Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i went on vacation last week.. and my cousin and my brother were watching my igg for me.. i left on saturday afternoon and fed him a big bowl of greens.. and i got a call from my cousin on Wednesday to say that he wasnt eating.. he didnt touch any of his greens or water.. so of course i jumped in my car and drove the 3 hours home to check up on him..lol and when i got there and jumped of his log and ran to the door of his cage.. so i opned the door and he climbed up my leg and onto my shoulder.. so i brough him outside and put some greens in a bowl for him and he ate all of it... So i was releaved but i ended up missing almost a weeks worth of vacation time in Maine..lol but now he is back to normal..

Why would he do soemthing like this? it seems very odd... he has never had a problem with my cousin or my brother.. they have both hand fed him before and my cousin had watched him for me when i went a way for a day or two me once before.. but it was only for a day or two..

Mike D

-----
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

Interesting. The more I hear of cases like this, along with my own experiences, the more I think iguanas (at least some of them) are like one-owner dogs. When your cousin/brother fed him in the past, were you around at the time?

To me, this sounds like a good thing in the sense that it tells me your ig recognizes you - and no one else - as the boss, the master. They (igs) can be very sensitive to any change in their surroundings, including who or what (people, other pets, etc) they see and/or interact with on a routine basis. I suspect that after a few days, your ig realized that something wasn't right in that the master isn't around. That led to stress, hence the reduction in appetite. Those suspicions are supported by the fact that all was well again once you came back into the picture.

Congrats, you have a well-disciplined and devoted ig! Sorry about the loss of your vacation time, tho. I suppose the best thing to do next time is to introduce the temporary caretakers/feeders to him regularly for a period of time before you leave. The subsequent change in environment, i.e., you not being there, might be less stressful to him.
-----
MichaelB

NOW that!!!!!! is a sweet looking iggy!
-----
My roomates are2 boas, 4 corns,Rotti,3cats and snake food AKA the food chain.