Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We got an iguana not two days ago and have been trying to take him out reguraly to handle him for small amounts of time .. so that he will get used to us and tame down and be able to become a member of our family .. he has started jumping off of our hand while we are letting him sit there .. and not just jump but leap upwards as well .. almost as if he thinks he can fly

I dont know why hes doing that .. maybe wanting to explore ?

How can we get him to stop this beahvior before he hurts himself .. or what do we need to change in our handling of him to keep him from doing that ?

In a year to 2 years, you may have a trusting calm iguana, then again, you may not!

There is not magical way to tame an ig other than time. His jumping behaviour is a good one. He is scared, and has the strength to try to run. Good! It takes time and patience to have a wonderful pet ig. Invest in that, and realize that this is a wild animal, to be observed and apprecited for what it is.

Remember this, and you will never be disapointed in your choice to get one.
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Craig Loose
The Blue Tongue Pages

well when he gets very agitated and upset we put him back into his cage to calm down some .. and then later we will bring him out again when hes calm .. those flying leaps though * Phew * they scare the bajebers out of us ... its like hes saying look at me i can fly ... then he gets up and flaps his legs and goes UHM never mind . and drops .. *lol* then he sits there and looks around for a second and takes off all the time looking around .. im guessing hes looking for a high roost .. we need to get him a little box to hide in when he gets scared ... because with three kids running around the house screaming and carying on im sure there will be moments where hes going to want to hide

But... Putting him back in his cage when he's ansy may not work for all igs. The idea you're giving him is that if he acts up while he's outside of the cage, you'll put him back in.

This may not be a problem for all igs, but it's something to consider. My Draco is sort of "reverse-trained" this way He starts being a pest while he's inside his cage, because he knows I'll take him out before he hurts himself lol. Silly iguana.
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Christina Miller
Herptiles.org

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1.0 Iguana iguana - Draco
1.0 Anolis carolinensis - Duke
0.1 Eublepharis macularis - Ocelot
1.0 Cosymbotus platyurus - Baron
1.0 Cynops orientalis - Hyper
1.0 Leiocephalus schreibersi - Turbo

*lol* your iguana doesnt want to be left alone.. in its cage .. WAHHHH *lol*

>>We got an iguana not two days ago and have been trying to take him out reguraly to handle him for small amounts of time .. so that he will get used to us and tame down and be able to become a member of our family .. he has started jumping off of our hand while we are letting him sit there .. and not just jump but leap upwards as well .. almost as if he thinks he can fly
>>
>>I dont know why hes doing that .. maybe wanting to explore ?
>>
>>How can we get him to stop this beahvior before he hurts himself .. or what do we need to change in our handling of him to keep him from doing that ?

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Perhaps doing this in a smaller quieter room? And I would be sitting on the floor to make sure his landing isn't too far away. Good luck with this iggy pilot! Just keep trying. Maybe talk to him alot when he is in his enclosure? Mine likes it when I sing softly to him. Really seems to get his attention.
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Lin & Marley

I was reading somewhere that some people try giving their iguanas baths before picking them up so they are a little tired and dont go running all over the place as bad ..

*lol* tak about splish slash * giggles* .. i think at first he was freaking out then he was like hey this stuffs neat .. and swam laps in the bath tub ...

also when he got to freaked out i would place my hand into the water .. of course he would try to get up the bath tub walls which he couldnt get first then he gave up and would swim over to my arm and rest there soaking half in the water ..

hopefully this way he will start knowing that coming to me for security is a good thing ..

i was also amazed by how well they swim !!

Hello,
This is just a bit of advice about handling and taming your ig. Try to allow your ig to stay on you as much as possible. We started out with our iguana, Iggi, as a junvenile, in a 100 gallon enclosure. We would carry Iggi around unless she needed to go poop, and then we would return her to her enclosure. We would rock her to sleep, on our chest, and then place her in her enclosure. At about 9 months old, the only time she was in her enclosure was to poop and sleep. We then decided to make her free roaming. Because she was held so often when young, she stays on our shoulder. She is now 2 1/2 years old, and has never bit us, tail whipped us, required a leash when going outside, or was afraid around strangers. It takes a lot of work to raise an iguana this way, but it is worth it to have your ig be a part of your family, rather than a "display" pet.
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Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~