Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought a baby iguana, I had him for a week now. When i saw him at the store he is big and eating a lot. After i got it home, he ate only a little and become so skinny now, I've checked the tank, light and diet and everything is fine according to the care sheet. Also, he is not moving a lot, when i take it out and pet it, he always close his eyes and sleep. he would not climb or move around my hand at all no matter how i turn and move my hand. And when i place it back to the tank, he stay at the spot where i left him for hours. then he'll move slowly to another spot to sun bask. Does it sounds like he's sick? or is he still stress due to the new environment? I'm bringing him to the vet this weekend but any advice would be helphul. Oh, by the way, he run quite fast when trying to escape from my hand in the tank...

Iguanas don't really move a lot like monitor lizards or other smaller lizards. They mostly bask, eat, poop, bask, cool off, sleep.

Iguanas, as well as other animals, close their eyes when in fear. That is why to keep animals calm, people cover their eyes to lower stress.

He may be weak from internal parasites, or metabolic bone deasease, and it's good to see you're bringinh it to the vet.

The fact that he can run fast is a good sign.
Stress can be a factor due to this behavior, which is why you should never handle an iguana too much when you first got it. Let it adjust to its new enclosure, and to you. Then you can start slow introductions and handling.

Let us know what the vet says.

-IJ

Iguana Joe basically covered everything, but I wanted to address something. You said that the diet, lighting, and tank are set up correctly according to the care sheet. Is this something you got from the pet store? A lot of them don't know how to properly care for iguanas.

Check out Melissa Kaplan's site if you haven't already.
Melissa's site

Thanks for all the info. Especially IJ, that really helps. And no I didn't ask from the pet store. I read from the MK web-site and kinda a combination of couple other sites. So I think that should be fine. IJ did make a point that not to handle the new iguana so much at the beginning, I think that's one of the mistake I've made (I thought it will help tame it sooner...). So right now I just leave him in the tank and let it observe the environment first, and let him watch me do the daily routine work, like changing water, food...etc, I hope that'll help. I think I'll ask the vet when i meet him this saturday as well about his behavior. Did anyone experienced this? I'm really nervous since i'm new to keeping reptile and I really wanna know more about it.

90% of iguana owners start out with problematic iguanas, whether as babies, juvies, or adults. It is rare, very rare, to find the perfect iguana (that is, one that does not cause you headaches).

Make sure the enclosure has a hiding spot or two, or a blind-spot, for it to relax without always feeling watched or exposed.

Continue to let it adjust to you, the enclosure, the noises, the routines, etc. Only then you can slowly "introduce yourself" to the animal, and with progress, commence handling.

They're exotic animals, so they're a lot of work, but the results can be immensely rewarding. To win the trust of a wild animal, particularly a reptile, not designed or evolved to interact with humans is an amazing experience.

Keep up the good work,

-IJ

"90% of iguana owners start out with problematic iguanas"

I would say closer to 100% (its just most are tempermental problems!)
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-0-1 Rescued Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-2-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet, Isis
0-0-1 Rescued Fit and Trim Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Hey guys been a little busy lately but just wanna let you guys know that my little Ig is fine after seeing the Vet. The vet said it is looking good and healthy, and dewormed it just in case. She said you guys are right it is normal for it to be a bit fearful since it is still a baby. And the good news is that it is actually getting more used to me, and I can touch it without scaring it now. But it likes to eat when no one is around, and it won't eat when i hand feed it. Is that a problem? I heard people saying they hand feed their Ig but some people said it is not good since they will get used to it and won't eat by themselves. any thoughts?