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Iguana's by their nature prefer and do best in large, tall, roomy and secure enclosures. These enclosures should have plenty of room for climbing. In the wild Iguana's are largely arboreal, this means that they tend to spend a great deal of time high up in tall trees. This appears to be for two reasons; First predators that may like an Iguana lunch are less likely to follow them up into the high trees and Secondly if a predator does manage to become very much of a threat, an Iguana can jump down to the ground to safety. (Iguanas can leap from dizzying heights and still run away with no apparent injuries!)The favorite perching and roosting trees for Iguana's in the wild appear to be ones that overhang water. Iguanas are strong swimmers and if the tree is strategically placed over an area of water the Iguana has the further advantage that the predator will probaly not want to get wet! When threatened an Iguana will jump from his perch high up in the tree down into the water and swim away. Iguana's are umbelievably athletic animals in the wild. Definatly not the lazy, lethargic animals that we see in captivity! Lazy, fat animals are at an elevated risk for some of the same health problems that People are. Obesity leads to clogged arteries and heart disease in Iguanas, just the same as it does in us!
Free roaming Iguana's do best in captivity, especially if their favorite basking area is away from their feeding area. This distance simulates a more natural behavior than if the food were close at hand, as this encourages exercise as well as more natural interaction with the Iguana's human group. However in order for free roaming Iguana's to work in a home situation, you will need to "Iguana Proof" your home or the room where the Iguana will be staying. This is no easy task, This includes window screens! An unsupervised Iguana can be like a bull in a china shop or an unruly 2 year old child! I usually receive several calls every year from Iguana owners whose Iguanas have escaped into the wild by pushing their way through window screens or out doggy doors! An Iguana that manages to become loose outside is subject to many dangers, not the least of which are cars, cats and dogs. A pet Iguana that has become accustomed to other family pets might not recognize a strange cat or dog as a threat. This is because the house pet leaves them alone and due to this conditioned trust your Iguana can be seriously harmed or killed!
Free roaming Iguana's will climb! Remember, in the wild they like high places to avoid predators. As such, your pet Iguana may decide to climb the curtian rods, book shelves or anything else that looks like it could possibly lead to a higher place in your home than the floor. If you do not want your Iguana to get up there, you must make sure that there are other equally tall areas for him to climb that look much more inviting. I know of at least 2 large Iguana's that escaped into the outside world and found the perfect high basking area - sitting across the High Voltage sign on a utility pole some 20 feet up! Amazingly, both animals were safely recovered. However one of them "Leaped for the safety of the ground!" Luckily for the Iguana she had been well cared for and had strong enough bones to survive the impact without breaking anything! This is a strong testimony to the extreme flexibility and resiliency of these animals. If you or I jumped 20 feet to the ground it is unlikely that we would be getting up anytime soon and running away like the Iguana did!
Free roaming Iguana's own the territory in which they roam. This can be a problem with large males and some females, especially during breeding season. Owners have been injured, sometimes even seriously, when breeding season comes around. Male Iguana's In "rut" have been known to turn on and attack their owners. It is reasonable to assume that they will quite possibly consider you in one of two ways. 1- You are a rival male that needs to be run off in order to defend his territory. 2- You are a female Iguana that needs to be captured, subdued and mated with. During "rut" male iguanas only have 2 things in mind Mating and male rivalry! There is nothing romantic about Iguana mating habits. Males chase down the females then lock their powerful jaws onto the females neck and maneuver her into submission for mating. This can be most painful, should he decide to lock onto your hand, arm or face! If the Iguana does lock on do not attempt to pull away from his grip, it will only serve to cause you severe injury possibly even requiring several stitches! If your free roaming Iguana or tame Iguana goes into rut you WILL need to provide a secure cage for him. Handle him very carefully during this time as while his hormones are raging he will not be reasonable, and can not be held accountable for his actions. When breeding season is over he should again return to his normal self. Some females also become very unpredictable and territorial at this time. Treat them just as you would a male, until breeding season is over, usually about 3 months. If rut becomes a serious problem for you or your Iguana you might consider spaying or neutering it. In Long Beach the only Veterinary Office that we are familiar with that will spay or neuter an Iguana is Long Beach Animal Hospital The procedure does not come cheap however (over $250.00) but it may be worth it in the long run. Some years are worse than others for Male aggression it seems that a mild winter tends to make them more aggressive in the late summer months, and a harder winter causes the aggression in the early spring. But that is just my speculation based on what we have seen with our own animals.
Cage temperatures should be somewhere between 84-86 degrees with the basking area approaching the mid 90's. A 10 degree nighttime drop in temperature is acceptable. This can best be accomplished with the use of heat lamps, exercise caution with any heat source you choose as an Iguana is incapable of knowing when a surface or area is too hot and will cause injury. They just do not have the nerves in their skin like we do and therefore do not know it is hot enough to cause an injury and will quickly develope serious burns! Hot Rocks, and various types of heating pads are also available to the reptile owner, use caution with these as many can suddenly become too hot and cause burns. I recomend placing a sock over hot rocks, this sock can easily be replaced or removed for laundering whenever it becomes soiled. The sock will help to disperse the heat and thereby help to elliviate any "Hot Spots" also a dimmer switch can be placed on the power cord they can be purchased for around $10.00 at most any hardware store. This will allow you to adjust the temperature so that you have control over just how hot it gets. Remember if you place your hand on the heating source and it is comfortably warm for you it is OK for your Iguana, if it is too hot for you it will surely burn your Iguana.
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