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Chapter 3

Heating And Lighting Your Iguana’s Habitat

Now, its time to think about the heating and lighting within your iguana’s habitat. Even if you purchase a pre made habitat, you’ll still need to find ways to keep him warm enough and to keep him getting the necessary light he needs.

Heating

The heating in your iguana’s habitat is quite important to the well being of your iguana. There are many considerations to think about here, though. The good news is that this chapter will tell you all you need to know about the heat sources and needs of your iguana.

Why They Need Heat

The first consideration that you have is just why the iguana needs heat and what that level is. We’ve already mentioned that providing heat to your iguana is required to maintain its health.

Within your habitat, you’ll need to provide a location that can provide basking heat to your iguana. Generally, this area should be able to get to the middle 90’s in temperature. (All temperatures in this e-book are listed in Fahrenheit.)  The rest of the air within the habitat should be maintained no less than 75 degrees, but better if it is closer to 80. The final need is to offer a range of temperatures within the habitat to allow him to move around as he feels comfortable.

Now, to accomplish this, there are several things you should and shouldn’t do.

First, purchase several attachment thermometers. Place these in various area of the habitat so that they can be easily read by you from outside the enclosure.

Next, don’t bother with over priced basking light bulbs that are commonly sold to you at the local pet shops. This is simply unnecessary and a waste of your money. Instead, use incandescent light bulbs. Yes, the ordinary, every day kind!

These bulbs work great because they can accomplish two of your important considerations. That of course is heat and light. They are also quite inexpensive!

To determine the right wattage for those light bulbs, you’ll have to do a bit of searching. The wattage is your control measure for your habitat. But, please don’t guess at the temperature. Allow the well placed thermometers give you a good reading of what the actual temperature in that area is.

You can adjust the amount of heat in an area with a lower wattage of light bulb. You will have to play around with this for a few days before you bring your iguana home until you get the right conditions set up. The wattage will also depend on the size and ventilation of your habitat, too.

One trick for those more difficult areas is to use a dimmer switch. Simply install these on the light bulbs and use them to make changes to your habitat when the temperature gets too hot or too cold. It’s a great, easy way to monitor the temperatures, too.

Basking In The Light Bulb

You’ll also need to install a specific type of light bulb for the basking area of your habitat. No, you won’t have to spend a small fortune on those light bulbs from the pet store. Instead, install a hooded clamp fixture in your habitat. You can find various sizes and choices in wattage available to help you to get the right heat.

In most cases, you’ll want to look for a fixture that has a ceramic socket to it. This will help you to avoid fire situations! 

When using these types of lighting fixtures, you have to monitor their locations. You don’t want the iguana to be able to touch them or jump on top of them. They will end up with burns because of this.

One way to prevent this is to keep the bulbs out of the actual habitat. That can be hard to do in some instances, though. Instead, use a bulb guard, which is a simple wire meshing that would cover the actual bulb so that it can not easily be touched.

Now that you have the day time heating covered, you’ll need to tackle the night time needs that you have.

In iguana’s natural habitat, heat is necessary all day and most of the night. But, there is the need to drop the temperature on them at this point too. For iguana’s lighting times are key. The best amount of lighting for them is to provide for twelve or thirteen hours of darkness. That means turning their lights off for that amount of time.

Now, it’s not just because an iguana should be sleeping, but without this type of lights off time, your iguana won’t be able to maintain its proper behaviors. He may not eat at the right times, he may have problems with problems with aggression and even may have problems with passing stool. Just let them get at least twelve hours with the lights off and this will help.

To accomplish this, use a timer. You can purchase those that can be programmed to handle this type of cycle.  Set it to either 12 on and 12 off, or you can use 13 off and 11 on.

The question is, then, how do you manage to actually keep the heat up in the habitat for your iguana’s safety with the lights off?

Actually, there is a great remedy for this problem. At night time, you can allow the temperature to drop but not lower to that of 75 degrees. To keep it regulate at that number or above, use Ceramic Heat Emitters. These can be found in most hardware stores and are sometimes called CHE.

To use them, place them throughout the habitat as you did with the other lighting fixtures that you’ve placed. They fit right into a standard incandescent light bulb socket, just like the others are using. Now, there are two options for you to choose from.

• Have separate timers for both units. That means that when the day lights go out for the night, your CHE’s should come on to maintain the temperature.
  
  
• Have the CHE’s on all of the time at a low wattage in addition to the other lighting fixtures that you are using. This way, no timer is needed.

In any case, you’ll want to monitor the temperatures during the night time hours just as you would for the day time hours.

When using these lighting fixtures, make sure that you monitor how you are doing so. No lighting fixture should be exposed to allow the iguana to touch it. In addition, you don’t want the iguana to be hurt by shattering of these bulbs. But, it is also important to monitor the location of the light bulbs to keep them from catching fire.

No light bulbs should be placed near anything flammable, including your habitat’s structure if made of wood or any type of fabric you may use within the habitat. Also, only place CHE’s into ceramic fixtures (porcelain works fine, too) as they can start a fire with how hot they can get when left on.

Monitor the electrical set up you are using. Don’t plug too much into outlets and be aware of any electrical cords that may have frays on them. Working with a professional, licensed electrician is probably one of the best decisions you can make when it comes to monitoring your pet’s habitat temperatures and lighting needs.

Other Options

There are other options that you can take advantage of. For example, if you visit your heat supply stores, you’ll find a number of excellent supplies which may include heat panels, heat tape and even pig blankets. If you decide to go with other sources of heat for night time heat, make sure that you realize that the unit will need to be turned on all night long and that it will be running unattended during that time.

If the option is a safe source of heat for this period of time, and the animal can’t be hurt by touching it, then it could be a good choice.

A word of warning, though about heating sources. Don’t use heating pads that are designed for people. These heating pads may work but they are also a severe fire hazard for your home when left unattended. You should instead consider using other methods.

Another mistake to avoid is the use of hot rocks. You may even find these in your pet store, but avoid them. They are just too easily designed to burn your pet. Unfortunately, they just are not reliable and can easily burn your iguana with just a touch of his foot.

Lighting

Just as important as heating, the right lighting is necessary to keep your pet healthy and happy. In fact, if you don’t give them enough light, they are likely to become ill, perish too early or they may become ill tempered and unfriendly to your touch.

We mentioned earlier the needs that the iguana has for UVA and UVB light. Each one plays a role in the health and well being of your pet. But, they don’t have to be hard to provide to him. In fact, it can be pretty simple to give him what he needs.

UVA

The first type of lighting your iguana needs is that of UVA. This is the same type of light that you use. Your body uses UVA just the same. It makes us feel good and gives us a sense of well being. We need it to feel good and so does your iguana.

This is probably the easiest of the things to provide to your pet. All you need to do to provide UVA lighting to your iguana is leave the lights on. For example, UVA light can come from the room that you place your pet in. The standard lights that you use will provide the necessary light source to your iguana, too.

That’s really all there is to providing UVA light. In fact, a well set up iguana habitat will take care of this for you simply by allowing you to see your iguana. This window or other visual tool that you use will let light in too, which is all that is required.

UVB

UVB light is more difficult to provide. But, if you plan to have an iguana, you have to have this type of lighting source, too. The fact is that you need to understand what UVB does for the iguana and also how to provide the right amount of it to your pet.

Why You Need It

First off, your iguana will depend on the source of UVB that it gets to help it to synthesize Vitamin D. Without Vitamin D, they can’t take in and use the calcium they get. In fact, their bodies turn against them and will get the calcium from their bone structure when it doesn’t get enough or can’t use enough in other means.

When that happens, your pet iguana will not be able to actually maintain his health. The bone structure can become weakened. What’s worse is that he will likely suffer from one or more illnesses including malnutrition. The end result is a sick iguana that will die before he should have.

Getting UVB From The Sun

The very best way to get this source of UVB is directly from the sun. That sounds easy, but there are several things you have to keep in mind when you consider this method of providing UVB.

First, just putting your pet near a window is not nearly enough. The glass of the window pane will filter out most of the UVB lighting.  In addition, opening the window isn’t enough either, because mesh screens or any type of blocking between your iguana and the sun is going to filter out too much of the all important UVB lighting.

But, you can create a second habitat, a sun basking habitat outdoors if you like. If you decide to do this route, you’ll need to make sure it is done carefully. For most, this will allow you to place your pet outdoors for a few hours to absorb the right amount of UVB lighting.

But, remember these things when building or placing your pet in an outdoor sun basking location.

Things To Remember:

• The outdoor temperature should be no longer than 80 degrees. Anything lower is not safe for your iguana to be exposed to.
  
  
• Don’t allow the iguana to be exposed to more than 100 degrees of heat, either.
  
  
• Insure that there is no possibility of anything getting into your pet’s habitat to hurt them or that he can in some way find a way out. Unfortunately, birds and other animals will use him for dinner if you allow it.  In addition, most iguanas that get out just once are never found again.
  
  
• Provide supervision to the iguana any time that he is outdoors.
  
  
• Water is mandatory for your pet when outdoors. He can lose a lot of fluids basking in the sun. So, provide a cup full of clean water for him to drink from.
  
  
• You must also provide him with an area that is shaded that he can hide in when you feels the need. Most iguanas will move in and out of the light as they need to.

The good news is that your pet only needs about an hour a day of this type of UVB light to fill its needs. As long as it is direct lighting, your pet will be set. Don’t forget to provide this lighting, though.

UVB: Indoors

Unfortunately, it is not often possible for a daily bask in 80 degree weather for your pet (although you can build a habitat that provides efficient heat too.)  In most cases, though, you’ll have to provide some source of UV bulbs for your pet to take advantage of indoors.

The best way to provide this is through the habitat’s basking area. The lighting source that you use there can be used for UVB light needs. In fact, it is nearly a must for you to take into consideration.

But, you’ll have to do some homework. The problem with most of the UVB lighting bulbs that you will find in your area pet store is they are not suitable for your iguana. Don’t be fooled into believing they are even when they claim to be basking lights.

The problem is that they don’t often provide enough UVB or they only provide it for a limited time. How long and how much UVB they provide is what is in question. With your pet’s life at stake, you don’t want to make a guess here.

Instead, look for these two types:

• Fluorescent tubes
  
  
• Mercury Vapor Lamps

You’ll find these offered throughout the web and they are by far the best source of UVB light for your pets. These are both great choices to consider, but you’ll have to make your decision. Let’s quickly break it down for you so that you can make a better decision.

Fluorescent

Fluorescent tubing lights are easy to find. But, don’t think they are all the same. In fact, those that are called full spectrum which you would possibly use to grow plants are not going to provide enough UV for your pet. Instead, a great choice is that of ZooMed Iguana Light 5.0. This is a great choice and has been used in several studies with excellent success rates.

If you decide to use fluorescent tubes, you still have to do a bit of work. First, make sure to purchase those that are made specific for reptiles. Second, place the bulbs no more than eight inches from where the pet will be basking. Anything more than that and he can’t get the UV wavelengths that he needs.

Replace your UV fluorescent tubing at least every six to nine months. Even if they are still working at this point, they’ve lost all of their ability to give off UV lighting and are a waste to you. You may need more than one light to provide the right amount of light to your pet. In order to know this, use a Solarmeter 6.2 Spectral radiometer to help you to test the amount of output that you are getting.

Finally, don’t place anything between light bulb and the iguana.

Mercury Vapor

The other option that you can use is that of mercury vapor lamps. These are going to provide you with the UV that you need but at a higher price, generally. But, the technology used in these lamps has improved and continues to do so. In fact, some are almost as good as fluorescent tubes. You’ll want to select only internally ballasted bulbs, though. These will also provide you with a heating source for your iguana. Be careful, though, as they can fail you because of the excess amounts of heat used in them.

When using mercury vapor lamps, you’ll want to really pay attention to how you use them. Follow the directions provided for their use carefully. You’ll also want to monitor just how warm they will make the habitat and adjust your other heating sources accordingly to keep the proper level of heat within the habitat at all times.

As a human, you shouldn’t be overexposed to mercury vapor lamps because of the amounts of UV light that they do produce. Finally, make sure that nothing goes between your iguana and your lighting source.

Providing enough heat and light to your iguana should be your main goal. Before you even bring your iguana home, you should have his habitat set up to this degree of care. Then, monitor it at several times per day and per night to insure that it has the right amounts of protection for your pet. You shouldn’t assume that a set up that we’ve described is enough. Instead, you need to find out what it will be with use of your testing supplies and your thermometer.

Since the size of your habitat and the elements within it will vary so much from the next person’s, you’ll have to take measurements on your own to determine the safety of the environment.

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