An iguana enclosure is a small climate system with a large, opinionated animal inside it, and a friend who manages it well for a week is not the friend who receives the longest instructions. Success comes from work done before the trip: automate everything that can be automated, verify that the automated setup actually holds its temperatures, and reduce the human job to a short list of daily tasks that have been demonstrated, not just described. Start about a week ahead. Fit timers for the lights and any daytime heat so the photoperiod stays steady if the friend arrives late one evening, check that spare bulbs are in the house, and service anything that has been temperamental, because a heater that fails on day two becomes your friend's emergency instead of your maintenance note.
Verify Temperatures and Simplify the Habitat
Run the enclosure exactly as the friend will run it for several days before you leave, and record the readings your friend should expect: a basking spot at about 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (35 to 38 degrees Celsius) and a cooler retreat at the other end, with the room and enclosure secure against escapes. Photograph the normal dial or thermostat settings so a knocked control can be restored by comparison. Inside the enclosure, simplify. Remove loose items that complicate cleaning, set the water bowl where it can be lifted out without dismantling branches, and make sure doors and latches work smoothly for hands that do not know their tricks. An iguana that is shedding or slightly off its food before a trip is worth a vet conversation before departure, not a hopeful note, because your friend cannot judge what is normal for an animal they have just met.
The One-Page Routine and the Food Plan
Write one page, and keep it to one page. Cover the daily greens and how they are prepared, the misting and soaking routine, which droppings and uneaten food to remove, the light and heat checks with the expected readings, and the reptile vet's number with a clear statement of what counts as an emergency: laboured breathing, a limb injury, refusal to move, or an escape that cannot be resolved with a closed room and patience. Prepare the food so the plan survives a busy friend. Wash and portion several days of leafy greens into containers, list the exact extras to buy for later in the week, and note what must not be offered, including foods from the friend's own meals. Show the friend the whole routine in person at feeding time, including how this iguana prefers to be approached, whether it tolerates handling at all, and how to open the enclosure without offering an escape route past an arm.
While You Are Away and When You Return
Agree the contact rhythm before you leave: a short daily message confirming feeding and temperatures is enough, with photos if anything looks unusual, and a clear understanding that the friend should call the vet first and you second in a real emergency. Leave payment or an arrangement for emergency care settled in advance, spare keys tested in the lock, and a backup person named in case the friend is taken ill. Test the whole arrangement with a single overnight trip first where you can, because sitting problems are almost always surprises, and a surprise found on a short trip is a lesson rather than a crisis. On your return, thank the friend with specifics, check the iguana over, and note what confused them while the trip is fresh. KinsLe makes that handover cleaner than paper alone, because a Care Pass gives your friend temporary access to the iguana's routine, feeding notes, and vet details for the travel dates and then ends when you are home.