Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I notice there is a considerable difference between different people's rhinos. Some are smooth and some have small, large spikes etc. Is this just the different species or is there that much that differs in each rhino iguana. Mabey I am just mixed up but mine seems to be really smooth skinned and hardly any spikes, just trying to compair what exactly I am looking at.

there is a lot of variation just like in humans.. but some pics are older or younger animals.. they are long lived animals and their spikes and horns keep growing most their life.. so a lot of the differences can be just age...

color differences are prob just local regional variation ...
most rhinos in europe seem to be a little bit more blue than the ones i have seen in the USA..
so i have handpicked the bluest ones i could find..

this is my bluest and oldest female on the 3 pics below

Well I should have worded my post different I guess. Reason I was trying to figure out what mine was because he/she is a little ass most of the time and I am trying to figure out if its just his breed or he/she is just like that. I have been going with the concept of just letting he/she be and not bothering it at all except for weekly soaks, house clean and feeding.
Its cage sits right next to my computer and I am there alot because I do a lot of work from home, so it's not like it does not see me much. I just can't even get close to picking it up. When i get close it jumps around the cage whipping its tail and I got nipped a few times just trying to move him to clean out his basking stack. When i get it out for soaks I have to pick it up with a small towel and its fine that way, it is only a problem when I try to pick it up without the towel. I know you have to come from their level or under and not to come from above as they are more apt to feel like they are about to be prey that way. The major parts I have got from searching the fourms is just leave them be until they become to know you as a friend not an threat. I even tried feeding it some fruit from my finger, it would not take it what so ever, but as soon as I dropped it on his food plate it devoured it. I tried to gently pet it when I was warm soaking it as I do weekly and got a nice bite on my finger yesterday, thats the way I tame my monitors and tegus so i thought I would try that.

Anyone have some advice or is just waiting it out the best advice? I have tamed monitors and tegus easyer than this guy, haha.

I guess I should add the rhino is about 5 months old.

Rhinos calm down with age.. as babies they have a lot predators after them.. but as adults they do not...so this is prob the reason why they are so jumpy as young.. so dont worry dont hurry..
cyclura are very different from all other lizards i have had.. and that about all species available on the market..
i would handle a green iguana non stop to tame it..(would not handle fussy eaters though untill they gain size)
Cycluras however just dont work that way(most of them anyhow)
they are smarter than that.. so your jobb is to not make it scared of you.. dont handle it at all.. dont pick it up .. dont look at it when you clean the cage(this shows him that he is not your target).. put a bigger water bowl in the cage instedd of taking it to the bathtub,,,

Less is more.. he will come around..

Good luck

its not a breed thing,, its just a instinct the young have i think..
and males are much more aggressive to humans than females are,,
a tip; never handle it when he is hungry..food calms them down a bit.. and if you feel like thying to pet him when he is a little bit older and calmer, you should pet him when he is bussy eating and has his mouth full already (cant bite you then) ..
you are on the right track..

Rhinos take a TON of time (2 plus years) to calm down. Just keep taking it out and just wait till it gets to one year! Crazy monster, but it will eventually be less nutty (i hope..mine is 5 and still a nutjob. I woke her up and she was hissing at me all morning )

i say no handling is the fastest way...
i handled my first female in the begining.. it took her 3years almost to calm down,, then i didnt handle the rest of the 4 i got later and the females calmed down in about a less then a year.. the males are calm but still a bit aggressive..

I've seen greens and cycluras just get worse from not being handled, like crazy worse.

My rhino comes running out at me from her cage into my arms now...its very cool

greens need daily handling but they are very different from cyclura..they have lots natural predators hunting them..

cyclura get tamed and calm by them selfs just because they do not have natural predators in the wild as adults.. so they get confident ad they gain size.. this psyco act we see in the younger ones is just an instinct they are programed with to help them survive the first few defenceless years..

my run like that too! but they are just looking for food ... but they do like to be handled when they are adults

rhinos are all the same, C cornuta. What Extreem' said is right on the money.
Relax take your time. He is only 5 mos. You have almost 3 yrs of this. If you have patience you will be rewarded. Cyclura are very long lived so how they mature takes time. Ask anyone that has an adult, they are so much fun to work with, we all went thru what you are. Hell I'm going thru it right now too!

jf

Thanks everyone who posted. I figured I was on the right track as I did much research before I got it. I am suprized at how fast it is growing, its insane. In just the last two months its doubled what it has been eating. I put a mixture of dark greens(collard, mustard) with some veggies (zuchinni, green pepers, peas) and then pellet toppers and it devours it all within the day leaving no extra food. It seems to eat more dark greens when I mix collards and mustards and one more dark green together rather than just leaving him with a selection of just one dark green, I guess the mixture of the taste from all of them suit it better.

Its odd how hes so fussy with me but I have a retes stack for him and when he comes out of it to bask, he whips his tail around and makes a lot of noise until I look over at him and acknowlege he is there. He is also very defensive of his basking spot, he will jump off it when I am cleaning it but he jumps back on it and off it and on it and off it as I am cleaning it, much like king of the hill. Super funny

its exactly it hes playing king of the hill LOL they do it all the time to eachother to show whos boss hehe.. they do it on their food bowl too ... its a good sign.. he is acting normal and growing fast.. so just keep it up, youre on the right track..