***This is a re-post of an earlier review. I originally posted it under "How to Choose a Bird Veterinarian" (Birds being the closest thing to a reptile category on Epinions). Now I have discovered the catch-all of categories!!!***


I am guilty of abuse through neglect, ignorance is the reason, but not an excuse. My first iguana, Moonshade, was an impulse buy. I knew nothing about iguanas other than they look really cool sitting on your shoulder. I went out and bought a 10 gallon aquarium, some gravel, and a heat rock. Then I checked out a couple of books about iguanas. I didn't have much to choose from in iguana books, and I quickly realized both books got their information from the same source.

The books recommended feeding the iguana fruits (non-citrus) and vegetables, and for young iguanas, crickets and bloodworms. So I fed Moonshade fruit cocktail and canned mixed vegetables. She liked the bloodworms but never touched the crickets. The books mentioned a guy who fed his iguana ice cream, mine liked Stouffer's Spinach Souffle and LOVED cat food (wet or dry). I tried feeding her some of the Iguana food that you can buy at pet stores, but she never touched it. The books also mentioned hibiscus flowers, which she loved.

I had Moonshade for nearly a year. I never had the chance to really take her out and about with me, she was too skittish. I didn't get to let her out of her cage often enough to really tame her. I had two cats in my tiny efficiency apartment and I had to put them in the bathroom in order to let Moonshade out. I knew I'd eventually have to get a bigger tank, but she still fit in the 10 gallon tank.

One day I noticed that Moonshade had not had a bowel movement in the last day or two (she normally went several times a day). She was eating fine so I wasn't too worried. The next day was Saturday and I knew something was wrong. She had expelled a lot of liquid and was lethargic. I called my neighborhood vet (where I took my cats). They were closed, but the message had a number for a vet across town that was open on Saturday. I called a cab, but by the time I got there Moonshade was dead. The vet offered to do an autopsy and he found that she had eaten a pebble and a small piece of red cloth (she would try to eat anything if it was red). These had become lodged in her intestines and she kept eating even though she was blocked, which led to her death.


A few months later I decided to try again and I bought Magdalene. Magdalene liked the same foods, including the cat food! I was careful to keep my floor vacuumed and never left anything red lying around.

One day, when I had had Magdalene for about a year, one of my cats hacked up a huge hairball. I was just about to leave and it was covered in cat food so I decided to clean it up when I got back, after it had had a chance to dry up. I completely forgot about it when I got home and I let Magdalene out to run around the apartment for a while. At one point I noticed Magdalene was over by where the hairball had been. I immediately realized she would try to eat it since it had cat food on it. I ran over there and the hairball was gone! I knew she probably would not be able to pass it, so I called my neighborhood vet. They said they knew nothing about lizards and that I should try this other vet (which happened to be the same one I had taken Moonshade to). The vet had to resort to cutting her open to remove the hairball, but he agreed that she would not have been able to pass it.

When I went to pick up Magdalene I had time to notice all of the degrees, certificates, and magazine articles about the vet, who was an expert on birds and reptiles. This was the best stroke of luck, that I had been directed to the one vet in town who knew what to do with an iguana! When he brought Magdalene to me he said her skull was a little soft, he thought she might have a calcium deficiency. He asked about her diet and was appalled at the answer. He gave me some handouts and told me 95% of her diet should be dark leafy calcium rich greens, what I had been feeding her was only good for an occasional meal. He also told me I had to get an UV light, that she wasn’t getting enough sunlight.

I followed his advice, but it was too late. When I took her back to have the stitches removed I mentioned that she was holding her hind leg awkwardly. Magdalene was on my shoulder and the vet literally snatched her off of me and took her for an x-ray. When he brought her back he said that both her right foreleg and left hind leg were broken! He said her bones were so soft that if she had jumped from my shoulder she probably would have died. He gave her a shot of vitamin D and splinted her legs. He taped her foreleg to her body and her hind leg to her tail. She had to slither around like a snake for the next several weeks and wasn’t allowed to get on anything more than 2 inches from the floor. But eventually, with her new diet and sun lamp, her bones were strong again.

I had Magdalene for another year before she died. I don’t know what happened, I just came home one day and found her. I couldn’t afford to take her to the vet to try and find out why she had died. I felt horrible, I knew she had suffered because of my ignorance. I was never able to build a custom cage big enough to give her the space she needed and I hadn’t had the time to give her the attention she needed. I would like another iguana someday, but I will never buy another one unless I have the financial and spatial resources to provide a good home, the time to tame it, and a better knowledge of iguana care.

What I Now Know About Iguanas

Diet: Predominantly dark leafy greens such as turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion leaves, and kale, all of these are rich in calcium. If you pick dandelion leaves make sure no pesticides or fertilizers have been used. Other fruits, vegetables, and flowers can add variety, but don’t substitute for greens.

Vitamins and Light: Vitamin supplements are available at pet stores. An indoor iguana must have UV light, unfiltered by glass, in order to make vitamin D to absorb calcium.

Habitat: A 10 gallon aquarium is really too small for even a young iguana. Iguanas can reach 6 feet in length. The smallest feasible size for a cage is 2.5’ X 5’ and 5’ tall (if my memory is correct, please research this if you ever have an iguana). An iguana’s cage should have several resting shelves at various heights with stout branches for climbing. UV light should be unfiltered. Heat sources should be overhead, not from heating rocks. Iguanas like it warm and humid, but need a cool place to retreat to if necessary. Iguanas also like to swim or soak in water, ideally they should have a tub of water that they can drop into from a branch.

Living With People: Iguanas are usually very docile and can become attached to their caretakers. They also have a very sharp, nasty bite and can cause serious damage with a slap of their tail. In order to tame an iguana you need to get it when it is young and give it lots of attention, handle it often to get it used to people. I also read that you can train an iguana to do its business in a specific spot.

Veterinary Care: Call and ask around to find a vet that has experience with reptiles or birds before you need one.

Learning to Care For an Iguana: I'm sure there are better resources now, on the internet and elsewhere. I wouldn't necessarily trust the advice of a pet store employee, unless the pet store specialized in lizards. If you find an iguana book that only makes vague dietary recommendations of fruits, vegetables, and hibiscus flowers, and mentions a guy who fed his iguana ice cream, consider this, maybe the iguana ate ice cream in a desperate attempt to get some calcium!

Responsibility: Iguanas can live long lives and need special care. Please, do not buy one impulsively. You have to make an informed commitment to the proper care for an iguana.


P.S. I just have to add this funny episode. Kids, Don’t try this at home! When I had my iguanas I was very diligent about keeping the cats and iguana separated. The cats were curious about the creature in the cage, but they soon grew used to it. The cats would sleep on top of the iguana’s cage (I guess they liked the heat) so the iguana grew used to the cats. A few months before Magdalene died I was living with some friends of mine. I had let Magdalene out to roam around my room and I had to put my cat, Missy, outside since the door to my room didn’t latch. Another friend came over and one of my roommates answered the door. A little while later I realized they had probably let Missy back inside when the door was open. I ran to my room, afraid I’d be too late. Missy and Magdalene were both quite calmly eating cat food! Neither one of them seemed the least bit wary of the other creature sharing the food bowl! Go figure.


Recommended: Yes