Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have been gone for a while i know- u guys miss me? lol probably not because I caused hell in that message board. lol well i need help guys-my iguana is starting to get really mean suddenly-he opens his mouth and everything when i try to hold him-he runs around the cage trying to get away from me when i try to pic him up-and quite frankly i am sick of it! So i need some taming tips to make him more comfortable with me. any suggestions will be greatly asppreciated! thank you so much-Nick

Dude... youre iguana is just being himself. I am sure he is young and just doesnt know better. You shouldnt get "sick of it" you should just work with the problem. My Miles hates being taken out of his enclosure. So, when I take him out he is always very jumpy and sometimes wont even let me pick him up. You just gotta show him whos boss and pick him up anyway. Dont hold him in a way that he feels threatened though.... Grab him and then place him somewhere on you like your arm. Talk to him and pet him behing the eyes gently. I noticed the more I talk to my ig, the more comfortable he is with me.

Also, your ig is a juvenille... it takes a while to tame an iguana... Dont expect to do it in even 6 months. Your iguana might not be tame for another year! You just have to learn to respect the creature and understand that if you were young and put into a cage... you wouldnt necessarily stand still and let people do whatever they wanted with you...

With iguanas they dont just become tame over night.. it will take a long time.. some will tame in about 3 months and some can take up to around 1.5-2 years to become tame.. and some just may never calm down.
The one thing you can do is try to hand feed him when you are holding him. so he associates being held with gettting a treat make sure it is something that he really likes. Hold him for about 15 min a day. and try and not chase him around the cage that will just scare him more.
The main thing you have to work on is him not going insane when you walk in the room is he goes spastic when you walk in. try and get it so you can walk in the room before you start to hold him every day.
Try to stay to a schedual as well. try and hold him at the same time all of the time. you can also try to hold him in the morning right after his lights go on. that way he wont be full of energy and you can pick him up easier. he wont run.
And lastly SLOW movements are the best. fast moving hands from above will scare him. his instincs will tell him that that is a danger and to leave.

Just dont give up and you will have a very tame iguana.

Mike D
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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.1 rescued petco iguana
1.0.0 water dragon
0.0.1 mali uromastyx
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.0.1 common snapping turtle

then the ussual
2 dogs
6 cats
misc fish
hermit crabs
rat
misc. fish

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ITS NOT ABOUT YOU DIEING FOR YOUR COUNTRY, ITS ABOUT MAKING YOUR ENEMY DIE FOR HIS.

HAPPINESS IS LIKE PEEING ON YOURSELF, EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT ONLY YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH

I think i got lucky with Tiny. i have had him for a few weeks now and he finally let me pick him up without whipping or running. i hold him everyday and work with him. i finally see it working.

just stick in there

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New Iguana Named "Tiny"

Nursed back from dehydration!

n/p