Desert iguana care sheet

If you are looking for a vegetarian lizard, the desert iguana might be best suited for you. This type of lizard can reach about 16 inches, but has the speed and agility of a smaller lizard.

Cage

Desert iguanas need a lot of space, a 75 gallon would be a bare minimum. These types of lizards need more floor space than they do vertical space. They are unlike their cousin -the giant green iguana that spends most of their time climbing in trees.

This type of iguana runs around on loose dirt and sand in the wild. There is much debate on whether or not to provide sand in a pet lizard's terrarium. The argument against it explains that your pet iguana could possibly ingest some sand when attempting to eat its food.

My opinion is that if you want to provide sand for your desert iguana, put it on one side of their cage only -the opposite side of where their food dish is. This way you minimize the chances of your pet lizard becoming impacted, and yet at the same time provide an area for your lizard to dig.

You need to provide several hiding places for your iguana. This will enable them to de-stress and thermal regulate their temperature. Ideally you need to provide at least two hides, one on the hot side, one on the cooler side. Visit the home page for various projects detailing how to create several different types of fake rock hides.

Lighting/Temperature

It's safe to say a desert iguana needs a sun simulator. You want to create a warm side and a cooler side. This enables your desert pet to control its temperature by changing its placement or positioning within the cage.

Desert iguanas need UVB lighting. What's called a mercury vapor bulb produces an output of UVB that closely simulates the sun's rays. Your pet lizard needs a UVB light to produce vitamin D3 in order to absorb calcium.

For the basking spot, you will need to produce a temperature of around 110°F. The cooler side of the cage should remain in the neighborhood of 80° to 88°F. You don't want to guess at the temperatures, purchasing what's called a temp gun will let you know if your temps are accurate.

During summertime, your pet lizard's lights should remain on for 12 to 14 hours. During wintertime their lights should be on roughly 10 to 11 hours. A simple timer can be purchased to automatically turn your lights on and off.

Food

Desert iguanas are herbivores. You want to provide a variety of dark leafy greens and an assortment of soft fruits and flowers. The greens can consist of mustard greens, dandelions, parsley and collard greens.

Soft fruits such as banana can be offered every once in a while. Flowers such as roses, dandelions, hibiscus and leaves and flowers from the creosote bush will be welcomed by your iguana.

Most owners of this type of desert pet will add water by spraying the prepared salad for their pet lizard with water. You can also dribble water on the iguana's nose, and usually they will instinctively lick their chops.

Brumation

Most desert iguanas will slow down for four or five months during winter. Brumation is the reptile equivalent of hibernation. In the wild, when food is scarce, a lot of lizards will find a hiding place and try to sleep until late February or March.

During this time they will not eat or drink any water. A lot of pet lizard owners will soak their pet in water for 15 minutes once a week during brumation. It is believed that lizards that brumate in the wild often times bury themselves and absorb moisture from the ground they are in. Be sure and monitor your desert pet when soaking. During brumation they are obviously very sleepy and could easily drown if left unattended.

If you decide to get a desert iguana for your next pet lizard -be sure and read multiple care sheets and possibly a book on this fascinating lizard.