Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have seen alot of pics of people with their iguana's outside and read alot of stories about how they are allowed outside while people do yard work etc... so it sounds like they are not exactly being watched like a hawk per say. So I was wondering what kind of precautions you guys have in place to make sure they dont run away?

Are they just so tame that they dont want to? or do you have fencing/no trees etc to prevent escape?

The reason I ask is when I was a kid I had an iguana. I have been looking to get another one, but I want to do it right... I knew nothing about it and didnt really care for it the way it deserved to be cared for. Anyway long story short, it ended up escaping out the window I let it bask in and it lived in the tree in front of my house for about a year until it got to cold. I could never get close enough to catch him again after he got outside, and the tree was too tall to climb to retreive him. He used to bask on the sidewalk, but was very wary and you couldnt get within about 15 feet of him even if you were sneaky, He'd bold straight back up the trunk.

So that being said, what's the trick to allowing Ig's outside without disasterous results?

Well, I don't know about the rest of the people but I take ours outside quite often. We have a harness that we use. He pretty much stays on the ground. We do watch him in case he goes for a tree. He will browse in the front yard for clover and he even goes in the back and harasses the dogs( They are fenced and can not get to him). We also have a 6 foot by 10 foot dog kennel that we will put him in. I covered the top with fence and used a piece of plywood to cover half for shade. That way I know he is safe. Good luck and post pics of your Iggy when you get it.

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Ken
If you kill it, You better be willing to eat it!

2 Bearded Dragons
1 Iguana
4 Oscars
2 Dogs
2 Children