TANKS VS HOME MADE ENCLOSURES.

I apologize if I am repeating myself a bit here however I feel it is important to talk about the pros and cons when it comes to different styles of enclosures and the health effects it can have on your lizard.

The following photo is not mine...I copied it off Google image for an example as I have never housed any of my its in a glass tank.
Now there are many problems with this set up, most obvious is the lack of space for an iguana that size.
Pros of having a tank, very easy to clean, can be a great first home for a hatchling ig but they will out grow it fast.
Cons. Tanks only last a short period of time, they outgrow them fast, if bough new they can be very expensive. Not enough vertical climbing space for any age of iguana.

In regards to the following photo...Tanks do not often come more vertical than they are horizontal. This means you can get a massive tank, say a 90 or 120 gallon tank but it still isn't fit for an iguana older than a hatchling. Iguanas are arboreal which means they spend a majority of the time in trees and climbing. This is what their muscles are meant for and they need to be able to get the proper climbing exercise while in their enclosure to have god healthy muscle mass and you cannot get the proper climbing environment with any size tank (unless custom built, but that cost so much you might as well make a much larger wooden one for the same price).
I only recommend tanks as a last resort and only for hatchling iguanas. Iguanas are just not built to be able to live to their full potential in a glass tank.

 

I will be doing another blog post about all of my enclosures that I have for my iguana (one enclosure per blog post for full details)

However I no longer have the enclosure that is in the flowing pictures, this was Sassy enclosure that I made back in 2010 and she kept for about a year to a year and half before being free roam in my apartment to having her own bedroom in my house now.

 

So this is what Sassy's enclosure looked like when I was finished with it, for the most part she didn't have a door on it and when the door was on it was often left open for her. I really loved this enclosure but Sassy did outgrow it. This cage was about 6x4x4 I believe. This is a very simple design, and with basic skills with power tools very easy to build. In total I don't believe this cost me over 150$.
This size enclosure would be great for any age iguana from about a year up until they are full grown, then they would need a little bit bigger in my opinion.

So a custom built enclosure can be a lot nicer, more unique and over all a better fit for your iguana at any age vs a glass tank. There are many different designs of enclosure and each of my iguana enclosure are so different which you will see in the up incoming blog post.

Get the best enclosure for your iguana and your money by simply building one yourself or with some help.

If you would like help drawing up and enclosure and helping turning pieces of furniture like wardrobes or hutches into enclosures simply send me a photo of what you have or the size you would like and the budget you have. I can help you draw something up for your iggy that will be stimulating for your ig and look beautiful in your home.

Contact me on my integral page or Facebook page in regards to enclosure ideas :) and keep an eye out for my up incoming enclosure blog post for more ideas for beautiful and inexpensive enclosures.

Robin.