Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I no longer have any iguanas, but I have always wondered about an iguana I used to have 5 years ago named Einstein. No one has ever been able to give me a logical explanation for what happened with him, so I'm hoping someone here might have an idea...

When I bought Eini hi was already more than 4 feet long. He was docile, walked on a leash, liked being gently stroked on his face, ate papayas out of my hand, and sat on the sofa watching TV with me. Because of the climate we lived in, and my crabby lizard-hating landlords, I couldn't give Eini free roam of the apartment or let him out, so most of the time he was kept in a very large custom built tank/cage that was about 8 feet tall by 4 feet wide (probably not big enough for him but it had a diagonal branch and heat lamps so he could bask)...

I owned him for about a year with no mishaps, and then literally overnight he went nuts. One day when I opened his cage to feed him like normal, he bit me - hard. I still have the scar. From that point on, he would try to attack me any time I came near his cage... he banged his nose repeatedly against the glass until it was bleeding. I tried letting him out so he could move around a bit, and he would aggressively chase me around the apartment, snapping and lashing his tale and displaying.

I eventually found a pet store which bought him and they placed him in a gigantic display cage where he seemed to be happy... but I always felt bad about him because I couldn't understand why he turned on me.

Some people told me it was because I am female and he had reached sexual maturity (although I thought he was already sexually mature when I bought him - at 4 feet long)... others said the small cage probably frustrated him, but if that was true why was he docile for almost a year inside the cage?

Anyway, as far as I know Eini is still alive and well... but I've always wondered what caused him to snap. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.
Farvoyager

Male igs go through a breeding season every year...every ig is different and it seems like yours was an alpha male...he wanted to be #1 and they can tell when ladies like ourselves are on our "cycle" and it can make them crazy...I have 2 males and they have never displayed any behavior like that as yet...one I have had for 3 yrs and the other just a few months, but one is 13 yrs old and the other is 7 yrs old and neither is in an enclosure larger than you described...so I wouldnt blame the enclosure...I hope this helps some...Lyn

Thanks for your response Lyn... I have heard that said before, that the males want to attack female owners. It didn't seem to be a temporary thing though. He never snapped back to normal, he just stayed really aggresive and hostile. It was sad to let him go but at the same time I was so relieved! I wanted him to be happy and I think he was a lot happier where he ended up. I'll never forget him though... what a trip, getting chased around my house by a 4 foot ignuana!

And I'll never forget his little iguana sneezes. Who knew a lizard could sneeze? Hehe. He was a cutie, for sure.

Farvoyager