Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I'm officially a Rhino Iguana owner now!
I decided to rescue the Rhino from the pet store. I have had it one week now. He/she has lightened up in color and appears to be settling in well. It's a good eater and when I switched out the lights and added a 160w MVB the difference was incredible!
Now he/she is a total chow hound! It may also be settling in
better now that it has been a week. I am feeding the Melissa Kaplan diet before I go to work and it's always gone by the time
I get home so then I offer various greens i.e. turnip, mustard, etc. This guy is very flighty and skiddish but has not shown aggression otherwise. No hissing, bitting or tail whipping.
I have not tried to remove it from the enclosure because I can
tell it's not ready. I did have some success with him finally
taking a small piece of banana from my hand. It loves banana and
I know (from what I have read) to only offer small ammounts as a treat. He/she was nervous and quick about taking it but to me it is success and a start. I think it will be baby steps with this guy but rewarding in the end. Sorry for the long post, I'm just excited and encouraged! I am trying to post a pic but I keep getting errors saying it needs resizing? I'll try something different...

Have a great weekend everyone!

E

Congratulations!! I don't think you'll regret your decision. I would be doing things exactly as you are...give the animal some time to settle in and feel comfortable before trying to do any socializing. It's all a matter of trust!!

I took him/her out of the cage yesterday. I waited until after
it went to the bathroom so I wouldn't get a surprise. It totally spazzed when I went to grab it. No biting or tail whipping but lots of flailing. I swear by the time I got it out
there was a half a bag of mulch on the floor! Once outside of the enclosure it calmed down, let all of it's air out and lightened up. It was calm and like a completely different lizard! I was pleasantly surprised. From what I have read on this forum that is somewhat common with young rhinos.
Oh, I was also able to measure him/her and it's 24" exactly. Would I be correct in guessing it is a year or two old? The pet store thought it was a year and a half old but that doesn't really line up with hatching season being in the fall. Or, are there some breeders who get hatches in winter? (Jan, Feb or March)

hey eradi. it's tristan from the tegu.com forums also.
mine was EXACTLY the same when I got him. I got him when he was one year old (the guy gave me the birth certificate from david blair).

for the first month he would flail and kick up substrate when i would reach and in and try to pet him. i think he gave me a little nip one time too! but when i would get him out of his cage he would calm down and chill on my shoulder and explore. he's now two years old and is dog tame.

i'm very confident that yours will eventually warm up to you. i would suggest trying to pet yours a little bit from time to time until you get to the point where he/she doesn't get scared of your hand anymore. once that happens you have its trust and it will be very loving to you and a great companion.

mine begs me to pet him and take him out when he sees me. he rises up on all fours and closes his eyes once i enter the room. does anyone know what this means? a sign of submission?

good luck!

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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

Hey Tristan, thanks for the info!
Once I get it out of the cage it is very mellow. I am taking it
out more often now since it seems to be settling in and finding
a groove and routine. This sounds fairly common with young Rhinos. It is very light in color now, like yours. I love looking at all of the different scales and budding "horns" on
him/her. Very amazing creatures.
Your Rhino looks great!!!