Reptile & Amphibian Forums

since my female cuban rock iguana laid 11 eggs last week she has been extreamly aggressive and will barley alow me to clean the enclosure and place food. she is normally very docile and gentle. i know that females tend to be very protective of their nests but the nest has been out of the enclosure since she laid and she is not being aggresive toward the male. any advice?

I think she still thinks that she has to protect their eggs. I assume this is a very normal behaviour.
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1.1.0 Ctenosaura melanosterna

Cycluras become very protective of their nest once eggs are laid. This aggressiveness can last up to three months and can even shift the pecking order in a colony if you house multiple females together. Every year, I have to move females around into different enclosures once they have laid eggs until they are over the protective period and calm down. They may even attack the male which usually has enough at some period and puts her back in her place(submissively speaking)

If you house a single pair together and they are getting along, which I guess is the case, you can leave them alone and she will calm down with time. If you want to speed things up, remove the sand she laid eggs in and change the scenery around the nest. From my observation, they seem to leave a scent which marks their nest and triggers their defensive mode.

I have watched my Cycluras attempt to burry the sand that was covering the eggs in the chamber after I removed the eggs for incubation.

Good Luck.

Manny

thanks! yes the nest has been removed and her and my male are getting along fine. so i guess i will just wait it out. thanks again