Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i dont get it.. you go onto different forums and tehy are always bashing iguanas.. saying that they grow into big mean lizards.. i dont know about any of you.. but my igg ahs a great temperment..

So how is your iggs temperment

Good or Bad?

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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.2 Hedgehogs

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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

Zeph has a great temperment...

but iguanas are still wild animals. just because you raise them up right doesnt always mean theyll be good as adults. heck, zeph was neglected but is such a sweet adult. a friend of mine has a 5' male hatchling she raised as a baby, great care, well socialized, etc. 2 years ago he was in season, she midjudged his body language, he attacked her face and she got stitches/plastic surgery (and more caution for next time)

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Sarah
IgWhippedInFlorida
groups.yahoo.com/group/IgWhippedInFlorida/

o yeah i know they are wild but mine was neglected and he is teh biggest sweet heart..
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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.2 Hedgehogs

My Email

YOU DONT OWN YOUR IGUANA, YOUR IGUANA OWNS YOU

HAPPINESS IS LIKE PEEING ON YOURSELF, EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT ONLY YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH

They are all different. I have a spoiled one who wants to bite me for getting the rescues, a mistreated one who is sweet and a former stray who hates people.

I get a couple of calls per year from people who have been bitten. Iguanas as NOT for children.

My ig Dexter is now a bit over 4 years old, and even though he's been spoiled rotten, he can be a handful at times. He is a very dominant alpha male. He can be sweet, but if he's in a grumpy mood, he won't think twice about trying to take it out on me. I've gotten good at reading him and have avoided getting hurt. I understand that this is natural behavior for some iguanas and accept him on those terms. I can easily understand why some would not. It's kind of a crap shoot... Some iguanas are sweet as can be, and some are not (just like people...). An aggressive five foot male ig in the throws of breeding season is not for the faint of heart...

If you think about it, an ig's personality is really not much different from your average herp. They're not social, they're very territorial, and they have no problem expressing their feelings about us. Hell, I've had hamsters that were like that. But hamsters don't get to be 6' long...

I think it's just that igs get so huge, and can deal damage so effectively. And I think the "bad rep" may also spring from the fact that they start out so cute & tiny & inexpensive. Your average uneducated pet-store-purchaser just has no idea that this tiny green thing is going to grow into a gigantic half-wild creature bigger than their dog and much less tame.

Maybe that's part of it, too: that we just expect the bigger creatures to be as domesticated & responsive to us as dogs & cats. And they're not. They're not domesticated, and they've only been living with us for what -- a century? Less than that? I look in Grass's eyes and that recognition of human-as-pack-member is totally not there. I know she likes it when I pet her or feed her or carry her around on my shoulders. But it's got nothing to do with her identifying with me, or even particularly liking me. I'm not part of her social structure. I'm just providing a service. I honestly don't know that their reptilian brains are even structured in such a way as to be able to identify with us humans. And I don't have that expectation of her. As long as she's healthy & doesn't try to take my arm off when I pick her up, she can think whatever she wants about me.

^5 Atomic. Couldn't have said it better myself.

np

i have 3 iggs. two adults and 1 baby. one of my adults (eleanore) is the sweetest ig ive ever met. he loves to cuddle up and sleep on my lap. he likes to be pet on the top of the head. and he is very good for me. lets me give him a bath, clip his nails, im not sure how old he is. someone droped him off at a pet store and my boyfriend saw him there all bloody and looking horrible. so he took him in. he has mbd and cant clime to well. he even has a hard time walking sometimes. he was my first iguana. when i got with my boyfriend and he showed me el i fell in love. then their is draco, my other adult. who i love to death but has a big attitude problem. she does not bite or whip but if she does not want to be picked up. she will wiggle and scratch and do everything she can to get away. mostly she does this when its time to go back inside. she wants to stay out side so as soon as she sees me headin toward the door she starts freekin out. i have so many scars from her claws. she does not mean to do it. she just wants her way. and the little one i think you all know about. i sware he came from the deepest parts of hell! lol just kidding. i love him too. oh yeah. eleanore is a boy but my boyfriend thought he was a girl. and draco is a girl but we thought she was a boy. thats why they have weird names.
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brandy

Iguanas are much more tempermental in comparison to leopard geckos, beardies, blue tongues, and even most tegus.

Truely it depends on the lizard...one iguana could be "dog-tame" while another could be a little hellian.

I don't think people are always trying to bash them...I think people try to persuade others of owning iguanas when there are already so many neglected, and miscared for iguanas out there. It is true that iguanas are not easy pets but they can be if you work on it.
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Chris Vanderwees

E-mail Me
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Like most pets, you reap what you sow. We have raised Iggi like a human daughter. She acts like it!

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Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~

And here is another photo. . .

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Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~

>>Like most pets, you reap what you sow. We have raised Iggi like a human daughter. She acts like it!

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to beg to differ on this one... I wish for everyones sake it was that simple. As was stated before, iguanas are not domesticated animals, and in general, I think it's a mistake to expect them to behave that way (those pictures are priceless though...). In the wild, they are territorial, solitary creatures. I'm sure that your treatment of your iguana certainly contributes to it's personality, but at the same time, I think you have to consider yourself a certain amount fortunate that you ended up with the ig you did. I believe having a female helps. You don't have to deal with what I can only describe as psychotic behavior some males exhibit during breeding season.

I know that in my case, I have done everything I can to care for and treat Dexter well, but no matter how hard I try, there is no way I could get him to behave like your ig. He loves having his head rubbed, and getting treats, but when those "services" are done, he generally wants to be left alone, and will go and find a good place to hang out. He rarely seeks me out, but certainly doesn't mind me carrying him around or clipping his nails when needed. So, I take solace in knowing that the end result is that he is a healthy, apparently happy iguana that is sharing his life with me. I got an iguana because they always intrigued me, but part of that intrigue includes understanding their natural behavior and having a healthy respect for that. Some iguanas have the capacity to be cute and cuddly, and some do not. I think it's VERY important for all iguana owners to learn how to read their ig's behavior. Because as many owners have learned, even the nicest iguanas can get irritated and decide to bite out of the blue (and I am not even talking about breeding season here which is another ball game altogether...). I know with Dexter, even in his grumpiest of moods has never tried to attack or chase me away without some kind of warning. I can see the gears turning inside his head much like before he contemplates a jump (I'm sure most iguana owners have seen this, they look up or down and flex their legs almost like they are performing some kind of calculations before they jump).

Anyway, I am not trying to berate you, but in general, I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to expect that treating their iguana like a human will result in reciprocal treatment. I think this only furthers the bad rep they get. They are not humans, or even dogs for that matter, and understanding and appreciating what they "are" will generally be better off for all involved...

They are easily influenced emotially by any change in their routine. Much more than any other reptile i have raised.They are resentful too and they have a great memory mainly regarding the bad things that happened to them.I almost can say they are a bit neurotic.But i love them very much because they do love us a lot!How can i know that for sure?
Because i adopted out some of my igs and although i found them great houses with beautiful gardens, where they would live in much better conditions than with me, any of them wanted to go!One of them even jumped on my lap and hide his face against my shoulder begging me to take him home!!I compare my igs with my 2 cranky teen agers kids.They can be very bad tempered and even aggressive but when i say to them that i dont love them anymore and they can go for good, they start crying and begging me to stay home!

true...
but its just that alot of people talk about them like they are blood thursty little monsters... and out of all of teh igs i have met i have only met one mean one and all the others are the biggest sweethearts.

i have owned alot of reptilesa nd i have to say my igg is probably one of the calmest ones i have owned..
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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.2 Hedgehogs

My Email

YOU DONT OWN YOUR IGUANA, YOUR IGUANA OWNS YOU

HAPPINESS IS LIKE PEEING ON YOURSELF, EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT ONLY YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH