Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Acquired my iguana about a month ago from a former roommate, whom I will probably strangle if I ever see again. Darwin was rather neglected; he had no heat gradient, a fish light, ate nothing but spinach and dandelions (out of the back yard that the dogs peed on most likely), was never handled, and had no humidity. Needless to say, he was rather annoyed at people trying to touch him, mess with his environment and shove weird foreign foods in his face. Some days I swear he thinks I'm trying to poison him with all this variety LOL! He's doing much better now, he's shedding for the third time since I got him (I seem to recall once every 4 to 6 weeks is much more normal?), though I assume that's got to do with the newly acquired mister I got for him. I devoured Kaplan's Iguanas for Dummies and have read some of the articles on her site, so no worries, I'm not one of the people who will be asking, omg, he looks funny, but i dont have money for a vet what should i do? LOL. I firmly believe in researching an animal before you get it, this will be the first time I ever "crammed" on research after the fact, but he got dumped in my lap when the former owner got kicked out by the people who own the house we live with. My main questions are this:

1. Is there a way I can get him used to bathing in a bath tub? He's terrified of it and I only put the water just past the level of his toes on his front feet. I mean he lashes, hisses, tail whips and tries to climb anything he can get his claws in. He wont calm down afterward for at least 20 minutes.

2. Any suggestions on getting him to take yellow veggies? I have grated, I have chopped, I have hand fed. The only way he will eat it is if I deprive him of all else for a few days, and then he will eat it, but the minute I give him anything else, he's right back to ignoring it.

3. Will he ever get over freaking when I take him out of the cage? Is there anything I can do to help this along? He is totally tame outside the cage (well as tame as iggys get anyway lol) but not while trying to put hands in his cage.

4. How do I post pics in a message? I know, I know, not horridly important, but still relevant LOL

Thanks guys and I hope to hear from somebody soon! I have been lurking a little while, and all the photos and stories are great!

Julie and Darwin

1. Is there a way I can get him used to bathing in a bath tub? He's terrified of it and I only put the water just past the level of his toes on his front feet. I mean he lashes, hisses, tail whips and tries to climb anything he can get his claws in. He wont calm down afterward for at least 20 minutes.

You do have the water off when you introduce him to the tub, and/or put him in it... right? Be persistent, get him used to it, once he calms down reward him with a treat (whatever he likes).

2. Any suggestions on getting him to take yellow veggies? I have grated, I have chopped, I have hand fed. The only way he will eat it is if I deprive him of all else for a few days, and then he will eat it, but the minute I give him anything else, he's right back to ignoring it.

Collard greens are your main objective, and other good staples. Finely slice/dice them, and start with miniscule quantities.
Again, be persistent. Some iguanas take weeks, other months or more to learn to eat everything (that they should, of course).

3. Will he ever get over freaking when I take him out of the cage? Is there anything I can do to help this along? He is totally tame outside the cage (well as tame as iggys get anyway lol) but not while trying to put hands in his cage.

An iguana's disposition is not carved in stone... some do, others do not due to the trauma. Again, persitence, reward, and all in moderation to prevent stress.

4. How do I post pics in a message? I

I'm no pc-genius, but I believe websites like Image Shack (or something like that) let you upload ur pics and creat an url to post them.

Good luck, it ain't easy, it never is, but the rewards once you're throughthe tough stage will be immense. Keep asking if u got any more Q's.

-IJ

You do have the water off when you introduce him to the tub, and/or put him in it... right? Be persistent, get him used to it, once he calms down reward him with a treat (whatever he likes).

Yes, I have the water off before I bring him in the bathroom. He just seems to hate water for the moment LOL.

Collard greens are your main objective, and other good staples. Finely slice/dice them, and start with miniscule quantities.
Again, be persistent. Some iguanas take weeks, other months or more to learn to eat everything (that they should, of course).

He has no issues with any of the greens. He enjoys collard, mustard, dandelion, etc. Its getting him to take anything else thats the problem. I've offered parsnip, various squashes, mango, pears, canteloupe, etc. He will sometimes eat rasberries, but ignores the MK salad pretty much completely, no matter what I put in it. I mix everything together, but he seems to be a genius at picking out the parts he wants. I've also tried offering him salad first, greens later. Plus I've tried just salad. Like I said before, he'll take it if I only give him that, but it takes him a couple days to do it, and then I'll have him eating it regularly, introduce greens again, and he's back to ignoring the salad. I'm at my wits end here, cuz I want him to eat a varied diet, but he seems to think I'm trying to poison him or something! LOL I've tried shredded, minced, chunks, everything I can think of. It seems to make no difference to him. Should I just give him salad for a week and then greens for a week, since this seems to work? I'm not sure thats a good way to go towards a balanced diet though? Thanks for all your help.