Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, maybe hate is little intense but close to it. My beloved
Digit has come out of breeding season and is in full shed. He
is being a big pain in the A**!! He was free roaming last
night as he always does, but then decided this time that
no mere human was going to put him back in the cage at bedtime
(something that for many months has been our routine). Well, so
after he ignored my calls I proceeded to climb on a ladder to
get him off the top of his cage. After what seemed forever
he was finally in reach. I grabbed him and as I stood upright
to climb down he decided it would be a good time to show how
grown up and independent he was. He started rolling and
thrashing! (I couldn't believe it!) Well, I lost my balance
and because both hands were full of a 4' thrashing ig I started to fall off the ladder. All I could do was let go and he fell
to the floor(about 6') I pulled some muscles but was able to
catch myself but the worse part was I dropped him. I felt
TERRIBLE even though it was his own fault. Thank god he didn't
hurt himself. As I cussed at him, all he did was close his eyes.
Well, that's the story. Looking back, I guess it was a little
humorous. What we do for our igs! I feel better now

Linda

Hello Linda!

I hope you and your ig are alright after your fall. Have you considered that your ig may be wanting to sleep outside his cage? Our iguana, Iggi is a whole house free roaming 6 year old female. She has her own bedroom, with her own bed. Yes, we spoil her. She climbs down from her basking spot after she eats, and walks down the hallway, and gets up in her bed. Here is a picture of Iggi's bed (we use 3 heating pads), with Iggi in her bed, and my son, Nathaniel playing with her.

-----
Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~

Yes, I hope to get rid of the cage all together by this spring.
The only reason it is there is because he was uncomfortable
without his cage when we tried it a while back. Normally, there
is no problem. Often times when the door is left open to come
out he chooses not to. I just can't figure him out. I wish
he would go back into breeding season. He is so sweet during
this time.

Thanks
Linda

I see what you mean...sometimes they can be a handful. That was pretty funny, though. Thank God you and your ig didn't get hurt.

Good to hear that you are both OK... From what I've read, iguanas are pretty good at bouncing, so unless they hit something on the way down, they can fall pretty good distances without injury. Dexter regularly drops off his top shelf to the ground (4') and it doesn't seem to faze him at all (although it hurts me to watch)...

I feel for you regarding breeding season. This has been the most bizarre season by far... Dexter has gone from being lovey dovey to being aggressive towards me to pursuing me and for the first year (he will be seven in May) regularly molesting his iguana toy... Add to that he has essentially refused to eat ANYTHING for he past two months, and he doesn't want to be in his enclosure at all anymore. I provide him water to drink (which he does since he has no other source of moisture) and jam a few collard greens in his mouth every couple of days (or some cantaloupe, he will eat that )... I let him out when I can, but if he is chasing me around or being aggressive, it's just not possible, he is too nuts. When he is being "good", he just follows me around and parks himself somewhere nearby.

I am looking forward to him returning to normal. He has really mashed up his spikes and looks like crap since he hasn't eaten much in a while. It is starting to warm up here so he has been spending some time outside and that seems to make him a bit more hungry (but aggressive too). He will eat his greens more willingly, but is still not eating the rest of his veggies (bowl food). Maybe a mouthful or two, but that's it (then he sits on it). Maybe in a few more days... He still wants to be out of his enclosure all the time (but it's still too cool for him to be out all the time), but is still too difficult to deal with him to just free roam (he still wants to chase me and bite my pants... I have to keep a towel handy to throw on him).

Just when you think you have your iguana figured out, they throw you a curve ball... I do have to say that watching his whole mating ritual with the toy to be quite fascinating though... I'm not sure why it's taken so long for him to exhibit this behavior (all other seasons he has just been very aggressive and territorial), but it has been a learning experience to say the least. During his extra friendly phase he would occasionally try to bite my hand or sleeve (not in an aggressive way though) before I figured out what was up. I gave him the toy and he would clamp down on that behind the head and then go to town after dragging it all over the house(although there is some obvious frustration given that the toy doesn't fully cooperate)...

I will feel much better after I see him eat a big meal again...

Thanks all

The really weird thing is that Digit is a sweetheart during
breeding season. It's when he first comes out that he is hell
on wheels!.

You're right though, you can never figure them out

Linda

Iggi is 6 years old, and has always been a sweetie! She used to be very restless during gravidity, but lately she has calmed down. She also has resorbed her eggs each year. She does lose appetite when she is gravid, and we end up pureeing turnip greens and force feeding her a little each day.

-----
Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~

Glad to hear you and digit are both ok after that fall. He sounds alot like my ozzy, hes just coming out of season, and is in the middle of a huge shed. And ozzy hates to go back in his cage. I wanted to ask, if you were the one i remember having a allergy to your iguana? Sorry if i have you confused with someone else. I belive i am having a allergy to Ozzy. I suffer from asthma and alergies to plants but never had a problem with animals. I have noticed when i clean his cage it will trigger my asthma. Sorry to start a post under your post. Just wondering if your the person that had a allergy problem. Thanks Tami

Through trial and error I have discovered that I don't believe
I am allergic to him but his waste and old food during clean
up. I would have terrible asthma attacks while cleaning his
cage. A few months ago my husband started cleaning it and
since then I have not had one of those attacks. If he
scratches me, I still get hives or welts but just by casual
interaction with him I don't seem to have a problem. I always
wear a mask though just in case.

Linda