Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Some Myths about Green Iguanas

People who own green iguanas often have certain misconceptions about them. These myths could interfere with a person's ability to take proper care of a green iguana. Some of these myths may not be too harmful. However, some of these myths could be dangerous to a green iguana's health and well-being. Here are some common myths about green iguanas which you should know about:

1) You can feed lettuce to green iguanas – This myth has some truth to it. Of course, since green iguanas are best kept on a vegetarian diet, you can feed it lettuce. However, you should realize the fact that most types of salad lettuce have very little nutritional value. Some people realize this when it's already too late to change the iguana's diet. This is because a green iguana which is mainly fed lettuce will continue to eat lettuce even if better foods are added to its diet.

If you want to take proper care of your green iguana, you should feed it vegetables that have a high nutritional value. Examples include collards, turnip greens and mustard greens.

2) Iguanas will not outgrow their cages – Some people think that keeping iguanas in small cages will cause their growths to be stunted. These people provide small cages for their iguanas in order to keep it in a convenient size. This will definitely not help your green iguana. A green iguana, when properly taken care of, can grow up to six feet long. This means that keeping it in a small cage will only accomplish the feat of making your green iguana's life very uncomfortable.

3) Iguanas need to consume gravel in order to help their digestion – this is a very dangerous myth. Some people add gravel or small pebbles to an iguana's enclosure because they think that these help a green iguana to digest its food. However, you should realize that gravel or any such material could kill your green iguana if it is consumed. You should try to avoid feeding your green iguana these materials, whether by accident or on purpose.

4) Hot rocks are great for heating – some people add hot rocks to a green iguana enclosure, thinking that these rocks are good for an iguana's body temperature. What you need to remember is that green iguanas are cold blooded. This means that if a green iguana sits on a hot rock, it can literally be cooked to death. If you wish to provide proper heating for a green iguana enclosure, you should use special lighting available in most pet stores.

5) Iguanas can eat insects, pet food, and other animal products – Many sources today still state that iguanas should be given animal protein as part of their diet. However, the truth is that green iguanas are best suited to an herbivorous diet. The body and metabolism of a green iguana is designed to utilize plant proteins effectively. Animal proteins, on the other hand, can prove to be very troubling to them. Consumption of animal proteins can cause your green iguana to develop gout. It can also lead to serious kidney problems. The only reason that iguanas eat insects in the wild is because these get mixed up with their food accidentally.

These are just some of the myths that you may have heard about green iguanas. By knowing the truth about these myths, you are now equipped to give the best care possible to a green iguana.

How to Take Care of a Green Iguana

When people talk about getting an iguana for a pet, they usually refer to the most common species, the “Iguana Iguana” or the green iguana.

Found in South and Central America, as well as other parts of the Pacific, the iguana has become very popular among pet owners in the United States and Europe in the past few years.

Active in daytime, the young iguana is usually bright green in color, helping it to hide itself from predators in the green vegetation of the forest.  With its quick movements and sharp eyesight, the green iguana avoids capture quite easily.  As the iguana grows older, its color changes from bright green to a muted green.

An iguana in the wild spends its day trying to find a sunny spot to lie on, feeding, and trying to escape from predators.

Of course, an iguana in captivity is a different case.  Though there are no more predators to escape from, an iguana should be well taken care of by its owner.  It maybe a popular pet, but taking care of it is by no means an easy task.

Let’s talk about some things to do when taking care of an iguana.

1.    Provide a large enclosed space for your iguana. 

Since a green iguana may grow as large as seven feet, the pet’s enclosure should be any owner’s top priority. 

It may seem that the iguana is contented with a small pen; however, without ample space, it will grow listless and will be stressed, resulting to sickness and even vulnerability to infections.

The enclosure should be a few times the iguana’s length in either depth or width or one and a half times in height since the animal needs to move around or even climb. 

Later on, the pet iguana should be given privileges to roam around the house, as long as the owner will make sure that it won’t be able to get out or feed on important stuff around the house.

2.    Provide big branches or synthetic structures for your pet’s enclosure.

Not only will the enclosure look more pleasing to the eyes with the addition of the things mentioned above, but they will also make the pen a better place for the green iguana to live in.  It will be a good habitat since it will provide a venue for climbing and basking - two activities that contribute to the iguana’s emotional and psychological growth. 

For the flooring of the enclosure, one may use mulch (a material designed to keep hold of moisture, prevent weeds from growing, and keep the earth from being eroded) or simply sheets of your daily newspaper.

3.    Make sure to provide the enclosure with a good heating device.

You should not overlook this since an iguana not properly heated will not be able to digest its food well. 

An owner should provide a good source of UV light for the iguana.  The enclosure should not have any part with a temperature lower than 26°C while at least one part should have a temperature as high as 35°C.  A spotlight is good for this purpose.

4.    While heating and light are important, provide darkness, too.

Six to 10 hours of darkness each night is also important for the iguana’s well-being.  The enclosure should be shielded from streetlights or lights from appliances.

5.    Pay attention to your pet iguana.

Any pet animal deserves care and interaction from its owner.  Just like your regular cat or dog, the green iguana deserves love and affection.  If not given the attention it deserves, an iguana may grow listless, sick, and eventually die.

There you go.  The tips mentioned above are just some of the things that have to be considered in taking care of an iguana.  These are not to be used as a substitute for a consultation with your trusted veterinarian.  Professional help is still needed in order to make sure that your iguana will live for a very long time.

Green Iguana Surf Camp guarantees pure fun!

Lodgings

Green Iguana Surf camp also offers lodgings to its guests.  There are two kinds:  the beachside lodgings and the rainforest lodgings.

1.    Diuwak (pronounced as “Dee-you-wak”) Resort is for those who want to be near the ocean.  Elegant, rustic, and yet comfortable, it is approximately 100 feet from the sea.  Diuwak has Package One and Package Two rooms.

•    Package 1 or standard room has single and double beds, a private lavatory with heater, telephone, an electric fan or air conditioner. 
•    Package 2 or deluxe room has all the facilities from Package 1, but are a little bigger.  They also have a television set and a mini-refrigerator.

2.    Rainforest Lodgings also offers different amenities, but, as its name suggests, it is a place where you can stay in the forest surrounded by the profound silence of nature.  So, if you want to learn how to surf in Costa Rica and reflect on your life as well, Green Iguana Surf Camp’s Rainforest Lodgings is the kind of lodging to choose.

Other Features

Besides the nice lodgings, guided tours to the different beaches and surf areas, and trips to the waterfalls, Green Iguana Surf Camp also offers surf lessons by seasoned teachers and lifeguards, a CD featuring photos of your surf instruction, a Green Iguana t-shirt, a trip to the Reptile Park, and transportation back and forth from the San Jose airport.  The packages also include meals and a therapeutic massage.

Whichever package you choose, Green Iguana Surf Camp guarantees pure fun!

Now, close your eyes.  Imagine yourself a few days, weeks, or months from now in your summer outfit or that skimpy bikini (no need for that wet suit), smiling with sun-tanned local children, with attractive waves and palm trees neatly-lined at the beach in the background.

Enticing, right?  What are you waiting for then?  Contact Green Iguana Surf Camp now!

The Place to be The Green Iguana Surf Camp

Do you want to experience fun and leisure while learning at the same time?

If you do, well, Green Iguana Surf Camp is the place just for you.

Green Iguana Surf Camp has been in the business for a long time now, teaching guests not just to ride the waves, but also to enjoy the entire surfing experience - all the while making sure that you know how to keep yourself safe in the Costa Rican waters.

Found in the heart of Playa Dominical, where waves are the most constant in the whole of Costa Rica, Green Iguana Surf Camp offers a one of a kind adventure to young and old alike; to the surfing enthusiast and your average vacation junkie; to the thrill seeker and the exhausted traveler.

Attractions

Picture-perfect examples of tropical beaches, Playa Dominical and its surrounding shorelines and reefs, like Playa Guapil, Playa Dominicalito, Playa Hermosa, and Playa Ventanas, are full of ideal surfing sites.

With their easy-to-ride breakers to more difficult kinds of waves, there are just no flat surfs in the places mentioned above, making them good locations for wannabes to become skilled at surfing.  Intermediate and advanced surfers, on the other hand, can further hone their skills in beautiful pointbreaks known as “Papas Point” to Playa Dominical’s natives or “The Point” to many.

Green Iguana Surf Camp also offers many activities other than surfing.  With its rainforest canopies, breathtaking beaches, and several waterfalls, an adventurer can engage in tours, kayaking, and even rappelling.  The weary traveler, on the other hand, can always relax and watch the golden sunset while stretched lazily in a hammock, the sound of the rolling waves at the background.

You giant iguana to survive under your captivity

A basking point should be installed which should have a temperature of eighty-nine to ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit and the total air temperature should be at least eighty degrees Fahrenheit.

Different temperature should be assigned on different parts of the cage to allow regulation of body temperature for your giant iguana pet.

You can use mercury vapor lamps or fluorescent tubes in this kind of situation though some pet shops may recommend the use of hot rocks. But veterinarians are definitely against this idea. Hot rocks can burn your giant iguana’s skin and can cause wound which would lead to infection and death.

The humidity of the cage should also be taken into consideration. A sixty-five to seventy humidity rate should be observed for a proper iguana cage. You can have this by installing a humidifier into the cage or if you find too expensive you can just manually spray water on the cage a few times everyday.

You can also try to put a large bowl of water on the cage so that it can add up to the humidity inside the cage.

Lighting is also essential so make sure that your cage has the proper lighting in order for your giant iguana to survive.

An iguana needs a good dose of UVA and UVB lights. This is because UVA lights kindle their natural behavior and UVB on the other hand helps them in producing Vitamin D3 which is an essential component of their digestion process.

The most cheap and accessible way to get this UV rays into your giant iguana’s body is by exposing them to sun rays regularly or by building their cage near a window where sunlight is abundant.

It might be quite hard for you to be able to build such a complex man made biodiversity on your own place but these are essential needs for you giant iguana to survive under your captivity.

So this is a matter of life and death, if you think that you cannot provide the listed requirement for your iguana then you should think twice and lay out your terms and reconsider your option about owning a giant iguana.

Tips on Getting the Right Cage for Your Giant Iguana

Iguanas are usually seen in smaller sizes. But contrary to this, iguanas can be so large that you will need a whole room for it to be able to survive. This article will discuss on how to properly get or build a cage for you giant Iguana.

One of the most important things in building your pet’s cage is the SIZE - size does matter when it comes to your giant iguana’s cage.

There are common beliefs that an iguana’s growth size is only limited by the shape and size of their cage. But sad to say this statement is not true. Most iguanas continually grow faster on the first quarter of their life span and slower on the next half.

So before purchasing a giant iguana, make sure that you have the proper resources and space for a big cage for your iguana’s habitat. A newly hatched iguana can easily fill out a 60 gallon aquarium in just one year if properly and healthily taken care off.

A small iguana in the first 6 months of his life does not need a big cage. A large fish aquarium will do, but you should be ready to spend more after eight months because this is the time where rapid growth of your iguana occurs.

Another important thing to consider in building a cage for your giant iguana is the temperature and humidity of the cage. Iguanas are reptile and are cold blooded creature so they basically need an environment which is warm but not too hot.