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THEREFORE, AN ENCLOSURE MUST BE DESIGNED WITH THE AGE OF THE IGUANA
taken into consideration. A large enclosure can be built with the adult
iguana in mind and a smaller area can be screened off for a younger iguana.
As the iguana grows, the size of the living area can be increased. A hatchling
will reach adult size in two and a half to three years. This is also a solution
for one enclosure built to house two pets as iguanas are not social animals
and can be very aggressive toward more passive cage mates.
THE ENCLOSURE SIDES SHOWN HERE ARE BUILT WITH COMMON MATERIALS, READILY AVAILABLE.
FOR A 4 FT. BY 7 FT. BY 8 FT. ENCLOSURE, YOU WILL NEED:
SIX (6) 4 FT. BY 7 FT. WIRE-MESH COVERED PANELS FOR THE SIDES
TWO (2) 4 FT. BY 4 FT. PANELS FOR THE TOP (and/or a 4 x 8 foot redwood
lattice panel)
Each panel is made up of 2" x 2" sides with a 2"x2"
center support, screwed together with drywall screws. The size of the enclosure
is up to the builder and can be adjusted to any size. The wire covering
is 48" (4 ft.) wide galvanized hardware mesh (1/2" mesh). In California,
a 50 ft. roll of hardware cloth or mesh is approx. $35.00 - $50.00.
Build a 2x2 rectangle 4 ft. by 7 ft. with a center support and staple
the wire mesh to the frame, to the edge. (Two by two inch material comes
in 8 ft. length but an eight foot high enclosure may be too high to easily
catch your iguana so I have cut the material down to 7 ft. and used the
small one foot pieces as additional corner brace supports.)
The INSIDE of the frame is the side with the wood, the OUTSIDE will
have the mesh covering so that you can use the wood frame to support your
shelves and ladders. This style cage can be reconfigured to any size.
When panels are bolted or screwed together, the material becomes the
thickness of a two by four and is very strong. Top panels are screwed on
last and then the cage is trued (squared) andcenter and corner brace supports
are added.
The door panel is the same configuration (see diagram) but a quarter
of the panel is framed for a door. The door can be half the panel width
if a taller door is desired. Small brass hinges are added and a very secure
double set of hooks, top and bottom, insure that the iguana won't push out
the bottom or top of the door to escape.
Always add lattice panels or other shading material and fill your outdoor
enclosure with tree branches and plants. If you live in an area of extreeme
heat, add a mister or two (attach to the hose) for cooling tropical moisture.
NEVER leave an iguana outdoors in extreme heat without providing plenty
of shade and water.
For an indoor enclosure, three or more sides can be plexiglass. To protect
from rostrum (nose) rubbling, plexi panels several inches high can be attached
onto the lower section of the wire panels . Drill and screw the plexi-panels
to the inside of the frame holding the wire. For total plexi sides, take
the 2"x2" to a carpentry shop and have 1/4" channels cut
with a router to accept the plexi sheets.
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Previous Articles in IGUANA IGUANA
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Go to Make Your Iguana A Rainforest
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Best and Worst
Iguana Hall of Fame
Favorite Ig Names
Iguana Nutrition
A Day in the Life of an Iguana
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ISSUES from1997 - $2.00 an issue (Reprints of main articles - $1.00.)
The latest printed issues ofIGUANA IGUANA Newsletter
contain the following articles:
August's Issue Contains: Main Article - Too Hot to Handle - Dealing with Summer Heat and Your Iguana, Keeping Out the Critters, Putting in a Pool, Grooming Tips, Ask Dr. Spike - "My iguana is afraid of the tub now and is pooping on the couch!", Crossword Plus - Two Puzzles, Summer is time for an outdoor enclosure!
September's Issue Contains: Main Article - Does Your Iguana Measure Up?, Iguana Weight and Growth Chart, Measurement and Conversion Chart, Pictures of iguanas at all stages of growth, Iguana Ban in New York City - What You Can Do To Help, the New York Health code, Answers to Last Month's Puzzles, Ask Dr. Spike - Substrates and Swollen Eyes, Back to School!
October's Issue Contains: Main Article - Is Your Female Iguana Possessed?, Ovariosalpingectomy - Getting Through Spay Surgery, How to Build A Nest Box - Diagrams, The Gravid Iguana, Meet Harry (The Wizard Lizard) Potter, Tips - Timers, Closet Enclosure Wood, Resting Chin Behavior, From the Mail Bag - Save the Habitat of the Utila Iguana, Ask Dr. Spike - Internal Bleeding, Dietary Information - Pumpkin and Winter Squash, Trick or Treat!
November's Issue Contains: Main Article - Is
Your Iguana Stressed Out?, Stress inducers, Thanksgiving Dinner
for Everyone, Miss Levi's Summer Fun, Can You Find The Iguana In This Picture?,
Papaya - The Fruit for Good Digestion, From the Mailbag: A Reader Reports
on the Success of His Iguana's New Closet Enclosure, Ask Dr. Spike: A Twitching
Iguana, December Tail Contest, Happy Thanksgiving!
If you would like a current issue of the printed newsletter, please
send $2.00 with your name and address to: IGUANA IGUANA, 23852 P.C.H., Suite
123, Malibu, CA 90265. A subscription to IGUANA IGUANA is $15.00
a year for 12 issues.
