Cage:
Fiji iguanas do best as single or in pairs.The fiji banded iguanas normally grow to a total length of about 70-80cm, the tail make up for 2/3 of the length.
The cages i use measures 90x125x240cm ( WxDxH). The cages are made so the iguanas have a big active surface( the active surface is the total amount of space the iguanas can physical use), It can be the bottom of the cage or the branches.
To max out the active surface area, the cages are made with thin branches on the walls which give the iguanas the possibility to use all the walls to climb on. Branches are added in different sizes and angles all over the cages, and all have rough bark. A fake Weeping fig/Ficus tree is also added in all cages to give the iguanas a place to hide if they feel like it. Its hard to keep live plants in the iguana cages because the iguanas either destroy them because the climb in them or they simply eat them. All in all this gives the iguanas a total active surface of about 8 square meters.
It is more important to have a big active surface then a big cage, since a big cage don’t automatic mean alot of surface for the iguanas to use( This have been seen alot of green iguana( iguana iguana )cages where the iguanas has less active surface then then these fiji iguana cages).
Baby cages should be made like the adults cages, but can be made smaller, the substrate in these cages is bio active just like the adult cages. The basking spots in these cages are solar raptor 35w spot bulbs. The main light is made with 15w led tube light.
The bottom of these cages are made with 4mm plastic sheets. This makes sure no water will leak from the substrate and that the iguanas can’t destroy the bottom when they dig to lay
their eggs.
Substrate:
Bio active substrate can be used in adult and baby cages. The bio substrate is made of 50% forest floor and 50% compost. All the bugs that
live in these two types of substrate are added to
the cages, which mean that we have alot of different types of bugs in the substrate. In the substrate there are bugs like woodlice, springtails, earwigs, centipedes, milipedes and a few snails.
the dept of the substrate is only about 15cm, it is deep enough for the females to lay there eggs( they normally dig under a branch or a log in the cage).
Check the substrate once a week to see if water need to be added. Try to keep different levels of humidity in different areas of the substrate so that when the females are ready to lay eggs, they can choose what level of humidity is perfect for them.
Same go for substrate temp. The temp insubstrate should be around 24-28c depending where in the cage the temperature is measured.
This temp difference is not a problem for the bugs and microbes that live in the substrate, as they can move to their preferred temperature zone.
Light/heat:
All my cages has LED lights as main light. I use 2x14w for each cage, the color is 4200 kelvin which is a neutral white. Each light put out 1550 lumen.
As basking spots I use Solar Raptor HID 35w flood bulbs, they give a wider beam then a normal spot bulb, this way the iguanas can have there whole body under the light(without the tail), I use the 35w because I dont need the basking bulb to heat the cages, it only has to create a basking spot. My basking spots are around 40-45c(temp is measured on the back of the iguana)
all my iguanas are in the same room as my central heater for my house and it give enough heat into the room together with the cages to create a day temp of 28c. At night the temp drop to about 23c during summer, in winter the night temp drop to about 20c.
The main lights are turned on for 12.5 hours a day. Basking lights turn on 1 hour later then the main lights and turn off 2 hours before the main light. That way it create a “evning” and the iguanas will find there prefered sleeping areas.
Humidity:
As for the humidity, I use a mist system from ENT terrarientechnik. One sprayhead in each cage, and they mist every 12 hours for 15 sec. this together with the bio substrate make it possible to have a constant humidity around 75-80%.
Another nice thing about this mist system is that it can run dry without the pump take any damage. they spray heads can be taken apart to be cleaned