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Atlas / Library / Iguanidae / Desert iguana
D
Iguanidae

Desert iguana

Dipsosaurus dorsalisอิกัวน่าทะเลทราย
‹ All husbandry guides
warm end38–45 °C
cool end21–29 °C
Humidity15–30 %
Enclosure120×60×60
14:00
Day

Drag the sun. The sheet states a night temperature, so the rail follows it.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/dipsosaurus-dorsalis

The numbers

Thermal gradient

152025303540 °C
21–29°Cool side
38–45°Warm side
20–25°Night
60–70°CBasking surfaceMeasured on the surface under the lamp, not in the air. It is not drawn on the rail above: that scale is the air the enclosure holds, and a basking surface sits far outside it.

Day: a real gradient, 38–45°C warm against 21–29°C cool, so the animal chooses. Night: 20–25°C.

Why

Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet statesbasking 60-70 °C / warm 38-45 °C / cool 21-29 °C / night 20-25 °C

Humidity

15–30%Target RH

The sheet states15-30%

Diet
85-95% leafy greens, vegetables, cactus pads and flowers; insects 10-15%, fruit sparingly

Identity

Family / Order
Iguanidae / Squamata
Origin

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

38–45 °C15–30 % RH120 cm60 cm
warm side
50100150200 cm
120 × 60 × 60 cmWidth × depth × height
72dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWater: not in our dataHides: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesMinimum 120 x 60 x 60 cm for one adult, with 25-30 cm deep sand-clay substrate for burrowing

Temperature
basking 60-70 °C / warm 38-45 °C / cool 21-29 °C / night 20-25 °C
Humidity
15-30%

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Common questions

What does it eat?

Mostly flowers and leafy greens with the odd insect. Hibiscus flowers are a favourite.

How big does it get?

Small, about 30 to 40 cm including the tail, so a normal-sized terrarium is fine.

Is it hard to keep?

The key is a very dry setup with a strong basking spot and good UV. Damp is what kills them here.

Can I handle it?

It is fast and stresses easily, so it works better as a display animal. Handle briefly only when you need to move it.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 120 × 60 × 60 cmbecause enclosure — Minimum 120 x 60 x 60 cm for one adult, with 25-30 cm deep sand-clay substrate for burrowing
A heat sourcebecause temp — basking 60-70 °C / warm 38-45 °C / cool 21-29 °C / night 20-25 °C
A thermostat to regulate itbecause temp — basking 60-70 °C / warm 38-45 °C / cool 21-29 °C / night 20-25 °C
A thermometerbecause temp — basking 60-70 °C / warm 38-45 °C / cool 21-29 °C / night 20-25 °C
A way to check the night figurebecause temp — basking 60-70 °C / warm 38-45 °C / cool 21-29 °C / night 20-25 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 15-30%

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

Range as recorded in the EPS reference workbook, read 2026-08-09www.minizoo.dk — lu le

Others in this group

Green IguanaIguana iguanaGreen AnoleAnolis carolinensisChinese Crocodile LizardShinisaurus crocodilurusRhinoceros IguanaCyclura cornutaChuckwallaSauromalus aterKnight AnoleAnolis equestrisArmadillo Girdled LizardOuroborus cataphractusLong-tailed Grass LizardTakydromus sexlineatus

What this sheet states

77%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 5 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.