Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have yearling iguana, (1 year and 3 or 4 months tops.) He is a great eater, very healthy, average size and beautiful color. When I go to take him out of his enclosure, he seems to freak out, thrashing about inside the enclosure, running back and forth. When I pick him up, he still thrashes about for several seconds, then calms down a little, but still has his mouth open to bite. After a couple minutes, he will calm down, but still seems on edge in my hand. He will calm down a little more yet, but still is on edge. On my shoulder, he relaxes significantly and will hang out there without any problem. He doesnt like being touched very much by hands. He has always been like this ever since we got him at a month old.

Will the initial encounter eventually calm down, or will he always be like this? Is this his personality or his age?

Im just a little worried if he is going to act like this at a large size and older age.

it takes alot of hard work and dedication to fully tame an iguana. but it sounds like your doin a good job so far. if he sits on your sholder with no fuss thats a good sign. ive been working with my young ig for months now and i still cant let him sit on my sholder he would bite me or take off.
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brandy

Hi!

I'm in the same boat, TicTac is about 2 years old - we really don't know his true age we adopted him in January and we were told he was about a year old, but the person didn't really know...

Anyway, I work with him everyday, and everyday he *freaks out* when I try to get him out of his enclosure. Then, he fights me like heck. He hates his bath, too. But once I get him out of the bath and put him on my shoulders or let him sit on my head, he's fine. He'll ride around the house with me and be really good. He'll even sit on the back of a chair and watch TV with me peacefully. However, if I attempt to restrain him in any way, he fights. Occasionally, he let's me rub his head and neck. The first few months he would *never* sit with me and always tried to run away. So, he is getting "friendlier" but it seems to be a very slow process. I just keep working at it and hope that someday I earn his trust so the stress level will go down for both of us. I absolutely adore him, so I'll never give up.

It's funny, 3 other adopted Igs live with me (all males, all in separate rooms - LOL!) and the only one that tamed easily was the biggest one, an 8 year old, 10 lb. male. Which was weird, since he lived his whole life neglected and starved (he wasn't 10 lbs when we took him in), and tended to bite his former keeper. He came to us with mouth rot and abcesses all over his face and mouth. While he was healing we worked with him every day and he calmed down almost immediately. He was our first Ig, and needless to say showed me that I am an Iguana Lover.

Keep working with the little guy and Good Luck!!!

Peace,
Christine and ...
TicTac, Ig, age ~2
Ferdy, Ig, age ~8
Sport (aka Old Man) Ig, age ~10
Baby Shrimp, Ig, age ~1

P.S. Here's a pic of TicTac