Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted here a little while back looking for help. I have read the books suggested and followed them too. Nothing worked and this Iguana fears people endlessly.

I decided a few weeks back to only hand feed him, so that he would eventually trust me. From time to time he nibbled on my finger, but I thought he was just confused and fingind the difference between me ang his food. (note, I don't really know the sex)

Tonight I decided to move the pile of food back into my palm so that he would have to step onto my hand (which he did yesterday even tho it was not necessary - I took it as a sign of trust). Well, he nibbled my finger (far from the food btw) and drew blood. frigging pissed me off to no end. I am so hesitent to go another round tonight, but he must be fed - and I am fearful that if I feed him in the bowl he will know to bite me. This sucks - what do I do to get this guy to trust me ??

Even as I type this he's eyeballing me (probably laughing his little green ass off at me). I have been hand feeding him about 3 times a day, since I can't hold all his food at one feeding. Like I said, he nibbled before - but never hurt me like tonight.

He is maybe 8 inches from nose to vent and apparently has a mean streak. No one else in the family dares go near him, I am just not sure what to do next. Are some Ig's just mean ?

OK, so after I vented with my post I went over and fed him all greenery - so I was able to hold it one piece at a time rather than him eatting from my hand. Of course he started with a damn tail whip (right on the bite mark too ! ) but after that he let me hand feed him one piece at a time. So at least I fed him and didn't give in to his bite.

>>OK, so after I vented with my post I went over and fed him all greenery - so I was able to hold it one piece at a time rather than him eatting from my hand. Of course he started with a damn tail whip (right on the bite mark too ! ) but after that he let me hand feed him one piece at a time. So at least I fed him and didn't give in to his bite.

The biggest thing to remember is these are basically wild animals. While they are listed as captive bred, very few are actually bred in a home. They are Farm Raised. It can take a long time. Look at your caging and the stressing factors around. Do you have dogs or cats? They can be aiding in the aggression. Is the animal in an overly large cage? That can be stressful as he can not find a safe place. Is he in an aquarium? He may feel threatened by the other "Iguana" outside his house.

Is there a chance he is just an unpleasant fellow? Yep. Hopefully Jiffypop will respond as she has such good luck with taming igs.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

Hi Cindy. Thanks for the reply.

He is in an aquarium and I do have 2 cat’s that are VERY interested in him. My daughter has drawn pictures and we taped them on the bottom 5 inches of the tank (as to hide him from the cats view). Of course I am not home during the day to see if there is an antagonistic situation developing. The aquarium is 35 gallons and will soon need to be upgraded – if he was a pleasant pet I would have upgraded it already since nose to tail doesn’t fit front to back any longer. The books say that’s the time to enlarge the home.

He has places to hide, tank is warm & lighted properly – I honestly think he’s just a bad egg. I am not ready to give up yet, but as he gets bigger and bites harder I am afraid I might be. I’ll continue to hand feed him his meals and see if we can become friends. He has developed a routine as I approach to feed: he waits where I will place my hands – once I open the top of the cage he walks away and climbs up high. I lower my hand all the way down at the furthest point from him so not to come down in a threatening motion. My hand is always in the same location as is Jazzy (aka the monster). I feed with my left hand – my index finger and sometime thumb is the target for attacks. Last night I had to put a Band-Aid on – I was wondering if I covered my entire finger with Band-Aids if I would be somewhat protected. What do you think ? I wish I knew if he was being a little bastard and biting on purpose, or if its accidental and he think’s I am part of the food.

I’ll take all the advice you can offer – I have been following the books and guidance I got on this forum some time ago. Everyone said be patient, but for how long ??

When he bites its more of a nibble, as if he is trying to pull my skin off – with each pull he bites harder. What can I do once he latches on? On one occurrence he latched on to my index and started his nibbling, I decided to push him off using my thumb (bad idea) tail-whip and food scattered. Yesterday I spoke loudly trying to get him to stop and I lowered my hand and that’s when he drew blood. Does it sound like he thinks I am food or is he evil incarnate?

Hi there...I am far from an iggy expert, but here are some things I'm doing with mine, about the same age as yours. Actually, my ig may be a bit younger. He/she's 6" SVL, but had a tough time in the beginning, so it may be a bit small for its age. I don't know if it will help, but maybe it will give a comparison.

It seems like at this size they cross over from scared little hatchlings to lizards who try to defend themselves, even going on the offense. Mine also eats like a horse, so I can see how a hungry ig could put a hurting on a finger thinking it was food! While I use food as a treat for my ig sometimes, I personally choose to avoid hand feeding to prevent aggression problems in the future. Now, I'm not sure how ig people feel about this issue, but I have a few tegus and they can become quite food aggressive. Also, tegus can be snots as juveniles because they try to eat everything and can be rather nippy. I apply those rules to my ig simply because I don't like to get bit!

When I first got my ig, he had a terrible skin infection and I had to catch him every day, twice a day to apply meds and soak him, and move him to a basking cage. I know it wasn't the best for taming, but I have continued with this tradition. I spend time next to his cage (he's behind my computer chair), and I turn around and talk to him at times. I'll sit on the floor next to his cage and hang out, slowly open the door, and put my hand inside. I'll offer him a piece of greens and he'll nibble. (I'd offer a stalk if I was afraid he was going to bite). The whole time he's looking at me like, "OMG, it's going to get me!!!" Then I'll slowly reach in with both hands and round him up. He's skittish, but he'll let me pick him up and walk around with me. The other day I took him into the bathroom and sat on the floor with the door shut. He looked like the most terrified lizard in the world, but he did OK, he hung out with me for about 10 min and then I let him go bask outside. Every time I go pick him up, it's the same thing and I've had him for almost 4 full months. I just figure that it's going to take a long time

my ig is takin a long time to tame. hes never bitten me or been vicious in any way but he's very frightened at times and can whip and scratch me trying to get away.
ive had him about 7 months, and recently ive been spending alot more time with him, handling him more, and recently he ate out of my hand for the first time.
he lets me stroke him and pick him up now without a fuss.

its taken a long time but i feel like im finally getting somewhere.

just keep at it and be patient
hope it works out for you :]

>>Hi Cindy. Thanks for the reply.
>>
>>He is in an aquarium and I do have 2 cat’s that are VERY interested in him. My daughter has drawn pictures and we taped them on the bottom 5 inches of the tank (as to hide him from the cats view). Of course I am not home during the day to see if there is an antagonistic situation developing. The aquarium is 35 gallons and will soon need to be upgraded – if he was a pleasant pet I would have upgraded it already since nose to tail doesn’t fit front to back any longer. The books say that’s the time to enlarge the home.

Top opening cages are the bane of many lizards, young iguanas included! Big hand from above is EVIL and must be killed. I cant tell you how many iguanas it made a different to switch the cage opening. Some of it may be lack of movement. He has no where really to work of energy. If I were you I would consider giving a reptarium a shot. The are cheap transitional cages. I have my young spiny tailed iguana in one. I can open from the top to do things up there or adjust the zipper to the bottom. The one thing you will really need to be sure of is that the cats can not access the cage. They will be able to destroy it. It is screening. The nice thing is they are cheap and collapsable. It may take that BIG HAND FROM ABOVE out of the equation. Basically the iguana is defensive because it thinks you are a giant bird coming to eat it!

See if that makes a difference.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

Can you share a website or a link to where I might find the type of cage you are requesting ?

If its going to help (or potentially help) cost is not an issue.

This is a pic of Jackie's indoor cage and I think it's the same thing everyone is talking about. It has plastic tube framing that can be taken apart easily, and two sides (I think) zip open for the doors. Mine is a different dimension, though, more square than rectangular. I use newspaper for substrate and I clip the light so that it doesn't sit directly on the mesh. He also has room for a Sterlite box bathtub in there, some branches, and sometimes he crawls along the sides.

P.S. I would Google and find an on-line source rather than PetSmart. much cheaper somewhere else, I'm sure.
Reptarium

" P.S. I would Google and find an on-line source rather than PetSmart. much cheaper somewhere else, I'm sure."

I agree - can you (or anyone) drop a link to a suggestion?

>>" P.S. I would Google and find an on-line source rather than PetSmart. much cheaper somewhere else, I'm sure."
>>
>>I agree - can you (or anyone) drop a link to a suggestion?

I watch for Big Apple Herp to advertise sales on ks.com actually. That is where I have gotten most of mine. The zippers give you different options as to where you are opening. The UV doesnt trickle as well through the heavy screening and you need to be careful where you place bulbs, but it is a good transitional cage. There are many size options that will work.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

I'm not sure of the pricing of LLL Reptile, but I see people refer to them a lot. I like reptilesupply.com for ordering on-line, but I'm not sure if they have those cages.

I looked at those cages...certainly afordable. But would they be warm enough? seems as if it would be very drafty since they are all mesh. And what anout this snalt jazz is blowing all over the glass of the current tank ? would that wash of fthe mesh or just make a nasty mess ?

I have measured temps in the mesh cage and basking temps are satisfactory. The cage is in a back room of mine that is not drafty, so that's not an issue. It has a higher room temp than the rest of the house and a higher humidity (it's a Fl room, ha!). Plus, he has a bath and I mist him. Snalt isn't much of an issue because I can take the whole cage outside and hose it, and mop the tile floor around it. He spends most of his days in an outdoor basking cage anyway, so he has great temps, UV, and humidity most of the time. If I were concerned about heat and drafts, I would simply cover part of the cage with a blanket.

Hose the cage ? Mop the floor ? nope....not my thing. I mean, we mop our floors from time to time - but not because a bitter iguana sneezed salt all over them.

I might consider building one, I am actually very good with wood.

But before I put the time into it, I need to see this critter meet me half way. I am still hand feeding him, but I leave on vacation tomorrow. I have bene holding full pieces of whatever I am feeding and letting him bite from the whole piece. It's been working well and I have not bene tail whipped in a little while.

With him being in my house for over a year now I would think he would be use to my hand in the cage -- I really think he's just a bitter little Ig.

Well, I don't mop every time the iguana sneezes, I just meant the snalt mops up. As for hosing the cage, don't you clean his enclosure now? Same difference. You carry the mesh cage outside, spray it with a hose, let it dry, bring it back in. I'm sure it could be wiped off, I just hose it as a part of maintenance every now and again and change the paper when he soils it. Maybe my ig isn't very snalty. Then again, I have something like 15 snakes and 15 lizards, so hosing the cage of one iguana isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things where everyone is hungry and pooping on a daily basis!

Patience, patience, patience...sometimes we just run out of it.

Iguana have different personalities and, accordingly, respond to our attempts to socalize them in different manners. The most important thing to remember is that you will not have a well socialized iguana until that animal trusts you. Iguanas under 7-8 inches SVL typically don't trust anyone or anything. All it knows is that you are a very large predator and that his life is in danger. Once they get a little more size on them they will be more willing to give you the trust that you desire.

I am not a fan of force handling or man-handling an iguana. Slow and steady, no pulling it from it's hiding spots, no restraining until it gives up. I'm a firm believer that some freedom helps build trust a bit faster. After the iguana gets a bath sit on the bathroom floor and let the iguana explore the room. Talk to it, make baby noises, read a book, just let it get used to your presence not being a threat. After several sessions like this start offering treats by hand. Slowly progress to touching, petting, and eventually holding the animal.

In 13 years of doing rescue we've had some (several dozen) pretty wild, terrified iguanas come through here. I've only had one that I was unable to properly socialize and I spent an entire 16 months on that animal with no progress. I was even successful with 2 adult male Rhino iguanas that had very little previous interaction with humans. It's possible, you just need an extra dose of patience sometimes.

Bath ? I was told on this forum not to do that so I stopped. Besides in order to bath him I would need to chase him around the tank and scare the crap out of him (quite often literally)

Well, in a week I am leaving on vacation for 2 weeks - I am going to move him to my mom's house where he will be feed piles of food and no hands.

After I return I will need a new revisit my attempts.

Should I get a larger cage yet or wait? side to side be fits fine, front to back I suppose his tail would need to bend 2 inches or so. I have been patient with this animal for over a year, but its been since christmas that I have been following the advice of Iguana's for dummy's -- so really its only 6 months. I'll hang in there but I need more advice than just be patient.

If I go back to not hand feeding him that will save me a lot of stress (and potential pain). I am afraid to chase him and catch him for a bath - since I am aware his bites hurt and draw's blood I think baths are out of the question. Unless I can use gloves ?

Oh yeah, last night I did cover my index finger with band-aids and I cut a small paper plate to fit in my palm and most of my fingers and I used that to feed him. It was going very well, but I didn't cut one of the carrots small emough and he was scrapping it on the wood in the cage (and my nervous finger) after that I think he was pissed since he walked away and didn't eat any more. I went back in an hour or so and feed him some beat leaves by hand and he eat another 6 pieces.

I guess I won't do this again, but I was a little gun shy after the bite. At least my kids got a pretty good kick out of it.