Iguana Habitats

If you have met the basic light, heating, space and humidity requirements of an iguana habitat, you might think that your work is all done. However, it should be stated that those are just the basic parts of an iguana habitat. This means that although these factors alone will let your iguana survive, these may not necessarily allow your iguana to thrive.

In order to assure the best of health for your iguana, the iguana habitat should have these accessories:

1) Substrates – substrates compose the surface of the iguana habitat. In choosing a substrate for your iguana habitat, you should remember the fact that iguanas constantly flick their tongues. This habit allows your iguana to process different types of information about their environment. You should not use anything small like wood chips, sand, or gravel as a substrate because of this reason. Anything that sticks to the tongue of the iguana is likely to be eaten. San and gravel would be very dangerous to the iguana if they are ingested. This goes for any particulate materials.

In choosing a substrate, you might want to try newspapers with non-toxic ink. You could also try to use other types of paper, as long as they are not toxic to animals when ingested. Some people prefer to use pieces of indoor and outdoor carpeting as substrates for their iguana habitat.

2) Basking and climbing accessories – Iguanas are arboreal. In the wild, iguanas spend most of their time up on trees. This means that you need to provide some sort of climbing material in your iguana habitat. Try including some shelves in an iguana habitat to simulate branches of trees.

If you include branches in your iguana habitat, you should provide some that are big enough for your iguana to lie on comfortably. You should also cover them with some sort of material that will help them in climbing. One option is to cover the branches with carpeting. The branches will also serve as basking places for your iguana. These spots are where your iguana will go to in order to relax.

3) Food and water dishes – you should provide your iguana with dishes for food and water. Although iguanas are not really inclined to drink often, it is still important that you provide them with a source of fresh water daily.

Iguanas love to soak in a water dish, so you should provide one that's just the right size for your pet. It should be big enough so that the iguana won't tip it over when getting in and it should be shallow enough so that the iguana won't drown. You should also realize that after soaking, an iguana usually likes to poop in the water. This means that you will have the responsibility to change the water in the dish and sanitize it regularly.

4) Hiding places – there are times when an iguana likes to be alone and unobserved. This means that you have to provide a suitable hiding place in your iguana habitat. You could place a log, a rock, or anything which your iguana could hide behind. Just like people, iguanas need privacy too.

When you add these accessories to your iguana habitat, you can be sure that your iguana will be living in a very ideal enclosure. This means that your iguana's health and well-being will be secured.