Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there everyone.My name is Charlie. it's been a long time since i
posted anything but i could use some help from any of you experienced
with iguana behavior. I have 2 green iguanas, M & F. M is 3 years
& F is 6y/o. Neither has been handled much other than during cage
overhauls. The female isn't too bad but the male is extremely
standoffish and bitey. He can easily snap a pencil in two and
wouldn't think twice about doing the same to my arm or face.(and he's
BIG!) Recently i have renovated my house and would like to let them
out a little more.(not that thier massive cage is stuffy or anything)
But i'm scared this guy's gonna get me good.I would like to get to
the point where i can put him on my shoulder and not worry that i
might end up looking like i'm wearing a halloween mask for the rest
of my life! I don't mind spending time with him, but if i'm not doing
the right thing then i'm not using either of our time wisely.

Thanks. Charlie, godzilla and bart.

Hey Charlie,
I'm in the same boat as you. I recently purchased an iguana...then the next week I purchased one more. I guess they're babies, measuring only 18 inches from head to tail. The first one I bought is extremely aggressive.He whips the sh*t outta me even when I refill his food dish. The other one, I believe it to be a female, is more docile. She lets me pick her up and frequently falls asleep on my chest if I pet her head.
What I've learned about iguanas is that you must spend 30 minutes each day picking them up and handling them and talking to them. Don't let them get their way if they struggle to get out of your grasp. In your case, it's a differnt story because they are adults, so the whips and such are gonna be a lot more painful then what I go through. I reccomend wearing gloves but first (this may seem a little strange), but rub the gloves all over your body so that the iguanas pick up your scent and when they tail whip you, it won't hurt that much. Good luck!

I have a very large male ig myself, that I know if he wanted to, could take off a finger, or break a bone for that matter. But he has almost the same mentality as a cow, so no worries. I have to tell you, it is really difficult to tame adult igs. It's a long process that takes a lot of time and patience. With the male, try spending some one on one time with him without the female present. If he's really vicious, I wouldn't recommend picking him up right away. You just have to try to be around him as much as possible and let him get used to you.
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~*Chibi*~
Sir Iggy ( 1.0.0 El Salvador Blue Iguana), Ryo-ohki, Orion, Bud, & Finnegan (3.1.0 crazy kitties), Rosebud (0.1.0 cockerspaniel), and Kayko (0.0.1 leopard gecko)