Hello,
I have two iguanas. I bought them at the same timne and they were both the exact same size. The one iguana grew into the Hulk over a matter or weeks, while the other one didn't grow much. I kept them both in a 40 gallon aqauarium up untill the larger of the two kept nipping at the smaller one and not letting him eat out his dish.
I eventually had to move the smaller one out of the same cage before the large one eats him! He is much happier in his new 10 gallon cage with a wire cage topper.
Sorry to get off track. The real reason for my post is that the larger iguana won't let me get even 3 inches from him without him backing off and running away and also trying to tail whip me. I never did anyhting that traumatized him. When he was smaller, he used to sleep on my chest. Is the reason why he is so aggressive is because I didn't spend much time with him when he was growing up? And how do I start now when he is so aggressive and strong and when I finnaly go to pick him up, his nails dig into my skin. Do you know if vets have any way of distempering aggressive iguanas, or should I start from scratch and hold him for about 30 minutes a day and pet him and talk to him.
The problem is that I have to have a pretty strong grip on him when I hold him so he doesn't run from my hands and when I finnaly think he's calmed down, I release my grip and he tries to escape.
I want him to be a more tame reptile and I don't want him to fear me. Any suggestions? The only thing him and I have in common is that he recognizes when I bring in his food each day.
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I have a very unhandable iguana who has a bad temper
Replies (4)
before we get to the taming thing could you tell us exactly how big your iguanas are? it sounds like your enclosures are too small. iguanas like to clime and bask in trees in the wild. you need to simulate thir natural habbitat as much as possible when thinking of cages. the enclosures for my full grown adults are 6h X 6w X 3d. you will need two large cages because as you found out iggys most of the time will not get along.also they ned alot of time out of the cage so they do not get board. what you are dicribing is typical juvie ig behavior. you need to handle them every day. its going to take a long time but its worth it. just keep working with them and in the end you will have a perfectly mannered pet iguana. hopefully. lol i suggest you read up a bit on iguana care and housing. if you need any help we are here for ya. good luck and keep us posted
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brandy 
Thank you for responding.
I have the large iggy in a 40 gallon aquarium and I would have to say about his size that if I stretch him out from snout to tail, there is about 1 foot of open space in the aqaurium. Is that too small for him and is that why he's so bad tempered?
He has a fake tree that he adored and he is always basking on it and I also have a long branch and some greenery to make him feel at home.
I'm planning on getting a larger wire cage for him when I say up enough cash.
What makes me unhappy is when in the morning I turn on his lamps and such and I approach the cage to say "hi" to him, he backs away like he's scared of me.
I really want a tame iggy, but I'm afraid that I waited too long to try and tame him that he's very aggressive and unrully. If I try and pick him up he totally freaks.
Any suggestions? I guess the best way to start is just to go in with some gloves and pick him up, pet him, talk to him, and make him feel safe.
Do you of any websites that offer afforadle wire cages for iguana?
LLLReptile .com has affordable cages. You might want to get at least a 100 gallon. 40 is way too small. Have you tried just letting your iguana roam around for a bit outside of his cage?
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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), Trixie and Kayko (0.1.1 leopard gecko)
...the sweetest in the whole world.He used to sleep in my daughters bed.I was soo happy with him i decided to buy another 2 iguanas.All were males.My sweet iguana became soo jealous he became wild and started attacking everybody in the house including me and my kids.So wild i was forced to adopt him out.I still miss him a lot.
If you have a tame and docile male iguana dont buy another male.Jealousy can make them become wild and very aggressive.
