Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am babysitting an Iguana for a friend for a couple of months.
His name is Indy. The problem is that everytime I go in his tank
he starts running around and freaking out (BIG TIME),AND he won't
stop until I get out of his tank. I haven't even been able to
touch him yet, and he's been with me for 3 weeks now.
I don't care that he doesn't want me touching him, I just want
to be able to go in his tank and change the water bowl and get him
new food everyday. The more and more the weeks go by, the worse
he's getting.I don't want to stress him out, but I have to go in
his tank everyday. By the way, he's about 6 months-a year old.
Any advise on getting him to calm down when I enter his tank?
I know he's eating and pooping.
thanks
Chargo
ps- thanks for the advise on feeding him: he loves everything!

Hey,
How exactly do you approach his tank? Have you tried sitting near the tank/ with the ig to see if he will eventually calm down? If so, how long does he take to chill out?
If there is an area of his setup you could block off somehow, like give him a hide or drape a towel over he might run there and feel secure. When Rex was younger I had one end of her cage covered in a towel and she would move into the shade and between being behind her driftwood and being under the shade of the towel she would rest until I finished cleaning/feeding/whatever.
Just a few suggestions, good luck with the little dude!
-
BeDreamin

I approach his tank with caution because if I move to fast,he
seems to get scared and starts to panick. I've started to just
sit in front of his tank for a while, then slowly open the tank
then do what I have to do. Sometimes it takes him 5 minutes to
relax (stop running wild)...but frankly i really don't think
he calms down,more or less, he just is more attentive to what I
am doing.

Q- you said you use a towel in her cage... is this a towel that
has your scent on it, or a normal towel? (i know that with my snake
I had to do the scented towel thing)

q-how big is your Rex? What size tank do you have?
My friends brought him over in a really small tank, and I want
to give him a bigger one...kind of like a christmas present for the
aunt!

thanks for your help
chargo

Hey,
Well the towel was just a fresh towel from the drier. It was only a place to hide, like she could get under it and behind her driftwood and not see me so she would calm down. A towel with your scent on it would be good too, or maybe a T-shirt or anything big enough.
Rex lives in a converted display case that I got from a business that was closing. It's real big but the only doors are sliders in the back and I had to make a few customizations to make it cleanable/livable for an iguan. It's a good cage, just inconvenient to clean. You're better off building one yourself, the price was right for mine if you know what I mean.
Good luck!
-
BeDreamin