Iguana Care

For anyone who like me gets really excited when putting together a reptile tank, a large, rainforest lizard like an iguana is a dream come true!

However, there are tricks to note about using plants in the tank, not least ensuring you select non toxic plants for iguanas.

Firstly, it should be said that I use a good thickness of sterilized potting compost as the base of the tank - some 3-6 inches deep - and arranged higher at the ends and back of the tank to naturally lead your eye to the center.

Then I either visit a reptile store or go out into the woods and find some interesting pieces of wood to decorate the tank with.

This wood is sterlized and is carefully arranged into the iguana cage so as to look attractive, and to create interesting places for the iguana to climb.

I may also add some interesting rocks, and always clear a space at one end (usually near the heater) and place a container for water into it. The reason I place it near the heater is that it will be warmer there, and so should increase humidity in the tank which as we have discussed is really important.

Once this "main landscaping" is finished you're ready to add your plants.

I start with the base layer of moss and leaf-litter, all collected from local woods and sterlized, to give it a real "forest floor" feeling.

The key tip here is that if you've landscaped it right, and use enough moss, branches etc. you end up not actually needing many plants as it already looks pretty green and forest-like.

The plants which I do use tend to be a mixture of live and fake plants.

Yes, I know fake plants don't look as nice, but if you arrange them carefully with the live non toxic plants for iguanas you can get a pretty realistic showing.

Also bear in mind that iguanas can be quite destructive, and that even with your powerful iguana lighting setup there isn't as much light as the plants would get from the sun, and it's clear you're better off to add just a limited number of hardy plants.

I lose count of the number of times I've got home from work and looked in dismay at what the little bugger has done to that beautiful new plant I just added ;-)

Two further tricks from a strictly non-horticultural expert are...

(a) Add the plants in their pots either buried in the compost you used as the base, or hidden behind rocks or pieces of wood. That way, if they do need some TLC (and I generally have a few on my window sill that I'm trying to nurse back to health!) it's a lot easier to swap them over, and...

(b) Get some of the plant feed granules you can buy from garden centres that sell house plants and add a few of them to keep the plants well-fed while they're in the cage with the minimum of effort from you.

OK, so what sort of plants do I use?

Well, I only use houseplants, not normal garden plants as they tend to give quite a tropical look to the tank.

At this point, I also have to make an admission.

I wasn't always as careful about my captives as I am now, and tried all sorts of plants before I decided it probably wasn't a good idea.

I'm glad to say not one killed an iguana of mine (or anyone else's for that matter!) or even made it poorly, and below you'll find a list of a few I still use today with great success:

• Assorted Ferns - such as my favourite, Bird's Nest Fern

• Jews Ear or Inch Plant - a great plant that will grow fast in the tank (incidentally this is the easiest thing I've found to feed stick insects on in captivity when the weather is too bad for you to want to go out searching for plants)

• Banana Plants - as well as other fruit plants such as passion flower. Bananas offer great height in the tank and look very tropical but can grow fast!

• Spider Plants - hardy, and don't require much light to flourish

Iguana Care Covering the care of iguanas in captivity, we look at everything from iguana sexing to ideally suited iguana cages, an iguana lighting setup, non toxic plants for iguanas which you can use to decorate your iguana's cage and even my sneaky, personal way of choosing great iguana names every time! We also take a look at feeding iguanas, iguana diet and an assortment of iguana food. This section can also be printed out as an iguana care sheet.