Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I haven't posted on this board in ages... and admittedly haven't been into the reptile/exotics scene in a long long time as well.

But... I often do go to petstores to check out what they got, and to buy food and toys for my awsome spoiled-rotten terrier.

And I have noticed that in 2 years I haven't seen ONE iguana for sale at a petstore! Only twice I saw desert iguanas (weird uh?) but not one green iguana.

There are always bearded dragons like there was no tomorrow, and leopards sold like Tic-Tacs. Anoles are always present, skinny and sick... as well as a monitor here and a colubrid there.

But iguanas? What happened to them? Where are they? Even the water dragons have lost their spot.

Has the kingpin of the reptile trade finally reached retirement? Have people finally understood the care requirements of these animals? Have petstores get it? Or have they become so cheap to buy, they were not even profitable to sell?

Sadly, even if the giant green iguana may be disappearing from petstores around America, they are not diappearing from rescue centers. They actually seem to grow in numbers.

But apparently, people are undertanding the captive requirements of these animals, and opting for the more economical and easier to keep species....such as the ones mentioned above.

I have been to Petco's and Petsmarts.....not one iguana in 2 years. Local petstores....same. Perhaps things are slightly changing for the better for the green iguana. Admittedly to a tiny extent, but if all this is true, then at least it's a start.

-IJ

You may have answered your own question with the rescue center thing. It appears to me that iguanas have gone through the "herp fashion" cycle, having grown rapidly in popularity in the early 90s and peaking in the mid-late 90s. Now, people who bought all of those multitudes of cute little green lizards (or won them at the local fair, or whatever) have found out the hard way that they get bigger - a LOT bigger - and can be a real handful when they become 4-6 foot adults. Being unprepared to care for such a large critter that requires a lot of care, the adults are now being released, abandoned, neglected, returned, recycled, or whatever people do to get rid of them.

Fortunately, there are many of us here who not only care about these wonderful animals, but have the knowledge and the resources to take them in and give them good homes and care for them the way they should be cared for. OTOH, unfortunately, the glut of iguanas that hit the homes and streets in the past decade includes far more of them than there are good homes available. Hence, the rescue centers continue to fill up. So at the moment iguanas are on the downswing, at a point where supply far exceeds demand. People with an itch to own lizards have gone down new avenues - bearded dragons, etc. With demend for iguanas now down, you won't see them as often in pet stores these days (except for abandoned/neglected ones that have found their way back there in the hops of finding a new caretaker). I see this as a good thing, as the unnecessary import of new youngsters from their native lands should continue to dwindle.
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MichaelB

It died down, but one store that didn't carry iguana went out and got 100 when the economy dipped. I stopped shopping there altogether.

Yes, there are more bearded dragons and they are sold like the iguanas. I ran into a woman and her son yesterday, looking for a heat rock for the bearded dragon. I handed her a UVB light instead. Sigh!!!!

My vet is seeing more iguanas who have been on this calcium spray, though. MBD!!

Cindy

My vet is seeing more iguanas who have been on this calcium spray, though. MBD!!

What is a calcium spray & I don't know what MBD means...is this calcium spray a good or bad thing?

Calcium spray is a commercial fad that is supposed to be abosrbed thru the skin or taken in orally as it drizzles to the mouth, much like rain drops.

It is as effective as pills guaranteed to make you look like Arnold Shwarzenegger in 2 weeks...

MBD stands for Metabolic Bone Desease: it is basically a desease of the bones, causing them to become "spongy", deformed, and enlarged, not to mention very prone to fractures, due to lack of calcium and Vitamind D (vitamin D helps absorb the calcium).

So people falling in the Calcium Spray end up with an iguana with MBD. MBD is one of the most common deseases found in captive iguanas. In the 90's.... it was widely thought that all you needed was a heat-rock and some lettuce to keep the lizard happy. NOT! THe heat rock caused burns, the lettuce had zero nutrients, and the lack of calium and natural/artificial sunlight denied the synthesis of Vitamin D.

Hope this helps! )

-IJ

>>My vet is seeing more iguanas who have been on this calcium spray, though. MBD!!
>>
>>Cindy

I have seen that more too. For some reason those calcium sprays are selling like hotcakes here. I am also seeing a big comeback of monkey chow diets. Mega calls to take in iguanas that have renal failure and are prolapsing daily. Started just getting calls about iguanas pooing out their insides. It seems a certain vet in the area must be suggesting insects and monkey chow for juvis. Of Course when asked no one remembers their vets name.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

I just brought in my first iceburg lettuce case. Sigh!! A 9 month old the size of an iglet. Sign! I went to a former good store and found that they were using iceburg lettuce and carrots as food. Sigh! I documented it all for the local SPCA and they forwarded my write up to Animal Control.

Your first! Good lord woman you have been at this longer than me!

Here ya go. This is one of my ice berg boys. The Humane Society was 'rehabbing' for 2 months with reptisand (yes you read that right) mixed with beef stew baby food. This is an actual HUMANE SOCIETY. Needless to say by the time i got this one he was convulsing every 20 mins. But because they were a no kill shelter AND had a (no offense here please) mentally retarded adult that (the shelter used the words) had the mental abilities of an 8 year old rehabbing they REFUSED to euth. This was SUPPOSEDLY a 3 year iguana. SVL was 4 inchs i believe. No use of any limbs.

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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

I am still getting TONS of calls. There was one week this summer where my request for intakes was at 47 calls in 7 days! I am also getting in a buttload of itty bittys. These iguanas are reasonably comfy and roomy in a 10 gallon with SVL around 2-3 inchs MAX. I think that is the fair fallout. My calls are now ranging from HUGEMUNGOUS to itty bitty with nothing really in between.

But the new animal I seem to be seeing with a bit more frequency (and I can tell ya im not happy about it) is savannah monitors. I currently have two here and got another call yesterday to take in another one. I am wondering if that is going to be the new iguana replacement. Nothing like a crash course on care.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

I too have noticed SAVS regaining high status, much due to the fact they are cheaper than the "cuddly" easier to keep Ackies.

I think Ackies are losing ground for their prices, and lesser "cool factor", sicne a full grown Sav is quite a animal to keep.

But lately "smaller is cooler and better" seems to have taken over the exotic pets trade. Small chameleons are around, and the "must-have" geckoes are always present.

But yeah, I agree that Savs are not the best replacement for top-animal. But hey, remember in the 90's when Nile monitors were??? Now that is a scary thought. It's what sadly led to the ban of all monitors in certain countries in Europe.

Hey Cind..... not bad for third day here uh? LOL
By the way, your cyclura is gorgeous! You got it from Jiffybop right?

C-ya!

-IJ

>But yeah, I agree that Savs are not the best replacement for top-animal. But hey, remember in the 90's when Nile monitors were??? Now that is a scary thought. It's what sadly led to the ban of all monitors in certain countries in Europe.
>>
>>Hey Cind..... not bad for third day here uh? LOL
>>By the way, your cyclura is gorgeous! You got it from Jiffybop right?
>>

I totally agree, savys do not make a good replacement for iguanas. In fact they are from what I understand just as big of a problem with size and housing size. Then you add to it their higher heat requirements. I still do not see enough of the smaller guys in the stores here. The staples are
Iguanas
Beardies
Savys
Some leos
Caimen
Gators
Boas ("redtails"
Burmese Pythons

Aint that some pretty prospects. I keep hoping one day stores will look at what they are selling and the results, but as long as they sell dogs from puppy millers I dont have much hope.

Yeah Danzig came from jiff. You gotta get yourself one of these. They are soooo freaking smart!
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

Yeah, Cindy got Danzig from me and she promptly laid eggs within weeks after being transferred to Wisconsin! I had my suspicions that she was gravid and the eggs possibly could have been fertile. Oh well. Cindy is not kidding when she says that the Cyclura species are smart. They are right up there in the ranks with the monitors except they are much sweeter by nature. Joe, you really should have one. Also, head over to the Cyclura forum and peek at the photos of my adult female Spiny.

I also have to agree with Cindy about the Savs. I'm currently caring for 5, all surrenders within the last 6 months. Thinking a Sav is a terrific first monitor is a fallacy. They are not easy animals to care for properly and they don't just GET puppy dog tame as some people would like you to believe. We saw a big influx of Boas this past year also. I have some beautiful adult snakes up for adoption but every application that we get that looks good is from a breeder. NO WAY!!

I still get many GGI surrender requests weekly. I'm standing at 27 in house right now and don't have the space for another, not even a little one. We've gotten in several smaller ones with horrific health issues...so sad.

For example...before I moved away from New York 3 years ago, they were putting a ban on all iguana being sold. This also included pythons and any lizard over 3-4 feet long I think.

So maybe the laws changed in your area too.