Homemade Iguana Cage Designs

Iguanas are one of the most popular pets among reptile enthusiasts. They've been kept in households for decades and are quite easy to find, available at almost any pet shop. As babies, they can be kept in glass aquariums. As iguanas grow, however, owners may wish to construct their own enclosures to accommodate the enormous eventual size of iguanas.

  1. Spare Room

    • Many people elect, in lieu of building an entire cage, simply to transform a spare bedroom into a large cage. This is quite easy and can be accomplished merely by properly furnishing the room as if it were a tank. Iguanas are natural climbers, with height being very important. So include several large pieces of cage furniture such as logs or vines for your iguana to crawl on. Cat trees are another option and are sold at pet stores; iguanas gladly climb them. Place a pool of water, preferably a whole litter pan, so the iguana can soak. A heat source is also important; use fern hangers, for example, to hang a heat lamp from the ceiling above a cat tree so that the iguana can bask.

    Hutch Cage

    • If you don't have an entire room to spare, another common enclosure is a hutch. A large, rabbit hutch-like cage can be purchased from a feed store or constructed at home by wrapping chicken wire around a wood frame. Either way, flip the cage vertically so it is far taller than it is wide, preferably a ratio of about 3 to 1, because iguanas are natural climbers and prefer height. Include several logs and platforms. Perches sold for birds in pet shops that readily attach to the cage's wiring are highly recommended. These types of cages are commonly referred to as reptariums and are very inexpensive to make yet deliver excellent airflow to the animals. As a final touch after adding the water pan and various furniture, place a heat lamp atop the cage so that its heat emanates downward.

    Outdoor Cage

    • If you live in a warm area, then consider keeping your iguana outside. An outdoor cage can be constructed easily using a method similar to the hutch cage, with a heat lamp required only on cooler days. Another option is to use a medium-sized dog kennel and pull a few layers of chicken wire over its roof to secure your new cage. As a precaution, it's absolutely necessary to keep some sort of shelter in your iguana's outdoor area in case of inclement weather. It can be a dog house purchased at a store or a shelter made by flipping over a litter box and cutting an archway entrance into the plastic front.