Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, a few weeks ago i bought a green iguana. he was nice at the pet store and let me hold him. when i brought him home he was scared (which i know is normal) i figured he needed a little bit to get used to everything. so everyday i would go to the tank and talk to him and pet him. but if i tried to pick him up he would freak. so id start over again with just petting him . lately i cant even go to the tank and talk to him without him whiping his tail at me and opening his mouth as if he wants to bite me. i have two other iguanas but i got them when they were already full grown. this one is young. maybe a foot and a half from head to tail. my others are very nice and love attention. i cant tame him if i cant get near him. should i just give up and find him a new home before he is big enough to hurt me or my other animals or should i keep trying? any advice would be great. im not sure what to do. thanks -brandy

it would help us if you listed how his cage is set up.. size,temp,humidity,number of hides, and stuff like that..

also give him time to settle in... first start by just walking by the caeg and when he stops freking out then just sit infront of teh cage, after he stop freaking out, start putting you hand in teh cage and when he stops then start picking him up but leave him in the cage when he stops then you can take him out of the cage.

it willt ake time but if you do it right you should end up with a tame iguana
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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.2 Hedgehogs

My Email

ITS NOT ABOUT YOU DYING 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

he is in a 75 gal tank with 1 heat lamp a heat rock and 1 hide spot. i keep it about 85degrees in the hotest spot. should i change anything?

I can't answer the question about aggression, but Id suggest ditching the heat rock. Iguanas dont just "get off it' when theyre too hot, and many reptiles have sat on them until they get burns from them. I remember somebody (Jiff, Faust?) posting a picture of an iguana who sat on a heat rock until it burnt through and damaged their internal organs. There are better-safer- sources of heat.
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Sarah

ive always used heat rocks for all my reptiles and never had a problem but that is a pretty scary story. what about the heat mats that u put under the tank are they safe? ive also heard of some people that only use lights as a heat source is that enough? i have two uromastyx and they have to have very high temps.

Hot rocks cause problems because reptiles don't feel heat as a skin-sense feeling. They thermoregulate via whole body heat. If they sit on a hot rock, they will stay there until they feel their entire body is warm, in the meantime they can be getting severe localized burns.

I have no problem maintaining overall temperature gradients as well as basking spots using ceramic heaters and regular household lightbulbs. Floodlights can also be very effective for producing heat in a localized area. Of course, it goes without saying that it all needs to be closely monitored with thermometers to get everything balanced and correct.

do you have anything for him to climb on? iguanas liekt o be up high.. and you temps need to go up. iguanas need a basking spot of around 100.. ditch the heat rock they are no good..... also what do you have as a substrate? what are you feeding him? what is the humidity?
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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.2 Hedgehogs

My Email

ITS NOT ABOUT YOU DYING 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

he has a stick to clime on. he spends most of his time on it. i feed him collard greens mustard greens and kale. once in awhile ill give him a strawberry as a treet because he likes them alot. i spray the food with four paws natures reptile calcium. this is how i feed all three iguanas. once a day i mist my iguanas with four paws natures reptile vita-spray. i take my older iguana outside at least 4 times a week to get some sun. i havnt been able to do this with the little one because he wont let me near him. im going to keep trying to get him to like me so i can take better care of him. i will get rid of the heat rock right away. thanks!

Your diet for the iguanas isnt exactly great. i would suggest following the:
iguanaden diet- http://www.iguanaden.com/diet/index.htm or
green ig society food chart- http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

those are the best ones i have found.

on your cage set up and stuff, go to www.iguanaden.com or www.greenigsociety.com and look around on the site. everything there is really good.
by following everything right your ig can live 20 years or so.

i hope this could help

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New Iguana Named "Tiny"

Nursed back from dehydration!

wow i feel so bad! i was always told by people that i thought new what they were talkin about. that what i feed my lizzards was the best. even the pet store told me that i should feed them collard greens and kale everyday! thank you so much you have made my babies alot healthier!

hey no problem. im just trying to help your iggs healthy and live long.
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New Iguana Named "Tiny"

Nursed back from dehydration!

That is completely normal for a young ig. I went/am going
through the same thing with my 1 year old as well as a new
foster I have. They don't get tame all by theirselves. You
mentioned that yours were older. The other owners went
through the same thing with them.

The answer to your question is no, you should not give
him away as this is totally normal. If you are not comfortable
giving him the time to adjust that is a different story.

Linda

thanks alot ill keep trying then.

i have a new iguana (almost a month), and it is also about 18" snout to tail. it is my only ig, however i had owned one in the past for almost 13 years, (i got/rescued her when she was 2, but she died at 15).

the new ig, was alert and active at the pet store, but would not let me hold it. i got it home, and i left it alone for 2-3 days before i started handling it; 2-3 days was the time it took the lizard to start eating and pooping on a routine schedule. once it did that, i jumped full into the taming process--i didn't start with talking, sitting, approaching, etc--i just reached in its cage and picked it up. the lizard was not pleased. much running, hissing, biting, and tail whipping did ensue. i ignored it, and kept up with my usual, lizard routine: pet it, rub off old shed, examine it for abcesses and mites, etc.

the lizard kept up this behavior for about 3 weeks. infact, it is only recently (this week) that its behavior has improved. it is no longer hissing or biting, it tail-whips rarely, but still runs sometimes.

like you said, the lizard is still too small to cause any real damage. keep up your taming process and don't let the lizard's attitude dictate how it gets handled.

are you boss or is a little, six-inch lizard?

your right. thanks for the advice i think ill go try that now!

Patience and persistence are needed. Once you back off from his agression, you're essentially letting him know that he has the upper hand on you and can make you stay away. That's not the message you want to send. Always be firm and remember the message you're wanting to impart to him: "It's okay, you're okay, I'm gonna be nice to you, but I'm in charge here! " You'll have to fight through the agressive behavior, and will likely have to take a few scratches and tail whips in the process, but it's important to get him under control and keep him under control until he settles down. And once he does, do what you can to reassure him that he's not in any danger - even though you still have control. That may be something as simple as a gentle rub on the top of his head, or a soft belly rub and a calm voise to reassure him. (What works best often varies from one ig to another.)

Remember - patience and persistence. They're wild animals, and won't change overnight. It may take daily efforts over weeks or even months. Patiance and persistence.

I agree that there are much better alternatives to hot rocks. I use only overhead heat sources: Mercury flood lamps that provide both heat and UVB, plus an extra ceramic heater when the ambient room temperature is a little lower during the cool season.
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MichaelB