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thinking of adopting this iguana

herpfreak04 Feb 03, 2004 12:57 PM

just wanted to see some of what everyone else thinks, iv owned 4 iguanas in my life so far as well as as 2 burms,2bloods,a ball py and a red tail, but at a petland i believe it was i found this beautiful iguana that is about 3 feet long that was droped off at their door one day by a guy that said he couldnt keep it anymore but didnt really give a reason, they said it is about a year old which seems a lil young for a 3 ft i thought.. anyways, seems to be in great health with a great appetite, should i take it considering i know really nothing about this iguana

Replies (20)

Sam-N-Ella Feb 03, 2004 02:33 PM

As you probably know iguanas are a lot of work and cost a lot to take care of. What happened to your other 4 iguanas? If you plan on getting this ig you should do a lot of research and get him a proper environment first and make sure you can provide what ever he needs. Everyone on here has great advice and information, but you have to be willing to take thier advice and use it to help your ig. I'm going to recommend reading "Iguanas for dummies" as I have been told by people here. It is a great book filled with information and correct care for iguanas. Also look at green iguana society and Mellisa Kaplans' web sites for more info. A 3 ft long ig is probably around 2 years old. I will post a pic of my almost 1 year old ig 25" long, and a pic of my 2 year old ig(would be over 3 ft., but had lost tail a while ago). There are a lot of very important things to consider before getting an ig. Like: do you have the room? do you know what temps. they need to be in? do you know they need uvb light? do you know the proper diet for an ig? There are a lot more, but I can't think of them right now. When I got my igs I didn't know a whole lot, but I did know all the basics and I continued to research and ask questions. I am by no means an expert, but all my advise comes from what I have been through with my igs or from other peoples advice and researching. I hope you are still interested in helping that ig. It may be a lot of work, but I enjoy spending all that time making them happy. It's not really that bad. You just have to realize that they need a lot of things being in captivity that they can't get for themselves.

Sam-N-Ella Feb 03, 2004 02:34 PM

Here is a pic of my little ig. ED(Ella)

Sam-N-Ella Feb 03, 2004 02:35 PM

here is a pic of my 2 year old ig.

Sam-N-Ella Feb 03, 2004 02:43 PM

Ok. those weren't very good pics. Here is one with them together to show size difference.

herpfreak04 Feb 03, 2004 05:45 PM

thanks alot for the information and views also the wonderful pics you have to great looking ig's, as for my past ig's 2 i had at very young age and could not properly take care of them so i gave them away, the other two i still have both about 8months or so. I have a cage i built that is 7ftL by 3 1/2ftW by 3 1/2ft tall, i planed to use this for the ig after building it up to about 6ft tall. I am very aware of the care that ig's need I was just concerned by the fact i dont kno why the first owner gave him up or for that matter anything about the ig. Once again i think you very much for your advice.

Sam-N-Ella Feb 03, 2004 07:02 PM

Cool. I'm glad you still have 2 of them. It seems you do know about igs. It just sounded like you didn't know anything about them. That's why I tried to explain how much work it is. It seems like you know. So I would get it. I am actually getting 2 more. I just can't get enough of them and I hear horror stories of people not wanting them and just abandoning them. well, good luck and I hope you get it. Keep everyone posted.

G8TOR Feb 04, 2004 06:54 AM

Sam-N-Ella ,

You seem to be doing something right I am surprised that you are not ripping into some of these people(KIDS) on here that are not listening. I feel you on the can't get enough. We have 3 now but had 6 just over a week ago(all drop offs) we just had one to the vet for stitches (one of the drop offs) the person had 3 adults in a 6-7 inch high Tupperware container beating the hell out of each other. Any way I know that I get upset some times and that a lot of the people on here think I am an ass but I travel to educate people on these wonderful animals and do a lot of rescues along with the fact that I owned a shop for a while so I just am fed up with the people who ask just to ignore and ask again. Sorry alittle off the subject LOL I just wanted to say They are BEAUTIFUL keep up the good work and good luck with the next 2 if you decide to go that route. Oh are you adopting or buying? Just curious.

BEST OF LUCK

TB
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Stop complaining about yesterday,after all yesterday will not get you to tomorrow!

G8TOR Feb 04, 2004 07:09 AM

Just a pic of 2 of our IGs I hope this pic works.
Bayou Beasts
Bayou Beasts

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Stop complaining about yesterday,after all yesterday will not get you to tomorrow!

G8TOR Feb 04, 2004 07:13 AM

LOL I think I got it.
Image
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Stop complaining about yesterday,after all yesterday will not get you to tomorrow!

Sam-N-Ella Feb 04, 2004 11:00 AM

nice igs. How old are they? Are the three you have now the ones you keep? I would love to rescue iguanas, but I need more room. I'm making room for 2 more, but for now that is all the room I'll have. Good luck with your igs.

G8TOR Feb 04, 2004 07:57 PM

The older male is 7-8 years and the other 2 are rescues that I keep they will be staying with me one of them I actually adopted from Steve Clark in NY he runs a rescue rehab with his wife. Great people.

TB
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Stop complaining about yesterday,after all yesterday will not get you to tomorrow!

Sam-N-Ella Feb 04, 2004 10:08 AM

Thanks. I love my igs and all igs actually. I am looking to adopt the next 2. I want to get older ones. There is one at the pet store that I want, but I'd rather adopt. I feel bad for the ones at the pet store because since it's been cold they keep 3 big igs together in a small encloser with nothing to climb on. There are 6 big igs in all- 4'to 4 1/2 feet long. The enclosure is a plastic reptile cage with plexiglass front. It is only 3-1/2'Lx2 1/2'Dx 1'H. Can you believe that? And there are 3 4' igs in one cage. I used to have a lot of respect for that pet store because they all of there animals seemed to be taken care of until about 5 months ago. What was even more disturbing was when I saw their baby ig cage. Usually there maybe about 15-20 little igs in there which that isn't that bad. A couple months ago I went in there and there were at least 100 hatchlings in there. I couldn't believe it. There were even a couple dead ones laying on the bottom getting trampled on. I used to go in there twice a week at least. I don't go there anymore. How do you adopt your igs out that you rescue? I've been looking for some around here(Florida) so I can just pick them up. I've heard of people being able to ship them, but I don't know about that or if it's bad for them. Where are you located? Oh, and about you being an "ass" sometimes. I've noticed you were a little harsh at times, but when someone won't listen and doesn't really want advice what else can you do. You can either keep telling them the same thing over and over or you can set them straight. I understand your frustration with people who have igs but don't
want the responsibility that goes with them. Thanks again. This is onother long one.lol.
Brian

G8TOR Feb 04, 2004 07:55 PM

"How do you adopt your igs out that you rescue?"

They are free to good homes after the vet checks them to garuntee health. I just ask that the reciever pay shipping. I am in PA so shipping would probably be 40-45 to Florida.

"Oh, and about you being an "ass" sometimes. I've noticed you were a little harsh at times, but when someone won't listen and doesn't really want advice what else can you do."

Glad to see you understand if I was just looking to start with people then I would do it to everyone.
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Stop complaining about yesterday,after all yesterday will not get you to tomorrow!

Sam-N-Ella Feb 05, 2004 12:39 AM

I will check with you when I am ready to adopt an ig or 2. If you can keep me posted with info and pics of igs you rescue that would be great. It won't be too much longer and I'll be ready for at least one. Thanks.

G8tor Feb 05, 2004 12:51 AM

Will do just send me some pics of the intended space you are putting them and I will set you up with some to fit the home. Like I said the IGs we have right now are staying with us but I get them offered to me on a weekly basis, lots of igs to choose from just let me know when you are ready.
Feel free to look at some of our other pics at the link below...

Thank you
TB
Bayou Beasts/Photo Galleries
Bayou Beasts/Photo Galleries

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Stop complaining about yesterday,after all yesterday will not get you to tomorrow!

Sam-N-Ella Feb 05, 2004 01:16 AM

That sounds great. I'll be making room and building enclosures pretty soon. How much room I have will determine how many I can get. Thank you for your time and I will keep in touch on my progress with setting up for another ig.
Brian

G8tor Feb 05, 2004 01:31 AM

Keep me posted let me know about 2 weeks ahead of time so I can get 2 ready for you(vet check). Good luck I was just looking at some of the pics in the photo galleries. Just posted some in the monitor forum my Argus and his friend Blue the adult IG.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

TB
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Stop complaining about yesterday,after all yesterday will not get you to tomorrow!

Sam-N-Ella Feb 05, 2004 01:48 AM

AWESOME. I like monitors. That is a really nice ig too. Looks like they get along well together.

cancerrr Feb 10, 2004 06:18 PM

I think iguanas are great, but I would never get one myself. They get too big. There's this pet store around here where I buy the worms for my lizards that has about 6 iguanas in a 3'x2'x2' cage. Ive seen the iguanas for a couple weeks now so I asked someone who worked there why they kept them in such a small cage. The lady said that they got new iguanas in every week and that the lizards were never in that cage for more than that. I think that's crap. One of them is well over 3 feet long and I am pretty sure that those igs have been there for about a month. I dont think igs sell THAT fast. They have a day gecko that has been there for over a year! If it didnt cost 125 euros, I would have taken it home already.

Anyway, I think it's irresponsible to sell iguanas and breed them. The only reason they should be bred is to sustain the species, not for pets. I would never trust a stranger enough to sell him an iguana. I doubt that most people take proper care of them and give them the needed space.

I have a friend with 2 igs. Her cage is about 6 feet high, 2 feet wide, and 2 1/2 feet long. I used to think that was big, but after reading so much about igs and water dragons, I know it is too small.

I keep hearing so much about iguana adoption. It is sad that these animals are being bred like crazy, yet are given up like puppies a week after xmas. If you have iguanas, do them a favor, DO NOT BREED THEM! It is irresponsible and egotistical.

Take good care of the pets you have, adopt if you can, but dont buy any more from pet stores!! That only adds to the problem.

Sam-N-Ella Feb 11, 2004 07:40 AM

I can't agree with you more. Breeding iguanas causes more igs to be thrown away or abondoned. I am getting 2 more igs, but I am adopting them. Even though the pet store here has mistreated iguanas and it would be like rescuing them they would just get more. It's sad to read about people getting bored of their iguana or them getting frustrated and mad at the iguana because it needs so much attention and care. I would fill my house with iguanas if I could. Pet stores should do their part when people come in to buy iguanas and tell them everything they need to know. They don't tell people what they need or what it takes to take care of them. They just want to sell as many as they can. You would think that they were in used car sales. (No offense to anyone in the used car bussiness).Poor iggys.

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