Iguanas get very large very quickly with proper care, and need enclosures that reflect that fact. Don't let uninformed pet store employees convince you that your Ig will only grow as big as the tank it's kept in, or that something like a 50 gallon aquarium will last its whole life. HAH! By the end of a year, your cute little baby Iguana will most likely have outgrown even the largest aquarium.

Some places, like Cages By Design, sell Iguana sized cages, but most commercially made cages large enough to house an Iguana will cost you anywhere from around $400 on up. More cost efficient is to build your own cage, or ideally, give your Iguana his or her own room.

When Mozilla arrived, I was not expecting to need to house such a large lizard. Thankfully, one of my dad's friends works with a reptile rescue group, and had sent me a medium sized Iguana cage last summer. I'd been planning to use it as a sunning cage for the Frilled Dragons in the summer, but it was perfect as Mo's temporary house. It's about 5 feet tall, 4 feet long, and about 2.5 feet wide. Because Mo was relatively small, and because she was not very active due to her poor health, this cage was acceptable as a short term enclosure. However, after a few months, as Mo got her strength back, it became obvious that we would need to get moving on a new cage for her. In the first 6 months she was with us, she grew almost 7 inches in length! She was quickly outgrowing the temporary cage. To add to the urgency, I had also taken in another rescue iguana, Mandrake. Mandrake was being housed temporarily in a 90 gallon terrarium until we could move him into Mo's small cage. Before we could do that, we had to get Mo her big cage!

Thank goodness for Home Depot and dads with power tools! My father and I spent several weeks working in his garage on a new cage for Mozilla. We basically made a wood frame from 2x4s and attached plastic mesh to the sides, metal hardware cloth to the top, and put in a plywood bottom. We used closet shelving to make the ramps and basking areas, and put the whole thing on wheels. We made the cage modular, so that it can easily be broken down and stacked flat, and reassembled quickly. I stained and sealed the entire cage with polyurethane to waterproof it.

Mozilla loves her new 'palace'. It is 6' tall, 5'3" long, and 3'3" deep. She has 3 different levels to bask on and ramps to get from level to level, and to the floor. She is obviously much more comfortable now than she was in her old cage. I also built a new cage for Mandrake using PVC and plastic mesh. It gives him lots of room to roam and climb!

Pictures of Mozilla's new cage including step by step photos of the building process are posted in Gallery 8. I have also posted written directions on how to build her cage.

© 2002 - M. Martin