Help on friend's iguana?

[OhNoChloroformx]

I've had a good friend for several years now, and back in December around the same time I bought my baby beardie she was given a baby green iguana for Christmas. I've spent countless hours researching and talking to people about the best way to raise my sandfire Bentley, and now he's a happy healthy plump adult boy pushing 18" and still growing like a weed.

I'm concerned because in the 4+ months we've been reptile owners, her iguana has shown no improvements. He is still the same size and length (baby-sized) and his body looks frail. I held out hope that she would do her research and give her baby all that he needed to live happily, but about a month ago I started interfering to try and help out: I raided Bentley's cabinets and gave her all the extra things we wouldn't need (branches, rocks, fake plants, an extra UV light, a hide box, a water dish, a large ReptiHammock) and her iggy seems to enjoy roaming around them. For the first 3 months she had him, she used a common household bulb as a light source with no UV or heat bulbs to my knowledge, and she was amazed when the iggy instantly perked up and showed some life when I lowered a fresh new heat lamp and UV lamp into the enclosure. There was only a smooth river rock and a food bowl in his 70 gal tank before I donated my stuff. She gives him butter lettuce and iguana pellets daily, and I had to restrain myself from giving a long lecture about proper reptile nutrition so I just wrote out a grocery list of healthy staples for next time she goes shopping. He has more energy but is still an angry iggy and whips everything that moves with his tail.

I need some advice on more I can do to help my friend out. I'm trying to be calm and friendly in doing all this stuff for her, so she doesn't get put-off. Can anyone recommend the best heat and UV lights I can steer her towards? Any good ideas on how to get this poor baby back on track and growing big and strong? :?

 

[Harley's Mom]

Take a peek at the Green Iguana Society, they are a wealth of information and if you click on through to the message board when you're finished, they're a friendly bunch and will typically help you out with any questions you may have. http://www.greenigsociety.org/home.html

 

[LJean]

Last year I took in a poor iguana who had lived the three years of its life in a 20 gallon long tank. It seemed to be near death when I got it. This poor ig was no where near the size of an adult at the age it was. If I could help that iguana become healthy and find a good home, then I am sure with your help, your friend can get the iguana to perk up.

I also went to the green ig society for help. Better food, a good uvb bulb, room to move around and lots of handling to get them easier to deal with is the key.

 

[Bootz]

I use a 75W ZooMed Basking Spotlamp Bulb for heat and ESU Slimline fluorescent fixture that I got a few weeks after I got my Ig. I'm going to be replacing the fluor. bulb soon with a ReptiSun 5.0. At night I have a 100W red halogen spotlight that keeps the temps around 75-ish. I also have a large enough enclosure that I can fill the bottom with moss and put about a quart of water on and it keeps the humidity around 60-65%.****He never goes to the floor of his enclosure, as he is an arboreal lizard. He stays in the top 3'.****

I feed him San Francisco Bay freeze dried veggie mix(when Im in a rush), fresh Romaine lettuce, fresh Kale, grated yellow squash, fresh Collard Greens, Beech Nut sweet potato baby food, BN chaquita banana bf, BN carrot bf, BN green pea bf. I also top his salad off with a Nature Zone Iguana Bites(for appetite stimulation), Calcium fortifier & Vitamin Booster, ZooMed Calcium powder w/D3, and ZooMed Reptivite(multi-vitamin).