Rock Iguana Care Sheet
Rock Iguana Care Sheet (Cyclura)
Temps: Basking should be 110-120 and cool side 78-85
Caging: minimum 8x6x6
Lighting: UVB required as well as calcium with vitamin D3
Lifespan: 40+ years
Cyclura or more commonly known as Rock iguanas are large heavy bodied terrestrial iguanas. Meaning as adults they are more commonly found on the ground or close to it then up in the trees. This genus has more then a dozen individual species, but this care sheet outlines the care we use for Rhino iguanas Cuban rock iguanas and grand cayman hybrid rock iguanas. These are the 3 most common rock iguanas in the US trade currently. The optimal cage would be a 8x6x6 walk in with a basking spot using several lights to reach an area of 110-120 while still maintaining a cool side of 80 degrees.
Caging: Babies can start out in a variety of cages we have used 3x2x2 pvc cages and 2x2x3 mesh cages.
Lighting: Rock iguanas are extremely UVB reliant and require UVB lighting to properly absorb calcium/D3. We prefer to use Mega rays as well as 10.0 Repti-Suns t5 Fluorescent lights. We supplement heat with halogens if they are needed. However nothing beats the outdoor sun which is the best thing for your rock iguana.
Heating: There are several different ways you can heat your enclosure. We tend to use outdoor flood lights or halogen bulbs. As your animal grows so should its basking spot. It is not out of the question for an adult Rock iguana to have 2-4 lights spread out for it to be able to properly warm its body at the same time.
Substrates: We have used turfs as well as repti chip for babies and juvis. Adults are kept outdoors on play sand and rock to avoid excessive moisture.
DIET: 80% dark leafy greens, 15% shredded vegetables/squash and 5% fruit. For the dark leafy greens we use a lot of Collard greens and Dandelion greens as well as cactus pads. We alternate between carrots and sweet potatoes for part of the shredded vegis and several squashes. For fruit we use papaya, guava and blue berries as well as bananas on occasion as a treat. These are all things we grow or obtain locally.
Supplementation/ Vitamins: Indoor animals all require calcium with D3. We use Repashy supercal HyD and Sticky tongues miner-all with d3 for all our indoor tegus. We mix it into the food 3-5 times a week. All outdoor animals are given either Repashy Supercal NoD or Sticky tongues Miner-all without d3.
Feed Schedule: 0-18 months we feed 5-7 times a week. 18 months and older we feed greens 4-5 days a week. At all ages we have one day a week we feed cactus pads and or mazuri tortoise chow.