Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have an iguana i adopted who was kept in a very tiny aquarium. We built him a huge inclosure which he hated and he stopped eating and just lay there. He was put back in the aquarium only we bought a bigger one and he just smashed his head against it until he broke off his little horn so now he is free roaming. anyway his nails are very long and his back leg muscles have atrophied. I am in the process of trimming back his nails so he can have proper use of his front legs but i don't know how long they should be twice now i have hit the vain and he bled a little bit..I felt terrible! he eats well and seems happy has a bath everyday proper lighting etc i guess i'm just curious how mobile your iguanas are he doesn't seem to want to move around alot he is content in his little area (he could move more if he wanted to) i hope i am doing everything ok
also does everyone else run into the problem that everyone who visits wants to touch your iguana or wants you to touch them? i don't cause i don't see the point in bugging him although i can handle him when i want to also what is there life span?

To answer a lot of your questions go to www.greenigsociety.org
I think it's the best website out there for ig care. Good luck!
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Greenwicche
"Whatever you want to do, just do it. Don't worry about making a fool of yourself. Making a fool of yourself is absolutely essential." Gloria Steinem
0.1 Green Iguana; 2.2 Spanish Ribbed Newts; 0.0.7 Newt larvae; 3.2 African Dwarf Frogs; 3.1 Cats; 2.0 Dogs

Nail trimming can be very tedious but is well worth it. There is a really good illustration you may find helpful at http://mail.milagros.net/caiman/clawtrim.htm It's a claw diagram with a line drawn to where you should cut. Before you make a cut you should position the claw trimmer where you think you want to cut and lightly press down. If it is too far up the iguana will let you know. Kam will flick her nail away. Reposition and test again.
Using the proper tool can help too. See one at http://www.anapsid.org/clippers.html
For the bleeding have cornstarch on hand. Dipping the claw in it will help it clot faster.

Life span is 15 to 20 years but alot of captive iguanas will not live that long. This is due many peoples’ lack of proper info.
With your questions you would like Iguanas for Dummies by Kaplan. – has information I personally found very helpful. It is also easy to read.

You mentioned that your iguana’s back leg muscles have atrophied. Is he under vet care currently? if not a vet who is knowledgeable about iguanas could help you out quite a bit.
to find a vet try http://www.greenigsociety.org/approvedvets.htm it has a listing of vets who are good with retiles and also has links to three other herp vet sites.

The amount your iguana moves is affected by the condition of his legs. My girl with her clean bill of health spends a good portion of her day just hanging out. She lays around in her basking spot or on a different spot if she is all warmed up. She gets up and to eat and poop. When she is out with us she explores the room tongue flicking anything that is new. She tries to see what she can get away with climbing and after walking around chills out for awhile more. Iguanas are pretty much lounge lizards but they still move around alot.

People are naturally curious about my iguana. I hold her so they can pet her if she in a good mood. She is pretty social and tame so often someone may find that she as crawled off of me and jumped up on them. Tamed iguanas can really enough human interaction. If she is sick then I would not want to bother her though.

sorry this post is so long. I hoped I answered most of your questions.

Recently when people ask to pet Bud, I tell them that he is "scared of strangers" or "scared of people he doesn't know well petting him"- this seems to satisfy people that he's not dangerous in and of himself, but that they would be bothering him by touching him.

I also say this because it's too complicated to explain to non-iguana owners about Salmonella and how it's not good but not evil. It seems just telling people to wash their hands after touching your iguana when out walking almost never works; they either end up thinking he's dirty or poisonous, or they ignore your advice altogether.