Your Iguana Light is Important
If you’re considering getting yourself a pet Iguana and have been trawling the internet trying to gather as much information as possible about Iguanas and Iguana care, you would have probably seen it mentioned that Iguanas need a source of heat and light in the enclosures or cages.
Why do Iguanas need a source of heat?
Iguanas are tropical, cold blooded reptiles. Their natural habitats are the hot, humid, tropics, where heat and sunlight are usually plentiful. Being cold blooded, they are unable to regulate their body temperatures themselves – they regulate their body temperatures by using heat from the sun. If they don’t get enough heat, then their bodily functions become impaired. For instance, if they don’t get enough heat, they become unable to digest their food properly, which means that they aren’t able to obtain nutrients from their food, which leads to malnutrition and other health problems.
Iguana Lights are a must have item if you own an Iguana!
Why do Iguanas need a source of light?
As you have probably heard, wild Iguanas in their natural habitats spend a substantial amount of time basking in the sun. The reason for this is twofold; they need heat in their bodies for reasons explained above, and they also need light from the sun, or more specifically, UVA and UVB rays from the sun. They use these rays to stimulate their natural behaviours and to produce Vitamin D in their bodies. If they did not receive enough sunlight and they were unable to produce Vitamin D, then their bodies would become unable to process Calcium. This would lead to Calcium deficiencies in the animal, which would in turn leave the Iguanas weak and prone to injury.
How do we provide Iguanas with the necessary heat and light?
Now that we have established why it is that Iguanas need heat and light, we can look into how we can provide it to them, in order for them to remain healthy. The best option would be to ensure that they got their daily dose of direct sunlight. I stress the word direct here, because sunlight coming through plastic or glass windows has a lot of the UV components filtered out by the plastic or glass, which makes it ineffective. They need direct sunlight. However, this may not be an option in places where it gets really cold in the winter. If this is the case, then we need to ensure that out pet Iguanas body temperature is controlled and not allowed to drop too low, and that they receive sufficient exposure to UVA and UVB light. One solution to this problem is to install a heat lamp as well as UV lamps. The Heat/UV lamps or “Iguana light” needs to be positioned in one area of the enclosure, where the Iguana can ‘bask’ and regulate its body temperature and also absorb the UVA and UVB that it needs. Please note that there also needs to be a shaded area of the enclosure, to which the Iguana can retreat to, if it begins to overheat. However, no area of the enclosure should be allowed to drop below 80 degrees (Fahrenheit).