Baskden a warm den for reptile folk · baskden.com Green Iguana — Vet-Prep Sheet
🔍 Find a reptile / exotics vet — before you need one
- Search the ARAV Find-a-Vet directory (the Association of Reptilian & Amphibian Veterinarians), or in the UK the RCVS Find-a-Vet — or search "reptile / exotics vet near me".
- Call ahead and ask the key question: "Do you see reptiles?" Not every practice does.
- Ask the exam fee when you call. Knowing the cost up front removes the money-panic in a crisis.
- Find and save one now, while things are calm — not in the middle of an emergency.
📇 Fill this in now — before the crisis
Two minutes now saves ten in a panic. Print it and keep it with your care notes.
🚨 Is this an emergency now?
See a reptile vet promptly if you notice any of these:
- Swollen, stiff, or painful joints; reluctance to move, eat, or drink (possible gout, often diet-related) — see an exotics vet.
- Soft, rubbery, or bowed jaw/limbs, tremors, or a spongy 'rubber jaw' (signs of metabolic bone disease) — urgent vet visit.
- Not eating for several days, sudden weight loss, sunken eyes, or lethargy (possible kidney disease/dehydration) — see a vet promptly.
- Straining, a female who stops eating and seems restless or bloated (possible egg-binding) — this is an emergency.
- Increased or absent urates/droppings, or chalky white deposits, and any labored breathing or open-mouth breathing — see an exotics vet.
- Persistent stuck sheds around toes/tail (constriction can cost a digit), or wounds, abscesses, or a rubbed-raw snout from cage rubbing.
When in doubt, a vet call is never wrong — most issues are reversible if caught early.
🚗 On the way / while you wait
✅ Do
- Keep it warm at a safe transport temperature — a cold reptile crashes fast (a warm car or a covered container with a warm, not hot, pack helps).
- Keep it calm, dark and quiet in a secure, ventilated container — stress makes almost everything worse.
- Bring it in its own container so the vet sees it as it lives.
⛔ Don't
- Don’t offer food, or any OTC, aquarium-shop or online-forum remedy — many are useless or harmful and can mask the signs.
- Don’t let it get cold on the way in.
- Don’t handle it more than you must.
🎒 What to bring
- A short video and a couple of clear photos of the behaviour or sign — it may not show it in the clinic.
- A note of your setup (basking, cool-side and night temperatures, UVB, humidity, substrate) and exactly what — and how often — you feed.
- Your reptile, transported safely in its own secure, ventilated container — kept warm (see below), not in a cold car.
🗣️ What to tell the vet
A general vet may not know this species. Come ready to explain its correct care:
- Temperature
- A hot basking surface of about 120°F (50°C), measured at the branch or shelf with a temperature gun (not a stick-on dial). This gives them a proper spot to thermoregulate and digest. Ambient/cool end around 75-85°F (24-29°C), so the animal can move down the gradient to cool off. Should not drop below the low-to-mid 70s F; keep nights roughly 73-84°F (23-28°C). A gentle nighttime dip is fine, but never let it get cold.
- UVB & lighting
- STRONG UVB is non-negotiable for this rainforest baskers. Use a high-output linear T5 HO tube (e.g. Arcadia 12-14% or Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0), spanning much of the enclosure, mounted so the basking zone reads a UV Index (UVI) of about 3.0-4.0. With mesh in the path, that is roughly 13-24 inches from the animal depending on the bulb, so measure with a Solarmeter rather than guessing. Run it 10-13 hours a day and replace tubes on schedule (about every 6-12 months) since UV output fades long before the light dies.
- Humidity
- Fairly humid, reflecting their tropical origins: aim for roughly 60-80% during the day, with a higher spike toward 100% at night (misting or a humid microclimate). Chronically dry air contributes to poor sheds, dehydration, and kidney strain. Provide good airflow too, so damp does not become stagnant.
- Enclosure
- Adults need a custom, room-sized, VERTICAL enclosure, not a fish tank. Plan for a minimum around 10 ft long x 5 ft wide x 6 ft tall (3 x 1.5 x 1.8 m); an ideal build is closer to 12'L x 6'W x 6'H. As a rule of thumb, length should be at least twice the iguana's body length and height at least 6 ft, because these are arboreal climbers who need to get UP. Fill it with sturdy, thick climbing branches and broad basking shelves that can hold a 15-20 lb animal, plus solid smooth walls (no wire mesh they can rub their snouts raw on). Because iguanas soak and even swim, include a large, shallow water/soak area big enough to fit the whole body, at room-to-lukewarm temperature; change it daily and disinfect weekly. Hatchlings can start in a temporary 20-55 gallon setup but will outgrow it within a year, so budget for the adult space before you buy.
- Substrate
- Use a safe, absorbent substrate: a 2-4 inch (10-15 cm) layer of large-particle coconut husk or cypress mulch works well for holding humidity, or go simple with pelleted paper bedding or reptile carpet for easy cleaning. Avoid loose sand, fine particles, pine, and cedar (impaction and respiratory irritation risk). Spot-clean daily and refresh regularly.
- Diet
- 100% herbivore (folivore). The whole diet is plants: roughly 60-70% dark leafy greens (collard, dandelion, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale in rotation, escarole, watercress), about 20-30% other vegetables (squash, bell pepper, green beans, snap peas, grated carrot), and only about 10% fruit as a treat (berries, mango, papaya). NEVER feed animal protein, insects, dog or cat food, or "monkey biscuits." This is critical: iguanas are strict vegetarians in the wild, and animal protein is a leading cause of fatal kidney disease and gout in captive iguanas. Offer fresh food daily and remove uneaten produce before it spoils.
- Supplements
- Because captive greens rarely match wild browse, dust food with a calcium supplement and use a reptile multivitamin. A common schedule for growing iguanas is plain calcium (no phosphorus) several times a week plus a multivitamin a couple times a week; adults need less. An all-in-one herbivore supplement (e.g. Repashy SuperVeggie) at meals is a convenient option. With proper UVB you generally do NOT need heavy D3 dosing, but calcium is essential to prevent metabolic bone disease. When in doubt, ask your exotics vet to tailor the schedule.
⚕️ Reptiles are ectotherms kept at species-specific temperatures — a cold reptile can’t metabolise medicines properly, so tell the vet your exact temperatures and keep it warm for transport. Reptiles are prey animals and hide illness until it is advanced, so early changes matter. Mention your UVB/lighting and any supplements or remedies you’ve already used, and ask for reptile-safe products and doses.
Then note which of the warning signs (above) you are seeing, when they started, and whether they are getting worse.
❓ Questions to ask
- Do you routinely see reptiles? If not, can you refer me to a vet who does?
- What are the likely causes — and could my setup or diet be contributing?
- What is the treatment plan, the likely cost, and what should I watch for at home?
- How do I prevent this from happening again?