My Iguana's got a Posse
Mar 6, 2006 at 11:28 PM Post #31 of 34
Quote:

Originally Posted by redshifter
that is a "he" for sure.

also, it looks like he's been rubbing his nose. it is best not to use screens in enclosures. igs will literally rub their noses right off.



even if the enclosure has glass wall's, if the reptile has a bad habit of running back and forth, rubbing it's nose against the wall trying to get out... it will rub down to it's teeth eventually
rolleyes.gif
 
Mar 6, 2006 at 11:55 PM Post #32 of 34
Quote:

even if the enclosure has glass wall's, if the reptile has a bad habit of running back and forth, rubbing it's nose against the wall trying to get out... it will rub down to it's teeth eventually


Back in the "old" days of herpetology there was very limited caging options so the standard set up would be the all glass aquarium.
Readily available,reasonably priced and most important easily sterilised yet certain species failed in even the best attempts at recreating a mini-environment.
All of us "wanna bee's" would go to a local zoo reptile hall and see what they did then try to recreate the effect in the home and still failures more than success !
mad.gif


The problem turned out to be the all glass enclosure.no animal to my knowledge (thirty years of experience) has ever been damaged by rubbing on the smooth surface of the glass but what did do creature damge was the lack of ventilation in the small confines of the all glass aquarium that had little real venting.

The combination of misting down the cage trying to recreate the micro-climate of the tropics did not then take into account all humid areas in nature also have a steady air flow so while humidity would be high it did not "sit" in one small area creating fungi and/or rot.

Once this was recognised for what it was and some imaginative cage builders in the big apple went to work designing a true creature freindly cage formerly "difficult" to raise species and/or species considered far too fragile to thrive in the home environment began to not only thrive but breed in captivity.
The upside that there was now available a steady stream of 100% captive bred and raised animals for the pet trade that formerly would be taken from their native habitat and if that creature was full grown never quite happy about this turn of events which more often than not would lead to a hunger strike and a deceased animal unless force fed (a real b*tch BTW)

Glass IS safe and mainly because it is easy to clean but that only if the cage has a good surface area of ventilation and that means more than just an open top in many cases
tongue.gif
 
Mar 6, 2006 at 11:58 PM Post #33 of 34
Quote:

Originally Posted by familyman
even if the enclosure has glass wall's, if the reptile has a bad habit of running back and forth, rubbing it's nose against the wall trying to get out... it will rub down to it's teeth eventually
rolleyes.gif



that's why for the ig's sanity, he is free range in the apartment (litterbox trained), he has plenty of things to climb, and a window to look out of. despite being strong animals they are surprisingly sensetive to poor husbandry.
 
Mar 8, 2006 at 10:23 PM Post #34 of 34
good post rick, you know your herp stuff. while the lights are running i have a clip-on fan blowing across the top of the 5-foot long aquarium. plants need air-flow so why not animals?

here is a streaming clip of tenchi enjoying a bit of greens for lunch. note the jurassic park t-rex look she gives the camera at the end.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...37539721557715
 

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