Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We just got an iguana about two weeks ago. Not sure of the sex, he/she is still a baby. And we are first time owners. And YES, we do know what we are getting ourselves into. We just changed our Ig into a 29 gal for now, until we get the tools to build him/her a large habitat. But since we moved the ig into the tank, he/she has been trying to jump up the side of the tank, and the ig keeps digging behind its food dish. As i write this he/she keeps attempting to climb up the side of the tank. We thought it might be because of the cord hanging behind the tank? But the ig is eating, and sleeping and seemingly healthy, except for the recent jumping up the side of the cage. If anyone knows why he/she is doing that, it would be great help. I don't need yelled at either, because we are new at this. I've done a lot of research, and as far as my research entails, we are doing nothing wrong...so far. I just dont understand why he/she would be digging at the sides of the cage, behind the food dish, and behind a rock cave thing we have in there, if anyone has ideas, it would be helpful

You apperently didnt do ANY research. Either that or you just arent applying it. At all.

If you researched you would know those 'rock cave thingies' are about the worst possible hide you can have. Pet store hides (99% of them) are big, open, fake naturalistic wastes of money that only stress out the animal more, and they are bought by novices whose animals are already worse enough. Just because they LOOK nice doesnt mean they ARE nice! You need SMALL, DARK, and SECURE hides. The animals body should touch the sides when curled up. All small reptiles hide in the SMALLEST most SECRET places, and rightly so. Birds, snakes, giant bipedal monsters that smell weird (us) and who knows what else tries to eat them.

Again, if you did research, you would know a 29 gallon tank is far from the right size for an ig. You need something that holds heat and humidity, and is much bigger. Try something like 4 x 2 x 3-ish. Buy youself a temp gun from tempgun.com and make sure ALL your temps are right and you have a proper gradient. Ditch that little thermometer in the background, and get yourself REAL supplies like the temp gun. And he wont stay that small and cute for long! Tell us your plans for a future enclosure, and well work out the kinks together. He's climbing the sides of the tank because it is WAY too small and restricted. And if youre handling him AT ALL, STOP! Leave him ALONE exept when you do maintenance or must move him somewhere. He will get used to your presence, calm down, and become curious. DONT handle him, resist the urge. Until he is TOTALLY used to you, dont even pet him. I know it sounds hard, and probably goes against everything youve heard. I have no doubt the pet shop guy told you that many hours of handling will make him tame. All that will do is stress him to the poin that he dies, and you will return to the pet store and buy a new one. Thats the stores job. Trick you, kill the animal, and get you to buy more. LEAVE HIM ALONE, and he will start to hand feed, crawl up you arm and investigate you. These are smart animals, and want to know you once they realize you wont eat them. Give him time. In a year or two, if you do it right, you'll have the wonderful, majestic, 5 foot, handleable iguana you dreamed of when you first accquired him. (All this changes come puberty!)

Do yourself a favor. buy THE ULTIMATE IGUANA OWNERS MANUAL by James Hatfield and IGUANAS FOR DUMMIES (not that you are one ) by Melissa Kaplan. Also check out anapsid.org. Those books might be costly, but NOTHING compared to the eventual cost of the 15 x 15 x 10 (yes, that big, could be bigger) enclosure he/she will need. I hope you know about the iguana 'puberty' stage. Youre in for one heck of a ride. You might think youre on a little carousel, but youre actuall riding a giant steel coaster with a 600 foot drop, corkscrews, and an Immelman loop. Good luck, youll need it. Arm yourself with knowledge. Hope all this helps, took me forever to type!

Also, I HIGHLY suggest reading the FAQ at proexotics.com!!!! It had TONS of information to help you and is very fun to read. It covers hides especially well, along with handling. You'll find the Iguana section very insightful, and might even change your mind.

Cheers, Ryan

I think i've figured out why he keeps trying to climb the side of the tank, its because he sees cords dangling and wants to climb them. And by the way, our iguana is not scared of us at all. He doesnt run away from us when we try to pick him up... in fact, he loves climbing up our arms when we attempt to hand feed him, he's a tricky little thing, loves to lick the food and look like hes interested, then climb onto our arms. Its so funny though. he'll climb up our arms, then try to climb behind the computer, and then get behind his tank where the cords are, he is very smart and i know this. Also, the rock cave wasnt intended for a hiding spot, but a spot to lay, but instead, he likes to sleep half in and half out of the rock cave "thingie" We have a little heating pad under the cage, he likes that alot. And yes i know, iguanas get their heat from above, not below, but its not hot at all, its mostly for us to keep the humidity up a bit, because the dirt stuff we have in there is wet. I've realized that he needs more stuff to climb on...the tiny tree in there is not cutting it, so we are in the process of getting a bigger tree so he can climb and such. (we're about to have a baby of our own, so we're spending money on two babies...) I know a 29 isnt big enough for long, but it'll last us until we can build one for him. Which we were planning to do from the getgo.
I love our iguana...hes so funny sometimes, and i can see that he has a personality, and a taste for only certain types of food. he hates the texture of fruit because it wont go down his throat when he tries. So i'll hold some mushed mango on my finger and he'll lick at it, but thats it. Another funny thing he does, is when we spray him, he'll try to "climb" the water mist, i dunno if he's saying he doesnt like it, but he licks and climbs at it at the same time...
I know most of you may look down on us, but overall, we have a healthy ig, and he's relatively happy, minus him wanting to climb and dig all the time. Which can be solved easily..

Hi! Welcome to owning an ig!

You know, some people just are not nice... On the FAQ part of ProExotics.com, the replies are intelligent but kinda snappy and rude - that's just how some people are, I suppose.

If you do check out ProExotics, they do have good points on many things, but as anyone will tell you, everyone has different experiences with their animals and there is NEVER a "perfect" way to raise your animal - just many wrong/serriously wrong ways...

The 29gal isn't bad for such a baby, but he will grow QUICKLY! I'm making an 8'x3.5'x6 ' cage for mine when he's older, but he'll also be out much of the time whenever anyone is home (quite a bit), so it won't be bad.

Many of my lizards try to climb the edges of their cages, and some dig alot too, but it depends on the species and the individual. My ig doesn't, maybe yours just does. But maybe it's the set-up. Gemstone uses he's low rock hide instead of the box-and-towel I have for him, but that's him. (he's only a baby too). I have him in a 40gal for now, about to move him to a bigger but wire cage for awhile, but he'll soon out-grow that, too and we're in the process of getting things together for the big cage.

Maybe he's digging because he doesn't have enough to do? Is there tons of stuff to climb on, hide in, play with? They are VERY smart animals, and he might just need more to do. He might just be very active and bored out of his tiny skull - I pry would in a small home.

As for handling, if he's not liking it there are two ways to solve this that I've heard from experienced people with tame adults. First, though, wait a week to three weeks or so to let him calm down in his new home with NO DIRECT INTERACTION except for cleaning and feeding. Then, do either 1) hold him until he calms down and THEN put him down, 2 times a week to once or twice a day for 5-30 minutes in a calm setting just one human and one lizard, once he calms down put him back shortly. OR 2) don't interact with him until he comes to see you first, as was suggested before.

I let Gemstone sit for a couple weeks, then started handling him a bit. Just 5-10 minutes a couple times a week, then interaction for cleaning and feeding. Now, he likes to be handled and hand-fed and will sit with me or my toddler daughter (WASH HANDS ALWAYS!!!!! Don't worry, she's smart and she knows how to respect the animals and to wash up always!) for about 10-15 minutes before he wants to wander off. At his size, though he's not allowed to wander yet. Maybe in another 4-5 months...

You have to take your time with him. Let him have his space if he needs it, but if he's not freaking out all the time you can gently handle him. After he's a year or so old, though, you might want to step up and be more of the (soothing!) boss and hold him for up to 30 minutes of 1 on 1 time of calm talking and handling until he starts getting the fact that you are dominant...

Also, try just a box from crackers or cereal or whatever as a hide, maybe with a wash-cloth in it to help him feel more secure... Let us know how it goes!

~Buggzter

ps - the rock cave hide was SUPPOSED to be something to climb on, not for a hide, but Gemstone likes sleeping in it before lights-out for the pack of lizards. Go figure!

If you have ANY intended 'hide spot' and its the ONLY one in the cage, the animal MUST use it, it has no better choice. And people say their ig/leo/whatever LOVES the giant rock cave that you can easily grab the lizard out of.... Hides are to HIDE! Hide means to be out of sight entirely, and no one can see or get to you. Consider it a game of hide and seek, but in a paintball arena, or parking lot. The one place to hide (behind a car, or obstacle) sucks and barely hides you, but its all you have. Now if in the middle of the parking lot you find . But as an iguana, a boa/jaguar/tegu/caiman/bushmaster/fer de lance/anaconda/harpy eagle/owl/monkey/bird eating spider/ocelot/otter/puma/croc/bush dog/feral cat/whatever else eats them in the wild is chasing you and its life or death. Problem is, the ig thinks its in the wild, and a bushmaster is knocking on its front door (burrow or tree). So ditch the rock cave and get a REAL hide. Here is why your iguana is climbing the wall: Your ig is INSECURE and nervous and wants to escape. He is not 'bored' the only 'toys' he'll need are the sex toys (lizard doll) for him when the puberty stage comes. You (as a novice keeper) want to handle him every day, 'breaking' him like a horse. He's not a horse, hes a lizard, and a smart one at that. He needs to be COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY ALONE when you are not doing maintenance. Yes, it will take a long time, perhaps a year or two, but he will get used to your presence, and become curious when he realizes you are no threat. He will progress from smelling you and running away, then he will try grabbing food from your hand, then crawling up your arm, then coming with you outside the cage, then allowing a harness (most brands are not recommended because of spike damage), then he will become the big, trusting iguana you wanted when you started.

I'm sure I could criticize your setup more, but I need to leave soon. Good luck, and I hope you come around and fix it!

I said 'In the middle of the parking lot you find a-' that should have been followed by: "a locked underground bomb shelter". I hope that drives home how important hides are. And its probably the reason your ig is jumpy. Nothing happens with reptile husbandry 'just because'. Its 99% of the time a problem with the keeping, not the animal itself. And its usuallt easily corrected if only the keeper isnt stubborn and accepts ideas that the pet shop guy hasnt told him/her.

cheers

You say it takes a year or two for him to be unafraid, but our little ig isnt afraid of us, and if he is, he was a strange way of showing it. He'll immediately climb up our arm when we put our hand in the tank, and even climb around our shoulders if we spin slightly. He loves going out in the sun too, but he's still small and loves to jump to investigate, so we don't do that too often.

he's climbing the walls for the same reason you would, he does not like the setup. I dont know enough about yours to help. Its up to you to figure out why. If your ig is using a hide on the ground your set up is wrong. they are arboreal. More info would help

many times they don't understand why they can see through
the glass but can't get out. Eventually they get used to it.
For now, cover three sides of the tank with a towel or light
tablecloth. This will make the ig feel much more secure. Also,
make sure you have a secure lid and put some climbing branches
in for him. This will also make him feel more at ease.

Someone mentioned this wouldn't last long if you are caring
for him properly. Igs grow at an alarming rate and space is
very important to his well being. I was lucky, my husband is
very handy with tools and built two different enclosures for
him as he grew. As a hatchling, he built a 4' by 2' by 2'
all wood enclosure with a plexiglass front. I then soaked
a 4' branch (to kill any bugs) which extended from the bottom of one corner up to the upper end of the other corner. Then I put real ferns in for hiding and a shallow soaking bowl. Digit loved his cage and never wanted to come out. That lasted about a year and then we built again.

Pick up those books mentioned. They have a wealth of information. The best advice I can give is to "think" like
an iguana when designing their enclosure.

Hope this helps.
Linda

if you would like ideas.

Linda

wow you have a nice cage. i still have a baby im a 55 gallon but my uncle promises to build me a real nice cage his was similar to yours but it was shorter and wider

Yeah, i know we need more things for him to climb on, and hide in. We're working on it! I'll update when we update.