My iguana is 4years old and most of the day is sleeping. It doesn't eat much but its color looks ok . what do you think?
2007-01-12 07:44:42 · 3 answers · asked by cjvirus 1 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
I have had a green Iguana for eight years mine is around 6.5 feet long and he really sleeps more than my other reptiles and sleeps quite a bit but It is usually awake a good 8 hours of the day. a lot of the time when they bask they fall asleep and when you have a big enough enclosure it gives them room to explore and run around and climb. I have a greek tortoise living in the tank with mine and they eat together and everything it is pretty cool.I would assume your iggy's behavior is normal just based on the fact that mine sleeps a lot too.
2007-01-12 09:56:39 · answer #1 · answered by jason c 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The green iguana is diurnal, which means it's awake during the daytime and sleeps at night. Their natural habitat is in the neo tropical region close to the equator. So they are getting about 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. I keep timers on the enclosures of mine. On at 7 AM and off at 7 PM.
Your iguana shouldn't really be sleeping during the day, although, like the other person said, they might take a short nap after eating and basking.
Now, is it really sleeping, or is it too cold? Check the temps with a good thermometer, or one of those "non-contact" thermometers you can get at Radio Shack. That will at least give you the skin temp when you aim it at the igs body and take the temp. During the day it needs temps at least 85 degrees for it to properly digest it's food. This would also explain why it isn't eating much, if it's too cold.
As for color, it is also a good indicator of health. But you can't go on color alone. If an iguana in the wild is sick and wants to survive, it will not show outward signs of weakness, or it will get eaten by predators. By the time the iguana has lost it's green color, it's usually quite sick. Iguanas will keep the same behavior in captivity as in the wild. I had a female iguana that I was fostering for a rescue and she had a bright green color. Turns out she was dying of kidney failure and had to be euthanized, so you can't go by just color.
Here's a couple of good sites that have accurate info.
www.greenigsociety.org
www.anapsid.org
2007-01-12 21:30:38 · answer #2 · answered by Koolkat 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
http://www.beardeddragon.org/
check that site out its helpfull.post pics there I would like to see your ig. mines a baby still "Nika"
Sorry I can't answer that question just yet but that site wil help
2007-01-12 19:25:08 · answer #3 · answered by Jason L 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋