice a month) spinach (once or twice a month) green beans, pak choi, alphalpha (grown from seeds so easy) ordinary cress.
u can buy bags of mixed rocket salad. aldi and lidl fruit and veg are so much cheaper than major supermarkets, their bitternut squash is only 89p compared with £1.55 at tesco.
i use 2:1 calcium powder every day and nutrabalweekends and sprinkle a pellet iggy food over her fresh greens as well
as for quantities it will be trial and error for you. if he/she clears their bowl really quickly then offer more. igg pig used to get through 3 huge bowls a day when we first got her as she had been starved and got food aggressive. she soon got over that now and is content with 1 bowl a day.
good luck with ur new addition and look forward to seeing pics !!

we had zero experience with iggys when we first had igg pig and had to research like mad. 4 months later shes doing really well so dont fret about it. as long as it has warmth, food, vits, UV and plenty of space (this can include daily excercise out of the viv when ur more confident) u will be fine.
take care
jay x

[laura-jayne]

Originally Posted by benny

Hi
from a female perspective (im Jay bennys missus) yes they do react to female time of the month. our female iggy gets a bit temperamental around me at the monthlys, male iggys can be the same.
As for a feeding regime we use grated butternut squash, spring greens, watercress, rocket as a staple as she loves it, we add in mango, papaya bell peppers, carrot (sparingly and grated) curly kale (once or twice a month) spinach (once or twice a month) green beans, pak choi, alphalpha (grown from seeds so easy) ordinary cress.
u can buy bags of mixed rocket salad. aldi and lidl fruit and veg are so much cheaper than major supermarkets, their bitternut squash is only 89p compared with £1.55 at tesco.
i use 2:1 calcium powder every day and nutrabalweekends and sprinkle a pellet iggy food over her fresh greens as well
as for quantities it will be trial and error for you. if he/she clears their bowl really quickly then offer more. igg pig used to get through 3 huge bowls a day when we first got her as she had been starved and got food aggressive. she soon got over that now and is content with 1 bowl a day.
good luck with ur new addition and look forward to seeing pics !!

we had zero experience with iggys when we first had igg pig and had to research like mad. 4 months later shes doing really well so dont fret about it. as long as it has warmth, food, vits, UV and plenty of space (this can include daily excercise out of the viv when ur more confident) u will be fine.
take care
jay x

Thank you! that was greatley appreciated! Im hopefully going to pick him up today! so ill post pics tonight! x