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Im pretty new to iguana keeping and I have a question:are males or females better for beginners? I mean in terms of aggresivenes,
ease of taming,and overall ease of care...

Any help appreciated!

Igs cannot be sexed until they are atleast a year old. So it is a surprise when you start with a hatchling what you have. I have two igs. A male and a female. No they arent housed together and dont socialize together. Neither have been through their 1st season yet. So I have my fingers crossed...

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Heather, Vern, Andy, Router, April And OODLES of fish

>>Im pretty new to iguana keeping and I have a question:are males or females better for beginners? I mean in terms of aggresivenes, ease of taming,and overall ease of care...

As Heather said, iguanas cannot be visually sexed until they are at least 1 year old (that would normally be when they are about 8" svl).

I've had both males and females. There isn't a lot of difference between them - both can be highly territorial and can nail you with their tail or teeth. Both have their own sets of issues during breeding season (if you raise your ig right, it will hit its first breeding season at age 18 months, and will do so once a year from that time onward). With males, it is increased territoriality and, often, aggressiveness; with females, it is the development of eggs, and the increased behavior and craziness of nesting and laying. Both males and females can stress their owners out during breeding season. With females, there's the additional risks of egging and laying, especially for igs whose owners weren't prepared for the onset of breeding season, so didn't boost calcium, and didn't get their igs checked out by the vet or keep track of what's going on and so risk all kinds of problems as a result.

People who have had only females seem to prefer them, for the most part, just as those who have had only males seem to prefer males. Having had lots of both, my personal preference if for males, despite the fact that most of my bites are thanks to some very highly socialized igs who decided I was their perfect mate...year after year.

Anyway, since you can't tell what the iglet is when you get a hatchling, don"t worry about it. If you really decide you want a male, or specifically a female, then you are going to have to adopt an older ig. Which, frankly, is something many of us encourage: there are thousands of juvenile and adult iguanas every year who desperately need new homes. So, please consider checking out the Societies/Rescues page at my site to find the groups in your area before you head off to the store to buy a hatchling...

You might also want to read my Iguana Care, Feeding & Socialization and the other articles at my Iguanas site to see if a green iguana is really the lizard you want to get involved with.

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Melissk
anapsid.org
Iguanas for Dummies