i have had my iguana for two years but he hasnt grown much

ive taken my iguana to several different vets specializing in exotics and they have all said that he looks perfectly healthy... he is very tame as soon as i get him out of his terrarium which is very large... i know that your not supposed to chage the environment because it stresses them out. I have fed him every day since i admit i have begun to slack off a little bit... since i got him he hasnt grown more then three or four inches and it really is starting to scare me. i dont know if it might have something to do with inbreeding or something, but in my oppinion (and i have owned many reptiles) he seems to be very healthy and happy... i was wondering if any one has had any experiences like this or if any one has any advice for me... it would be greatly appreciated... thanks... raquel

 

RE: i have had my iguana for two years but he hasnt grown mu

How old is your iggie? And how big is he?

 

RE: i have had my iguana for two years but he hasnt grown mu

What are you feeding him, what type of supplements is he on, what type of UVB lights.

There are many things besides genetic that is affecting his growth, tell us about his set up and wquiptment and we can try and help him and you

I moved this to the proper forum

 

my tiny iguana problem

i dont know his exact age but i have had him for two years and the pet store told me he was just old enough to be sold. since then the only part of his body that has grown significantly is his tail... and his tail has only grown about three inches... he is about 10 inches give or take from nose to tail. he is not skinny at all and has never had a problem eating
i feed him collard greens, swiss chard, dandelion greens, kale, watercress, butternut squash, greenbeans, carrots. granted i dont feed him all of these at once, and i have slacked off a little i am ashamed to admit... i had him on a multivitamin for a while however my vet told me that it was a useless pet store scam. i have a calcium supliament that you are supposed to spray on the food but when i do that he wont eat it... his cage is in a mesh terrarium its about 4ft by 2ft by 3ft, i have a ubv strip lamp and a uvb coil lamp. i have a heat lamp that keeps one side of the cage between 85f and 90f, my room is warm enough that the other side of the cage is usually around 80f... i have a big water bowl and i give him baths a couple times a week i spray him at least once a day. i have 4 branches all of which he loves to climb on...

i am truely at a loss

 

RE: my tiny iguana problem

The coil is almost worthless when brand new, the produce almost no UVB at all and you did not say what kind of florescent tube you have so we can see if it is really a UVB producing one or one that produces more than marginal amounts like the coil. Also how old is it? even the good producing ones need to be replaced ever six months.

I suspect your problem is your UVB or lack of it for him. All the best diet in the world and calcium supplements will not help him grow if he is not getting adequate UVB light source to make d3 so he can absord the calcium and other vitamins he needs from the food.

PS: get another vet, any vet that says supplements for an iguana (which are one of the highest demand reptile species needing supplements in captivity) need to be replaced or sent back to school..... certainly not treating herps as it is obvious he knows little about them.

 

i dont know what kind of uvb bulbs i have... my friend had a fully grown iguana but he went to college last september so he gave the coil bulb to me, he told me that it was very strong... before that i just had the two foot strip lamp, it has a one of the pet store brand uvb bulbs in them, i dont know if those actually have any worthy uvb rays, so if they dont please tell me... i feel absolutly terrible... if there are any brands that are better then others or something i should know about brand name uvb bulbs please help me

 

RE: my tiny iguana problem

the uvb bulbs i have are both pet store brands... but i think thats pretty obvious... im not sure what brand they are exactly.... the coil lamp i got from a friend who had to give away his iguana because he went to college last september on the bulb it says 15% uvb( is that below average, what is average, is there a uvb bulb i can get that is 100%)... the strip lamp i have is two feet and the pet store said it was one of the longest lasting that they had.... any recommendations: are there better ones, am i totally off track? am i even worthy of owning an iguana, if the problem is lack of exposure to uvb (and i fix it now) could it cause health problems in the future?

 

RE: my tiny iguana problem

Can you look on the bulb and see if it says anything? if you can it can help us a lot in knowing if this is the most likely cause of your problems.. other ones can be parasites in the iguana and you need to see a vet for that, but the light no matter how good or bad, needs to be replaced every six months.

Ones that appear in a lot of stores are the ESU and slimline lights and fixtures, they are very weak (the slimline fixtures come with a plastic lens over the light that actually blocks ALL UVB) but the lights are weak UVB produces and a lot of stores carry these are they can but them cheap

The ESU Florescent puts out very low levels of UVB and the ESU coil is just worthless.

Good UVB lights are the ZooMed's Reptisun 5.0 and the 10.0 (the 10.0 is best if the iguana is more than 10 inches from the light. Also the Exo Terra ReptiGlo 8.0 has good readings.

You can read all about the quality of UVB producing lights on a yahoo list called UVB_meter_owners group that has been testing all these for a few years now and also on a UVB reptile research site, I am on both and we have personally tested almost all these lights and know which work and which do not. http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm these is a great site for understanding UVB and reptiles

You can buy Good quality UVB lights online at ReptileSupply.com for very good prices, much less that those in a pet store, the Zoomeds are http://www.reptilesupply.com/index.php?cPa...age=3&ref=7 19.99-24.99 look on the bottom of the page and the exoterra 8.0's are here http://www.reptilesupply.com/index.php?cPa...age=2&ref=7 towards the bottom. $14.99

 

RE: my tiny iguana problem

Don;t feel bad, at least you are online looking for answers before you have serious problems!!

We all had to learn from someone/somewhere and sadly most of us learned wrong from the pet stores.

 

RE: my tiny iguana problem

Dude.. just invest some $$ in a powersun or 2 & you will be all set. Also, an iguana that has not grown any in 2 years.. i would double check to make sure you have an iguana ... jk.

I run 4 powersun bulbs during the day at the same time (and have 1 more inside each tank that are up but I dont turn em on unless it gets cold) heh. I dont pay the electric bill.. my fiancee does heh.

Make sure its out far enough from the basking spot so no to burn your pet. Turn it on during the day when you are home & monitor the temps before you leave it turned on all the time when you are not home or something.

see what i'm talking about heh..
http://cgwebmedia.com/archives/gallery/bob...s/IMG_3697.html
http://cgwebmedia.com/archives/gallery/bob...s/IMG_3699.html
http://cgwebmedia.com/archives/gallery/bob...s/IMG_3695.html
http://cgwebmedia.com/archives/gallery/bob...s/IMG_3696.html

My old app i would replace a blow fuse 1ce a month LOL (old app). This new app.. thank god for modern tech.. i already overloaded 1/3rd of my app.. lucky the box in the basement is not locked so i dont have to call the tech.. just flip the switch myself heh.

Not to sound like I work for some Japanese comp that makes em. . but sinc ei started using em.. i cant go back to any other bulb. I have a few T-Rex bulbs but those generate some insane heat & are hard to monitor/get right. I would not recommend those unless it gets cold in the winter time.

 

RE: my tiny iguana problem

thanks alot. thats a sick setup uv got there. i know u dont make the cages but do u buy, make or find the wood...?
thanks for the advice

 

RE: my tiny iguana problem

the drift wood I went picking @ the local river.. I'm the idiot eveyone who was reading a book up & down the river were looking at heh. Buying that stuff at a store is just too expensive. I got lucky & there was nothing wrong with the wood.. like bugs, mites, ticks.. whatever. Gotta check for that stuff before u put it in a cage.

Btw.. when you do buy a Powersun.. be prepaired for it to break so that when it does you are not dissapointed & pissed later on heh. Fragile bulbs.. just be gentile with them & they will be fine. The Japanese make em .. not some 3rd world taiwon.. mexico.. or melasia heh. Cuz its made in japan is why the rediculous cost.

 

RE: my tiny iguana problem

The PowerSuns are one of the more fragile UVB/heat in one Mercury Vapor bulbs, we use to use them. But for the last 2 years we switched over to the MegaRay's which are made by Westron of New York at their Canadian Plant.

According to all our UVB testing and others on the UBV_Meter_Owners Yahoo group that have been testing MVB for the last 2 years they last much longer with a better and long UVB output and ballast life, I must have 2 dozen PowerSuns to send back to the company that lasted less than 6 months, most only 3. But I have yet to have to return a MegaRay to them in the past year and we bought 48 of them.

They can be bought online for less that the powersuns too!!!!!!!!
http://www.reptileuv.com/ $39.95

 

well.. if the figures on
http://russiantortoise.org/uvb.htm
don't lie.. I should def switch over to those bulbs.

Thanks!. For the longest time I thought Powersun was best (that and T Rex .. but those get rediculously hot).

Should be able to find those bulbs even lower then $39. Froogle time!

thnx.

 

http://reptileuv.tripod.com/MegaRaySB100Zoo.htm
that looks like a sick light!

http://www.baskinglizards.com/product_info...products_id=142
you would recommend this one? Looks like a crazy lamp. 3 of those would be a good price.

 

thanks alot all of u guys i will get both of these bulbs, the powersun and the murcury vapor and see which one last longer, i have a job and i love my iguana so its all good, so when i see some results i will report... once again thanks and im sure ill have more questions so until next time...

 

I would actually go with the bulbs CheriS recommended. Dont waste your $$ on the Powersun. I did not know about em myself.

 

Dude,

I already gave you the URL to the man that designed these MegaRay Lights and sells them to the public for $39.95
http://www.reptileuv.com/ The same site as your first link on the above post..... so why stick url's of other sites that are reselling them for him and ask me if I would recommend it? It's HIS light, the same one I posted about.

The MEgaRay Zoo you link to on another page on his site, is ONLY for Zoo's, not the public

 

thats because the light I want thats generating 250 - 300 microwats .. on the site you gave me.. is $70! Where as the other link i had..baskinglizards.com.. the light had the same spects but was only $40 .. and there was nothing about " i wont sell you this light because you don't own a zoo". If I want to buy a light bulb.. i should be able to buy a light bulb. Its not like I'm interested in buying firearms.

Give me a link to the same light on baskinglizards.com thats on reptileuv.com & I'd be happy to buy from him, but based on his prices & disclaimers.. i was looking elsewhere.

 

Call and talk to the man at Reptile UV.

I guess I am not making myself clear. HE is the man who designed these lights, they are his.... not that he is just selling them, THEY ARE HIS. Baskinglizard is just like us, we all buy them from HIM.

I don't what a vendor is stating on their site, they are wrong and copied the wrong page from his site (he allows his vendors to use his descriptions and info in thier ads) Baskinglizard mixed up the SPECIFICATIONS of the 160 watt SB Flood with the 100 Watt Zoo Series.

One with a 250-300 mw has to be 3 ft or more away from the animnal, not 12 inches, the 160 Watt SB has to be 18 inches and the 100 Watt SB is the one that is 12 inches.

You need to do business with someone who understands UVB light, and Bob MacDonald of Reptile does... call him and talk to him about his lights, which are the same ones that baskinglizard has for sale... but not described right