Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Dear Iguana Forum Members

About two months ago a foolish friend of mine went to a local pet store and bought a baby iguana for 15 dollars. I tried to warn him that iguanas were one of the most difficult lizards to care for and that he was making a very time consuming commitment by purchasing an iguana. He didnt listen to my warnings and went out and bought the iguana anyway without even looking at a caresheet (he also had no prior reptile experience at all).

Now it is 3 months later and he doesnt want the iguana anymore. He says it is "mean" and does not like him. His mom has also told him to get rid of the iguana as soon as possible. I have never seen the setup but I know from talking to him that he not taking the best care of this animal. Ive made suggestions but they fell on deaf ears.

He has asked me to take the iguana off his hands and I would glady do so. However my parents have said I cannot have anymore animals in the house, especially not something as large as an iguana, so me taking the iguana is unfortunatly not an option. I am now begging any of you who might be able to adopt this poor iguana to please do so. Or if anyone has some places I may contact for information on iguana adoptions that would also be greatly appreciated. I live at the Jersey Shore if anyone local is willing to adopt the animal. My foolish friend has said if he doesnt find a new home for the iguana he will have to "release it into the wild". I am ofcourse threatening to call the police on him if he does this. For anyone who doenst know, it is pretty cold in New Jersey so the iguana would surely die out in the wild as he calls it. My email is Woodystyle2000@aol.com if anyone is interested or has any questions.

Please ask around and see if anyone would be willing to adopt this iguana as soon as possible. I really want to help the poor guy but there is nothing i can do except ask others to take it. Thank you for reading.

Rob Woods

Ahh! Sounds like a caretaker from hell. But unfortunately, this happens all the time. Some dumb ass goes out and gets an ig for $15.00 cause it "looks neat" and doesnt know anything about taking care of the animal. The person gets tired of the animal and then decides to "release it into the wild". Which is horrible! Ive never met an iguana from Jersey. Hed freeze!

What you need to do is first go to your friends house and check out his setup and how he takes care of the animal to make sure its healthy while you search for a good home. Make the daily salad contains good dark greens (Collards, Dandellion, Turnip, Kale [no spinach or lettuce!], veggies (Bell peppers, Squash, Green Beans), and the occasional fruit (Strawberries, Rasberries, Blueberries, Bananas). Make sure you also add a little calcium powder on top of his salad about 3 times a week.

Give the ig a bath (water level around the igs shoulders) once a week in luke warm water. Mist the ig with luke warm water 3 times daily.

When it comes to the terrarium, make sure the temps are at around 80-105 and make sure to have a good night cycle (cooler temps at around 75-80 in complete darkness). Another concern is UVA/UVB which is vital for your friend's ig's health. Make sure he has a good UVA/UVB bulb (ReptiSun 5.0 is a goodone). This bulb runs about 6 hours a day on the day cycle.

Keep humidity at around 40-60%.

With all this the ig should be in top notch shape and ready to be adopted out to a good home. You can try and post a message at the adoption board which can be found at:
http://members2.boardhost.com/gisadoptions/

Good luck to you, your friend, and the ig in need!

-Philipp

Stories like this are always so sad. My husband and I work with the local Fish and Wildlife to establish a permit system in Vermont to prevent just this sort of thing. Iguanas, among other lizards, are now on the prohibited list, meaning you are required to get a license to buy one.

Hopefully, this will actually be reinforced and if it works out, other states will do the same.

Good luck with the ig and I hope he finds a new home soon.

-----
Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com