Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im sorry for long question but im unsure what to do...ok i rescued an iguana 10 days ago..he was being kept in a small tank and hes 3 years old and 4ft..her was in a small tank 3ft long..so i took him and hes in my big viv..5ft long 4ft high.this was my rat snake viv as there arboreal but he passed away after 6 years..i know if i keep him ill need bigger set up soon...my problem is..first day i got him he bit my hand with glove on it...he had just been moved to a small box and been in a car journey for 10 hours..so thats maybe why he bit..anyway sinse then he seems quite friendly..but when i enter he seems a little startled,,turns to the side etc..he never hisses though.but he always comes to me when i open cage.but im not sure if hes coming to bite or get patted.when i open cage to mist he jumps out all the time..then its very hard to get him back in as he runs away and climbs over furniture jumps about..he does anything to avoid me when hes out cage..even trys to climb walls,but he will take food and follow me for food....he lets me stroke him and lift him in his viv..soon as i take him out viv he squirms violently to get away...he follows my every move in the viv..and he does seem ok..except for this running away...when hes got away he seems terrified if i try to pick him up though..or maybe he just doesnt want back in viv..he is very wary though..as am i..i have been reading bad stuff about iggys..they can bite for no reason even a very tame one etc..now i have 12 year old daughter..so im very carefull of him...we think he might be too much work???someone else from here has offered to take him..so im thinking give him to someonwe more experienced and get a bearded dragon...is this a good choice???everything ive read about beardys seems good...they like being handled etc..my daughter doesnt want to give away iggy..but i think a bearded dragon would be better for us..i dont even let her touch the iguana...please please help if you can with some advice..i dont want to stress out the iguana if a bearded dragon is gonna be just as boisterious and aggressive..so im asking is a bearded dragon a good choice of lizard for us????..i have 4 snakes and some small lizards but dont handle them...and i kinda want a social lizard we can handle it..i have done research and think bearded dragon is better suited but wanted to ask you guys who own lizards..or even helpfull advice on where im going wrong with iggy would be helpfull.....info greatly appreaciated...or email me bigbaddad1uk2001@yahoo.co.uk

Well this has been my experience with the bearded dragon and I am a fairly new owner. I bought the first in December 2003 and the 2nd Febuary 2004. When the kids asked for an iggy for christmas I knew- no way! We had never had retiles before and I knew that was going to be work and attention- plus the size they get got me scared since I had never been around reptiles before. So after research I found the bearded dragon. I wanted a reptile that we could interact with and could feel comfortable with the kids handeling. I love my little guys! They were really supposed to be for the kids but they have so much character. Once they are used to be handeled they look for you to come pick them up! They are more skidish when they are young or not properly handeled but they do grow out of that. I hand feed them daily silkworms- even my 2 year old gets into the action!

Gabby
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1.1 Bearded Dragons-Jessie and "Goldberg"
1.0 Geo 4yr orange munchkin
0.2 Dogs- Wendy 7yr Lab/Tori 4 yr Boxer
4.1 Kids plus Hubby

i bought my bds around 2-3 years ago they are a bit skiddish when they are little becuase everything is so huge but as they get bigger in my exsperience get tamer as long as you handle them as they grow, i have never been bitten once they are very calm lzards i bring ,ine oitside to swim in my pond my small; cousins handle them when they are over thjey are very easy to care for and they love attention i would suggest a bd over a iguana definately iguanas can be very mean if they want to be.

I really like the enclosure you have set up for your beardies. Very naturalistic. Nice job.

take time, be calm, if you feel the iggy is too much plase find a good home with a person who knows how to handle the iggy's.

my first few thoughts:

in a way to small home and sounds like the size is too small also for the age ....

probably you have a reptile that has *NEVER* been handled right and will need a *big helping* of love and care....

if you can give it that you may have a wonderfull pet.

as you know they are arborial and will grow figure this kid is making a switch from solitary in a cell to having some room to move.... most certainly he's gonna test you and see if he can dominate you.... to claim some territory and have the room he needs to be healthy and happy....

so you need (IMHO and I'm no expert ok?)
to give him room, make him feel safe, respect him and at the same time establish your role as the dominate critter or the "alpha".

if he finds that room and food are abundant and that you are not a threat to them ... and that you have control
I bet he will respond in kind...

by domainate and alpha I don't mean as in "agressive" or "competitive" just as in you set the rules and provde the food.

is the iggy male??

there will be some trends for males to bluff and do things like tale whip to establish teritory.

there are some really good books out there.... and web sites that say more about them that you will find here... (in the bd area)
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Sounds like that iggy needs a lot more room. Even though you have done a great job in giving him more room sounds like he still needs more. I have a friend who has one about that size and they have converted a bedroom into an enclousure. Tile on the floor and a dead tree trunk with branches in the middle to climb on. I do not know about you but I do not have that kind of room for a pet. I have had Beardies in the past about 12 years ago and have recently reintroduced myself to them and they are great pets. I have one 9 mo old who will eat crickets out of my fingers without nipping. Hope you jump on the band wagon you would enjoy a Beardies very much, just do your homework on care wich It sounds like your the type to do.
go to beautifuldragons.com/ for care as well as other care sheets online. Also the local library might have some books.

Occupants who I am responsible for

3. 0.1-Bearded Dragons-Foster, Bent, Salsa, Fuzzz,
0.0.V Crickets-food
0.0.1. -Panther Chameleon- Leeeeeeezerd
1.0. - Ball Python- Eight
1.0. Hypo Brooksi- FL. Man
0.1. Grey Banded King- Tex
1.3. Mice-food
0.1. Blue Crown Conure -Suzy-Q
1.0. Canary- Harley
0.1. Shepard/Dobe-Cinnamon
1.0 Son - Matt
1.1.1 Bearded dragons- Jimmy, Peach, Andre
0.0.V Super Worms-food
2.3 Nigerian Uromastyx-Fire, Rhino, Big Show, Pyro, Raven
1.0 Columbian Boa- Slash
0.0.2 Leopard Gecko's- Mo Fo, Geckamo

I found myself in a similar predicament a little while back when I made a sympathy purchase of a monitor at a pet store (it did not help that they gave me a lot of misinformation). It just was not the kind of lizard that would make a good family member here in my family. I rehomed him and then got bearded lizards and am SO happy with them!! They are friendly, have terrific personalities, are manageable in size and are just all around great lizards!

Bearded dragons make excellent pets for those willing to take on the responsibility. However, they can be just as time-consuming as iguanas. I would never recommend an iguana as a pet for any child, unless the parent is willing to help out. I currently own 2.7 adult beardies & 1.1 adult iguanas. I've raised my iguanas for over 3 years now(since babies) and they are both over 5 ft. long. I could feed all my beardies for a week with the amount of greens it takes to feed my iggys for just one day. So you also need to consider the cost of food. Greens, squashes, carrots, etc. One good thing about feeding iguanas, is that they don't have insects in their diet.
Anyway, with that said, I also want you to know that my iggys are spoiled rotten & love attention. They don't bite, tailwhip, or anything. They will sit around and watch tv with me. And they love being petted. It took many days of handling & attention to get them this way.
I love my beardies too. But it also took time & handling to get them tame.
Are bearded better option? That depends solely on the owner. Your pet will be what you make it.
Cricket

ok im very confused by the way peope type what they own... like last person who answered me say ing i own 2.7 bearded and 1.1 bearded???????wat does that mean????????????????????

The first number is how many males you own, the second number is females, and the third number is unsexed.

So if someone says they have 1.2.3 beardies, it means they have one male, two females, and three unsexed.
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1.0.1 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)