Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Stephanie,

It is 5 days since I took in the new baby Ig. Since you
do rescue can you tell me what the behavior of your other
Igs are when you bring a new one in. Also when do they tend
to settle down.

I spoke to my vet this morning about Beanie's behavior and
she is saying that Digit has been a positive stress as Beanie
is very active for the 1st time in 5 months. My vet was concerned about her behavior in the past because many times
she did not move around during the day. She is very alert and
she even acknowedged me this morning with that funny little
head bob which I have not seen in months. I was in the room
this morning and attended to Beanie and then turned my
attention to Digit. I looked back over my shoulder and Beanie
was bobbing like crazy. It is very nice to see her come to
life and actually be interested in something but I do not want
to cause her any negative stress. What are your thoughts on
this. I have an extra bedroom that I could move Digit if
necessary.

Linda

Well to start with we do keep most of our iguanas out of sight and contact of each other unless we are sure how they will react and of the new ones health. We have a couple old timers who react amazingly well to the sight of new ones (no direct contact) and we don't worry as much about them. One of our males will bob a couple times then settle down and that's it. We also have one female who will come out on her tree limbs to bask instead of on her shelf as usual to see any new ones. For the most part though they are away from each other and the cages are arranged so they cannot see each other in almost all cases.

Now the rest is JUST OPINION. I know of all the problems you have had with Beanie and have in the past even answered a few questions or offered helpful/unhelpful suggestions. So here goes. At this point as long as there are no negative signs of stress, nose rubbing, acting overly aggressive towards you etc. And either Digit already has a clean bill of health and/or you take all regular cleaning to the extreme washing hands between feeding each iguana or even touching each cage if all parasites external and internal haven't been ruled out. Then isn't anything that makes Beanie eat and "move" good news? I am not saying it is good to stress Beanie but if Beanie thinks she needs to eat for herself to show dominance and move around her cage isn't that good. If she is showing any negative signs then definitely move Digit. It still might be a good idea if Beanie can't always see Digit. But as long as there is no direct contact I would THINK it would be okay.

Again this is only my opinion and hope I haven't rambled on too confusingly.
I seem to only have time to answer late at night so if I'm too confusing email me personally and I will try to clarify earlier in the day!!

Good Luck!!
Stephanie