Caring For Iguana In Three Simple Steps

We all know that iguanas are one of the most known pets especially in the United States, even across the globe. The majestic appearance of the iguanas attracts many people, and the fact that they easily recognize their caretakers attracts even more people to them, who keep them as pets. However, upon proper training, iguanas are known for their excellence in interacting with people, especially their caregivers. Despite the popularity of iguanas, the majority of homeowners who have kept iguana as pets are not aware of the best ways of caring for iguana.

Even though it is easy to buy these pets because they are widely available for sale, and you can even get more exotic species by placing orders online whereby the iguana is shipped to your home by the foreign suppliers, you need a complete understanding of how to care for iguana before buying it. It is a fact that iguanas have specific requirements when kept as pets, and if the caretaker does not fulfill these requirements, the lifespan of the iguana may be short. Let us look at three points on how to care for iguana.

First, while caring for iguana, check on the diet that your pet iguana is taking on daily basis. While it is a fact that iguanas are herbivores, they need a variety of vegetables and plant matter so as to acquire all the necessary body nutrients. While feeding them on lettuce and cabbage may seem okay, these vegetables usually lack most nutrients which might lead to electrolyte and nutrient imbalance hence malnutrition in your iguana. So, you should feed your pet iguana on a variety of nutritious vegetables for its health.

Secondly, try to avoid heating rocks when caring for iguana. While iguanas usually need heat to aid their food digestion process, do not use a heating rock in iguana care for that purpose because these heating rocks can easily burn the iguanas. Again, do not let the pet shop staff persuade you into using these heating rocks because of their popularity -- they are not the best choice.

The best alternative of providing heat to your iguana is by installing a fluorescent bulb in your iguana's habitat and ensuring that you set the ambient temperature of the bulb to the correct value so that the temperature range is between 79 and 90 degrees, which is ideal for iguanas.

Thirdly, do not be convinced that iguanas have low maintenance cost. This statement is true only if you provide the right and the best daily care in terms of proper diet, and proper heating together with the appropriate accessories for the iguana to thrive.

Thus you will not need to spend more funds on veterinarian visits for iguana care if you follow the above simple steps on iguana care. Furthermore, by considering the above three points, your iguana will remain happy and healthy. However, if you want to give the best to your pet iguana, it is wise to make a saving of about $200 to $300 to cater for the habitat of the iguana, including all the necessary accessories needed for the habitat.