Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone here think a full grown Ig oculd bite an actual finger completely off?

It's not common, but it's possible. Read this story:
Link

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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

This one isn't nearly as dramatic, but the idea is the same.
Iguana partially severs man's finger

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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

Large herps already have a bad rap. This site is for people who love herps and fight to keep them and protect them, one thing that should be included in those articles is human error. Human error accounts for human injury. I do not give my green iguana a chance to bite my finger off. These people should not have had their fingers in front of the animal's mouths. I personally would not put my hand, finger, foot or any other body part in front of my iguanas mouth. Especially if the animal is hand fed. If the animal associates your hand with food, then when they see your hand they think "food!". Basically if you get bit by your iguana, then you did something wrong. I have been bitten, once. The reason my iggy bit me is because I hand feed her, and one night she had a piece of shed skin on her nose. I went to remove the skin and she closed her eyes, licked my hand and bit. Since then I don't stick anything in front of her mouth that I want to keep. So be careful! Saying that iguanas arent good pets as the lady in the first article says is rediculous. Sorry for the long post, but I do not believe an animal can do anything wrong, I firmly believe that all accidents with animals are caused by human mistake. Pawning the responsibilty for the accident off on the animal is the easy way out. thats all. -Joe

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2.3.2 crested geckos (Speckles, Sandy, Squirt, Sunshine, Soldier and two un-named babies)
0.0.1 Striped Cal. Kingsnake (Snuggles)
1.1.0 Green Iguanas (Sisco,Speedy)
0.1.0 Rose Hair Tanrantula (Sweets)
RIP Star and Sal

It has a LOT to do with how the animal was raised too. My iguana likes to give "kisses", and we have NEVER had any biting incidents in the 15 yrs we've had him. There are monitors that are the same way, as gentle as kittens. I've owned many, many different types of animals, many exotic that have been known to bite, and not one of them has ever bitten anyone. I can see if someone owns an iguana never handled and caged up all day long, then yeah, it's gonna bite. I personally would never cage up my iguana, but I guess for some people, it's in the best interest for all.
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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)

I agree, if I was caged up I'd bite who ever put me there too. But even the nicest animals have been known to bite, not necessarily out of anger. Like my situation, she thought I was feeding her and thought my finger was food. I have never been attacked by any of my animals because I give them respect.
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2.3.2 crested geckos (Speckles, Sandy, Squirt, Sunshine, Soldier and two un-named babies)
0.0.1 Striped Cal. Kingsnake (Snuggles)
1.1.0 Green Iguanas (Sisco,Speedy)
0.1.0 Rose Hair Tanrantula (Sweets)
RIP Star and Sal

Part of respecting an animal is understanding what it is capable of. It's unfortunate that there are pet owners who are so intolerant of a pet's natural behavior, but I think the article drives home the fact that, indeed, large adult iguanas can do some damage.

I like to tell people who are thinking about getting iguanas that if they can't deal with an agressive, 6-ft-long lizard with shark-like teeth and a whip for a tail, then an iguana is not for them. That article has helped me dissuade many potential iguana owners.

If you have a pet that can bite, sooner or later you will get bit... and with an iguana, it doesn't matter what the reason is... those teeth still hurt!

Another thing that the article shows is that for some people, it only takes one time. I'll betcha that was the first time that lady had ever been bitten... and, unfortunately for her iguana, it was the last.
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

What I'm trying to get acrossed though is that not all iguanas are aggresive, and not all iguanas will bite. It's almost the same thing with dogs, if you don't train them properly, hell yeah, they will bite. I've had problems with my cocker spaniel, where as my iguana has never even attempted to bite. Of course, a fully grown iguana has the ability to take off someone's finger, and if you don't train it properly, then it's really your own fault, not the iguanas. And I really, really disagree with her comment about getting rid of iguanas. It's all so ignorant.
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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)

yeah, you all have some really good points.. that lady was probably scared and shakin up about it.. and it took her finger so she probably was mad and in shock... but yeah she shouldnt have said that about iguanas.. i hold my iguana for about 2 hours a day ..altogether not at once.. sometimes more than that though. i love him to death and he is only a baby iguana and he is VERY calm, it wasnt always that way though. he used to be feisty and hyper and curious .. he still is but not as much. he'll like sit there now and let you stroke his side.. he is a baby and he falls asleep on me sometimes. also he is very gental and doesnt tail whip anymore or bite.. i have noticed these changes over like a 2-3 month time and i do believe it is because he is handled so much.

Her iguana wasn't aggressive It's first bite was it's last... and she'd had it for quite a long time.

I guess the point I was trying to make is that if you understand what your pet is capable of, you're more likely to be prepared for it. If you're lucky, it will never happen, but you should never assume that it won't happen to you. I know plenty of people who did everything right with a pet and still ended up with a bird that pulled it's feathers out, a painfully shy dog, a cat that won't stop bringing home dead mice... or an iguana they can barely handle.
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

BTW, I'm not sure I made this clear in my other posts, but I don't condone anybody giving up their iguana because of what happened to this lady. When you purchase or adopt an animal, you become committed to taking care of it for the rest of it's life. Putting the iguana to sleep because of one bad day, one incident, is wrong on many levels and I sincerely hope the woman involved puts more thought and research into the next pet she buys... or choses not to buy one at all.

I also hope that iguana owners who hear her suggestion of getting rid of their lizards ignore her. But it certainly won't hurt if potential ig owners see the article and decide against such a demanding and potentially dangerous pet.

I offered the link as an example of what iguanas are capable of. The question was something along the lines of 'could an iguana take off your finger', and I thought that the article answered the question.
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

yes.. i have read of hospital cases of that happening!

nicole