If
giving the correct living conditions Fiji Island Banded Iguanas are very
hardy and long lived animals. In this article I will explain how I
maintain my Fiji Island Banded Iguanas. No doubt my methods will be
different to other keepers, but my methods are successful in maintaining
healthy animals.
Heating
The
daytime ambient temperature of 30degC is measured and controlled by the
dimming thermostat's sensor at the centre of the vivarium, therefore the
heater bulbs, positioned at one end, provide a focused hotspot of about 40
to 43 degC, and hence a good temperature gradient across the vivarium is
produced. Under the heater bulbs (2x100 watt) I have positioned branches
for the iguanas to bask on. These heater bulbs are set on a timer to
switch on in the morning, off at night - settings depend on the season.
Nighttimes’ temperatures are controlled by a 2x100 watt ceramic bulbs,
controlled by a thermostat, set to 19 degC. The minimum ambient
temperature should be 18 degC, hence by placing the heater at one end it
provides a temperature gradient across the vivarium. The ceramic heater
is active 24 hrs a day, therefore when the heater bulbs switch off the
night time heater automatically switches on. They also act as back up
should the heater bulbs fail.
Humidity
Humidity is essential, about 60 to 80% should be maintained. I spray the
vivarium every day to maintain the humidity, if the humidity level is too
high I spray less water. I very rarely spray the Iguanas and only to
clean them or moisten their skin, but that is it. When spraying it is
important to spray the leaves and branches near to where the Iguanas sit,
you will find they prefer to drink water droplets from these areas, than
the supplied water bowl.
Lighting
It
is very important these Iguanas receive good levels of UV. In warmer
parts of the world keepers have these Iguanas in outdoor pens, so they
receive direct sunlight, unfortunately here in the UK the climate is not
suitable for this. Therefore the use of good quality UV bulbs is
essential. NOTE: These tubes’ UV outputs diminish over time and are to
be replaced every 6 months.
The
UV tube is positioned horizontally along the roof at the front of the
vivarium, with branches positioned in close proximity. These tubes are
set on timers and switch on and off with the heater bulbs.
Food
Adult Iguanas are fed 5 to 6 times a week, youngsters should be every
day. My adults main diet consists of spring greens, curly kale and
grapes. In addition to this standard mix I also add other items; green
beans, mange tout, dandelion leaves, apples, pears etc. All this food is
chopped into small manageable pieces. I allow a good handful per animal
per day. Once a week I dust their food with a calcium/mineral powder.
In
addition to the fruit and vegetables, Fiji Iguanas should also have
insects provided. I generally feed wax worms to mine by hand or by tongs
and for shy individuals I provide the wax worms in a food bowl located in
the branches. I find each Iguana eats 10 to 20 wax worms per week.
Location of the food bowls is important - they should be in the branches
not on the floor. If your iguanas share the vivarium you should have at
least two food bowls, positioned in different locations, this allows less
dominant animals to feed without constant harassment from their dominant
partner.
Water
As
explained previously, daily spraying is important as these iguanas prefer
drinking water droplets from leaves than from a bowl. I do supply a water
bowl which is perched on the branches off the floor, and have regularly
seen the animals drinking from it, but from my research this is an
exception and not the rule.
Vivarium Size
For
a pair of hatchlings a smaller vivarium 0.6x0.6x0.6m is adequate, and
increase the vivarium size accordingly as they grow.
For
an adult pair (18 months upwards) which are about 3/4 full size, I would
suggest a vivarium size of 1.2x1x1m, this should include many branches and
vines for them to climb on etc. The addition of cork attached to the
walls increases the amount of useable climbing area - which is important
for these tree dwellers. It is also worth considering having a divider
within the vivarium, should you need to separate the adults.
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