Iguana

[greenguy420]

Just looking for some outdoor cage ideas.
If you have one your self or know of one id like to see it.
Im going to try and build it my self so i can control how big it is.

 

[SS4Luck]

i used to have 2 iggies and me and my dad built a 7x3x6 cage for them outside using plywood and chicken screen. we build a lot of levels and ladders and blah blah blah for them and they looooooved it. Gives you alot of room for trees/hides/anything you could think of

 

[fluxlizard]

That's pretty much what I did-

I used a solid wall 2' into the ground and a wood frame with chicken wire above.

I've been using these cages since 2001 and they have worked well every year.
I've used cages with similar construction since the mid 90s but moved here in 2001.

How I would do it differently if I were to do it today-

For the base that goes into the ground I would not use the materials I used in the past (which were leftover scraps- stuff I used for cage bottoms, vinyl siding leftover from my lizard building and the metal ring from a kiddie pool) but would use metal roofing seconds. These are simply the leftover pieces that are surplus when a metal roof is installed, and you can usually find them in most parts of the country in the classified ads of the local paper. In our area, they sell for less than $2 per foot (each foot is 3' wide (when joined to the piece next to it)). I got the idea from the late Bert Langerwerf, and many of his have been buried in the ground without rusting for a decade or more. At less than $2 per foot they are about the cheapest and most durable material for the base. They can be cut with an inexpensive special blade for a circular saw (wear earplugs- it is loud and probably why Bert went mostly deaf). You can cut pieces 4' long x 3' wide and pop rivet them together until you have your base finished and you don't need to bury support into the ground if you do this- you can just make the frame for your cage directly along the top of the metal. Once the top frame is made the metal below is very strong and ridged and will support without legs or anything. Dig a trench 2' deep to put the metal in - will keep your iguanas from digging out. 2' of metal will then be below the ground and 2' above the ground. This is better than the amount that I left above ground (about a foot) because it discourages patrol along the ground testing the wire (only a problem when the lizards encounter the enclosure the first time) and provides some privacy if the lizards want it.

The other thing I would do differently is I would use rabbit wire (green rubber coated hardware cloth) rather than chicken wire. The chicken wire has worked fine for 15 years, but the iguanas have to be pretty large before putting them in and at first they poke their noses through until they learn it is a barrier. I used chicken wire because I got it for almost nothing on clearance at the farm store one time so I bought several rolls.

I would also probably go a little higher- maybe 8'. 8'x8' of floorspace works very well for 1 male and 1 or 2 females. But 8' x 16' would be used and enjoyed.

The in-ground design is better IMO than a wire bottom above the ground for a few reasons.

- The iguanas become very easy to keep clean this way. At least in our area. Their poop can be spot cleaned if you want but I haven't found it necessary- it dissolves into the ground when it rains here. And grass and weeds covers it anyway.

- The ground provides warmth on coolish nights and cool on warm days. I always put my iguanas out in the spring when the temps at night remain above 50 and bring them in when the fall night temps drop below 50. Everything in between from 50.1 to 98 (the warmest we've ever had it here), rain or shine, the iguanas are outside.

- The weeds and grass that grow gives them some cover for security and they can snack on it to supplement their diet.


Hope this helps give you some ideas...

 

[greenguy420]

Thanks for the info it seems like its everything i need to help me, I will read it completely tomorrow and start planning