Iguanas can seem quite dangerous but if you are keeping them as pets, you will be very tempted to let them roam around the house. When I first got my pet iguana, I was wondering the same thing.
I thought it would be fun to let my new pet iggy roam around my house but I’m not sure if I can do that. So, I did some research, and here is what I’ve found.
Iguanas can and should be let to roam around the house or a room. Letting your iguana free roam is pretty safe as long as you know what to do and have the proper set up around your house.
Having your iguana freely roam around your house can be very fun and can be beneficial. However, just like anything, there will be disadvantages and risks as well.
If you ever decide to let your iguana roam freely, make sure you have the proper preparation and set up in your house.
Benefits of Letting Your Iguana Free Roam
Letting your iguana out to free roam for the first time might be quite scary but there are actually benefits in doing so. Here are some of the benefits of letting your iguana roam freely around the house.
1. More Space
Iguanas love big spaces and there will never be truly enough space for an iguana inside most cages. When there is more space to move around, iguanas tend to be happier and also healthier.
With a large space, iguanas are able to exercise easily by walking around. On the other hand, if they are in a cage, there isn’t much space for them to walk.
Iguanas are usually lazy animals but you shouldn’t let them be. Making sure you iguana gets enough exercise is very important for it to stay strong and healthy.
2. Toilet Training
If your iguana is always in the cage, you can’t train it to use human toilets. You might have seen some videos of iguanas using human toilets.
To achieve that, you need to first allow your iguana to roam freely around the house. Then, you can slowly train your iguana to use the bathroom.
Once your iguana is toilet trained, it will wait in front of the toilet door, letting you know that it wants to go to the toilet.
Toilet training is a double edge sword which means it has its disadvantages too which I will talk about later on.
3. Bonding & Memories
Another benefit of letting your iguana free roam around the house is that you will be able to build a strong bond with your iguana.
Once the bond is there between the two of you, your iguana will start to respond better and friendlier towards you. This will then help you create more unforgettable memories and moments with your iguana.
One of my favorite things to do when I let my iguana free roam, is to watch TV with my iguana by my side while I pet it.
4. True Personality of Your Iguana
When you let your iguana roam in a large space, its true personality will start to show. In captivity, it doesn’t really allow your iguana to show it’s true color because of the confined space. In fact, it will make them even lazier which is the opposite of what you want.
Disadvantages & Risks of Letting Your Iguana Free Roam
Letting your iguana free roam around the house can also bring a few disadvantages and risks that you should be aware of. Iguanas are wild animals and if not tamed, they can be quite dangerous.
1. Dominant & Territorial
Some iguanas can be very dominant and territorial, especially males. When letting your iguana roam freely, it might pick a spot that it likes and try to own it.
If anything gets on your iguana’s spot, it will attack. It can be very hard to take that “territory” back from your iguana once it gets comfortable.
Furthermore, you are also risking that the iguana might see the whole house as its territory. This will make your iguana very aggressive towards you no matter where you’re at.
2. Iguana Attacks
As I’ve said, when iguanas are territorial, they will attack and they aren’t afraid to do so. These attacks can be very dangerous if you don’t know how to avoid them in the first place.
Usually, before an iguana attack, it will give you some signs to tell you that it is angry. If you want to learn about the attacks and signs that iguanas give before they attack, check this article out. It can potentially save you from many injuries.
3. Damaging Furniture & Accessories
Iguanas love climbing and they have sharp claws to help them do just that. When you let your iguana roam freely, it will climb on many things like curtains and other furniture such as the sofa. Their claws can do some real damage to the things they climb on if you do not trim them.
4. Paying Close Attention
You need to pay very close attention to where you iguana is roaming when you let it out of the cage for the very first time. You want to prevent it from damaging furniture and climbing onto things that might be potentially dangerous.
On a more serious note, they could also start a fire if there are wires around. Moreover, you also need to make sure your iguana isn’t eating anything from the floor that it shouldn’t be eating.
It can get quite tiring the first few times you let your iguana roam. Once you know exactly how to prepare your house before you let your iguana roam, you can relax and let your iguana do its thing.
5. Have Proper Preparation
It can be very tough to iguana proof the whole house and at the same time make sure it gets everything it needs. Some of the most important things an iguana needs in order to stay healthy are the optimal temperature and humidity.
Moreover, you also need to make sure any escape route is shut tight, you don’t want to lose your iguana. On top of that, you also need to do some cleaning up so your iguana won’t eat things that it shouldn’t (they are very curious animals).
6. Training Your Iguana to Use The Toilet
Toilet training your iguana can be a blessing and a curse. Once it is trained to go to the toilet, it’s very cool and gives you some bragging rights.
However, it can take quite a lot of time to potty train your iguana. On top of that, before your iguana is potty trained, you will have to clean up it’s dropping around your house and that can be disgusting.
7. Spread of Salmonella
Iguanas are prone to having salmonella and upwards of 90% of iguanas have them. They can carry this disease on their skin and it can be hard to clean up because your iguana will be touching a lot of things. If you’re not careful, the salmonella disease can be spread to you.
Preparation For Your Free-Roaming Iguana
Before you decide to let your iguana roam freely around the house, there are several things you need to prepare. The first thing you need to do is to iguana proof your house so it’s safe. The second is setting up the required accessories for your iguana so it can function healthily.
Iguana Proofing The Room or House
Here are the things you need to do in order to iguana proof your house. Some of these can be quite troublesome but you must do it when letting your iguana roam freely. This will ensure the safety of both you and your iguana.
Hide or Cover Cords And Wires
Cords and wires are extremely dangerous if you have them laying on the floor freely while your iguana is walking around. In fact, iguanas can start a fire with those wires if they are not hidden.
Moreover, electrocution is another risk for your iguana if it decides to bite or rip it with its sharp claws. If you find it too troublesome to hide all your cords or wire, you can install a cable protector.
You can get your own cable protector on Amazon with this link (#Ad). All it takes is a one time install. After that, you won’t have to keep reminding yourself to hide or cover the cords when you let your iguana out.
I personally use cable protectors so I can have peace of mind knowing that all my wires and cords are protected.
Preventing Your Iguana From Climbing
Iguanas love climbing and you should do your best to prevent them from doing so in your house. It can lead your iguana to a very high place which can be dangerous.
Even though iguanas can fall from as high as 50 feet and not get injured, it is best not to take the chance.
Furthermore, iguanas can get very big and heavy which can break or stumble things over such as the curtains or bookshelves. Things in the household that iguanas can climb on include, bookshelves, lamps, curtains, TV stands, chimney, and so on.
Before letting your iguana out, you should keep your valuable things away so they won’t get broken by your iguana.
On top of that, you also need to secure anything that your iguana could potentially climb on such as the bookshelves. It can cause some serious damage to your iguana if the furniture stumbles over.
Moreover, you should try to arrange things in your house in a way your iguana can easily climb back down without jumping. Putting some soft materials on the ground is also not a bad idea to cushion your iguana when it does jump.
Any curtains that you have needs to be hung up high or use some cheap ones as iguanas can really destroy them.
Close All Windows & Doors
Make sure you close every window and door shut where you don’t want your iguana to go. Iguanas will escape if you give them a chance to. These opportunities come from open doors or windows where they can jump out from.
Remove Toxic or Non Edible Things
Iguanas are very curious animals, they will try out a new food if they are given a chance. If you have any plants that are toxic to iguanas, make sure to keep it away.
Even if the plants are not toxic, it is best to not have them around if you don’t want your plants to be destroyed by your iguana. If you want some plant decoration in your house, the best choice is to get a fake plant. This fake Boston Fern (#Ad) is a great choice, both for inside the cage and your house.
On top of all that, iguanas will also try to eat small things even if they are not edible. You need to keep away things such as jewelry, coins, hair, and buttons away.
Clean Your Place
Making sure your place is clean before letting your iguana out is crucial. Things such as strings or hair can tangle around your iguana’s toes. If that happens and you don’t notice it, it can cut off blood circulation to your iguana’s toes and an amputation might be needed.
It’s best to avoid that because iguana toes can’t be regenerated. Always check your iguana’s toes every time it is done roaming and remove any strings or hair that may be stuck in its toes.
Remove Fragile Objects
Things that can be easily broken should be removed and kept away. Your iguana might walk over them and stumble it over. Things such as picture frames, vases, plates, or lamps should be removed from shelves. Not only will it cost you money to replace those objects but it can also be dangerous with glass shards lying around.
Have A Comfortable Environment
Iguanas are solitary animals and they hate new things. When you let your iguana roam around, make sure there are no other pets or humans that your iguana doesn’t know. This will give it a lot of stress which is not what you want.
Stressed iguanas can become unhealthy and will make them want to escape. Ideally, you would let your iguana roam in a quiet place with only people that your iguana is familiar with.
Cover Up Tight Spots
Tights spots need to be covered up, if not, your iguana will try to squeeze into them. It can be very hard to find them when they do squeeze into tight spots such as behind the cabinet, fridge, or washing machine.
You don’t want to be playing hide and seek with your iguana. To counter this problem, try to put everything flat to the wall without any opening gaps before you let your iguana out.
Block Certain Entrances
Entrances such as the kitchen, toilet bowls, dryer, washing machine, and so on need to be closed. They can be potentially dangerous for iguanas to enter.
For example, your iguana claws could get stuck in the drums of your washing machine which could rip its claws out.
You should try your best not to let iguana go to these places, especially the kitchen. As you already know, iguanas carry salmonella on their skin and this disease can be passed on to your food.
Required Setups for Your Iguana
Iguanas require very specific living conditions, this applies when it is roaming around your house as well. It is much easier to set these up in a smaller room instead of the whole house.
You might need multiple of these setups if you want to let your iguana roam the whole house. Here are the things you need to set up for your iguana to free roam comfortably.
Basking Spot
The basking spot is one of the most important setups for your iguana. This spot should have a temperature of around 95°F to 100°F.
Without a proper basking spot, it can be hard for your iguana to get enough energy to roam around. A few of these spots are recommended if you were to let your iguana roam the whole house.
Ideally, you would want them to be exposed to real sunlight through your windows but that is not always available. You can make a basking spot with a big tall branch and put it near a window where sunlight can come through.
That being said, you should still set up some basking light in those places since real sunlight and heat are heavily dependent on the weather. You never want your iguana getting cold without any options to warm up.
Proper Lighting with UVB
When you get a basking light, they usually do not produce UVB which is essential for iguanas to process calcium.
In the wild, iguanas get their UVB from the sunlight but in captivity, most iguanas will not get a lot of sunlight. So, you need to get lights that produce UVB and place them near or around the basking area.
These lights should be turned on along with the basking light just like inside the cage. This way, your iguana can bask under the heat and get UVB whenever it wants to during its time free-roaming.
Temperature In The Free Roam Area
Iguanas thrive in warm areas whenever they are not basking. It is best if you can set the temperature of your house to around 80°F to 85°F.
A great way to monitor this is to get several digital thermometers and put them in a few areas of your house that your iguana usually roams.
As long as the majority of the common places are in the ideal temperature range of 80°F to 85°F, there should be nothing to worry about. However, you should still have a few shady spots so your iguana can hide under to cool down if it ever needs to.
For heating up the area, I like to use my wall radiator. You should put something around the radiator so your iguana doesn’t get burned by getting too near.
If you just want to heat up a small area you can also use heating pads. With heating pads, make sure your iguana is not able to touch it directly because it could get burnt if it sits on the heating pad for too long.
During the summer, you probably don’t need to do much to bring the temperature up.
Humidity In The Area
The last thing iguanas need is a high humidity level. Most iguanas that are commonly owned are the green iguana or a variation of it.
These iguanas need a relatively high humidity level of about 70%. Being exposed to an environment with low humidity for a prolonged period of time can cause a lot of issues for your green iguana such as shedding issues.
If the area that you live in doesn’t have a humidity level of at least 60% you should get a humidifier like this (#Ad). If you have a big area for your iguana to roam at, you might need a couple of those humidifiers.
Get a hygrometer to check the humidity level. There are many gadgets nowadays that will measure both the temperature and the humidity level. Since you need to measure both of them, just get one of these hygrometer thermometers from Amazon (#Ad).
Again, if the area is big, you will need multiple of them. When you are trying to get the temperature up or down, try not to use aircon as it will dry the air out very quickly.
Should I Let My Iguana Free Roam?
To be honest, letting your iguana free roam around the house can be a huge headache but you shouldn’t let that stop you.
If you own a pet iguana, you should take up the responsibility to make sure that it is as healthy and as happy as you can possibly make it.
Letting your iguana free roam around the house is one of the best ways to do just that. Personally, I let my iguana free roam almost every day so it can get enough exercise and I think you should too.
On top of that, I also get to spend time and form a stronger bond with my iguana. Do not let the disadvantages listed in this post deter you from letting your iguana out of the cage.
There are LOTS of disadvantages of NOT letting your iguana roam freely.
Conclusion
You can definitely let your iguana roam freely around the house. In fact, it will make your iguana healthier and happier in the long run.
Although there are more disadvantages and risks than benefits for you to let your iguana roam, you should still do it. Letting your iguana free roam can really benefit your iguana even it’s a little more hassle for you.
Before letting your iguana roam around the house, make sure you are prepared. Your house needs to be iguana proof and has a setup that provides a comfortable living condition for your iguana.
In my opinion, everyone that owns an iguana should allow their iguanas to free roam. Doing so will be extremely beneficial to your iguana’s health and happiness in the long term.
