Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a male iguana (about 2 1/2 feet) and he used to be pretty well tamed, he would hang out on your shoulder, come up and look to see what I was doing whenever i wasn't paying attention to him, he used to hang out with me and just be an all around AWESOME pet. Suddenly he got very agressive around the time that summer ended. Now, he is horribly agressive, does the crocodile roll, bites (ALOT) whips (ALOT)and when he doesn't do any of that he will just run from me as if i beat him or something (haha), Also, Sometimes there will be VERY FEW occasions where he will at himself (about once a month it seems) He is just not the pet I had grown to love, I miss my old nemo and I was wondering if you guys could help figure out the problem and let me know. Please E-mail me (if you can) about what I should do (if i can do anything). THANKS ALOT EVERYONE WHO REPSONDS!! (e-mail- snowbordr8705@yahoo.com)

Nick

Wow...

Your iguana may be experiencing "early puberty", and if a male, it means it becomes Godzilla temporarily.

Have you changed enclosure? Lighting? Do you have new pets or loud kids in the house? Construction work? Lots of things can cause stress which results in aggression.
How big is the enclosure? How often is he left out to free-roam?

You will have to start again from scratch with postive reinforcement to turn interaction into a positive experience.

Also, keep in mind lots of people think their young iguanas are cute and tame/mellow because they're small, frightened, and more submissive.

Once that 2.5 - 3 foot mark is reached, they start to be more daring, and at 4 feet and over, they demand respect, even if tamed. Remember, these are wild animals, their personality or attitude is not carved in stone. If domestic animals can turn nasty on their owners, immagine wild exotic ones! Especially reptiles!

Don't worry too much, not all it's lost, you just have to take it from step 1, and re-socialize your iguana. Remember NOT to force it too much, or you increasingly turn interaction into a negative experience, which you might have already judging from your story.

Melissa Kaplan has some good info on taming, check it out.

Good luck,

-IJ