Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A day ago I bought my iguana, who I know is still a hatchling. He has a 29 gallon tank which is longer than the standard type, so it seems it should fit him well whether or not he needs a bunch of space. I'm pretty sure I have all the stuff I need, but I'm worried I don't have a sufficient light source. I have the lamp-blacklight set up shining on one corner for him, but I don't know if it generates enough heat. It sure doesn't seem like it would.

Also, since I've got him, he's been very mean. He opens his mouth, hatchet positioning himself every time anyone comes near him (including the pet store employees) and if you even walk past his cage he tail-whips as fast as he can and as much as he can.

I know he's probably just startled, but I'm not sure what to do to help him. I bought freeze-dried vegetables specifically made for reptiles like him who need the 2:1 diet. He has sticks to climb on and a sort of wood-chip/ish bedding. I put his food in a dish near his water dish. I know he's gotten water, and it seems he's gotten food.

My questions are: When can I determine his gender?

Does he have to be hand fed, or will he eat from the food dish?

What can I do to tame him?

Also, I'd like to mention the he seems to nap all the time. He won't adventure around in his cage, either. What can I do for him? I can only worry, it seems, because I don't to wake him up. However, when he is awake and I try anything with him he just tail whips me over and over again and moves further away from whatever side I'm initially on, and then he ignores me. So trying to hand feed him doesn't really work.

He has sticks to climb on and a sort of wood-chip/ish bedding. I put his food in a dish near his water dish. I know he's gotten water, and it seems he's gotten food.
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>>My questions are: When can I determine his gender?
>>
>>Does he have to be hand fed, or will he eat from the food dish?
>>
>>What can I do to tame him?
>>
>>Also, I'd like to mention the he seems to nap all the time. He won't adventure around in his cage, either. What can I do for him? I can only worry, it seems, because I don't to wake him up. However, when he is awake and I try anything with him he just tail whips me over and over again and moves further away from whatever side I'm initially on, and then he ignores me. So trying to hand feed him doesn't really work.

First suggestion, dump the bedding. Iguanas are NOTORIOUS for eating anything they fit in their mouth. Bedding impacts, and impactions are usually not caught in time to treat. And surgeries are expensive.

Second, I have never fed freeze dried veggies, so cant tell ya if that is working.

Third, never guess on heat. Get a nice temp gun (pro exotics sells a cheap one, you can start as low as 20 bucks and move up into the hundreds) and use that on the hot spot. That will give you an accurate reading.

Baby Iguanas, well all babies, are very skittish. They are not usually the most docile of things. If you have a tank that opens from the top, he is seeing the big bird from above coming to eat him. He will be aggressive. Front opening enclosures are the best. What you have now will only last a few months anyhow.

Sexing is done around 2 years. Before that it is just too hard.

I would strongly suggest against getting the iguana in the habit of hand feeding. If he will only eat from your hand, it will be hard to take a vacation for the next 20 or so years!

Lastly patience will help tame your iguana. Read through a bunch of old posts here. Lots of great suggestions from all, but right now you have a new animal that is scared witless and just needs to acclimate before you start working on it. Give him time on the eating and once he is eating well, get him into the vet for a check up and fecal exam. Then work on the taming.
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Cindy
PHFaust

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Okay, thanks for the reply.

I'd like to ask a little more advice, though.

What do you think I should use as bedding?

Do you think I should try hand feeding it something more natural? Such as homegrown cantaloupe, corn, or tomatoes? And I should try to hand feed him, even though he act like that?

I might have more questions. I've picked up a few books and all that, and have read a lot of internet articles. But I find that I'm more prone to listen or learn if I'm able to ask questions or discuss it with a person.

Okay, things are getting worse. I've been more conservative and it seems my iguana is losing energy or something. I've tried everything. I changed the bedding to newspaper, given it smaller portions of lettuce and cantaloupe, and tried to give it water. I even put some water in the bath and let him lay in that. Then I tried something smaller for him and he acted like he hated it. The heat source I'm using generates enough heat for him and he has something to climb up to get to it. He's acting lethargic, basically, and I've resorted to misting him often. He's not moving. He's not eating. He's not drinking. It seems he's as good as dead.

Should I take him back to the pet store and ask for another? I don't know what to do...All this is making me feel so horrible. My warranty hasn't ran out yet on him and I know they had others, at least a few in separate cages if it is a parasite.

First get a good book like Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan it explains everything in the book.

your making him sick ,
Do you have the right Heating , UVB lighting? ( from the sun )
this lighting helps them digest there food.

Has he been eatting anything? are you still feeding frozen veggies? get rid of them. go to a farmers market ans buy like collard and mustard greens , with like snow peas and or green beans. for starter staple diet.

a 29 gallon is not what he will be living in forever they get big and there additudes can be pretty agressive as well. taming is a hole other ball park right now i would worry about your iguana being sick ...
have you been sprinkling pure calcuim with 3D on his food?
if not he may be starting MBD..
I would take your iguana to the vet. ( make sure its reptile vet )

also try soaking him. misting helps but it wont do it. by the way your saying shes skitish and such im sure he will not like it the first time. soaking will help hydrate him.

Taking it back to the vet will just kill him. taking him to a vet and getting that book will hopfully save him.

Gook luck keepp us updated

I've put a lot of thought into all of this. It seems that since I've even got my iguana, it hasn't been feeling okay. When I first got everything set up for him, he wouldn't move. A whole day passed without him moving. He had water, food, and a source of heat/light (with all that UV stuff). I showed him around by placing him near all the stuff and sometimes splashing him with the water and holding food in front of him, sometimes just placing it there. Well, he never would move. He never went towards the heat source (which everyone says he will). He never even noticeably ate. He might have once got in his water. It makes me wonder if I'm really the reason for his feeling bad. I'm irritated now, especially that it seems that the store screwed me over by giving me a sick-ish iguana.

By the way, I noticed a few bulges on its body. They're like, I dunno. Almost like wart-looking but hollow on the inside. At first I thought that they were just loose skin, but I'm not so sure now. It seems like one is keeping him from opening his eye. He has a lot of them, too. There's a small cluster on his left leg where they are, and it gets really brownish in color there as opposed to his bright green luster. I don't want to give him a death wish, but I'm not so well off financially and I figure if I can start over, I'd like to. It's just, I gotta figure whether there is any real starting over or not.

I dunno if the message has come across enough, but it won't eat anything. It won't sniff or lick or touch any food I hand to it or lay in front of it. So I dunno what to do there. I'll even leave it alone with food, small chunks, right in front of it. I don't see how it's my fault that it won't even move.

so your telling me he was already sick when you bought him,.

but you still havent told me anything of what you have for him.

you need to soak him a healthy iguana should eat and not be in one and it should be moving around

and i second it again take your iguana to a knowldgeable reptile vet... so they can help your iguana...

you need to read up on iguanas and learn as much as possible and take the responsablilty in caring for your new pet

>>you need to read up on iguanas and learn as much as possible and take the responsablilty in caring for your new pet

He is reading up and taking a crash course. Hopefully he will get a healthier animal to work with. Unfortunately it sounds as if he isn't working with a healthy animal here. While it isnt uncommon for new iguanas to go off feed, it is the lack of movement that is a sign of illness. Even a cold young iguana will be skittish. The problems he is finding are not related to husbandry.
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Cindy
PHFaust

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>>I've put a lot of thought into all of this. It seems that since I've even got my iguana, it hasn't been feeling okay. When I first got everything set up for him, he wouldn't move. A whole day passed without him moving. He had water, food, and a source of heat/light (with all that UV stuff). I showed him around by placing him near all the stuff and sometimes splashing him with the water and holding food in front of him, sometimes just placing it there. Well, he never would move. He never went towards the heat source (which everyone says he will). He never even noticeably ate. He might have once got in his water. It makes me wonder if I'm really the reason for his feeling bad. I'm irritated now, especially that it seems that the store screwed me over by giving me a sick-ish iguana.
>>

My guess is that he was very sick when you bought him. I would personally suggest returning him for a refund and contacting a rescue in your area. Herp societies are also a good outlet to contact for iguanas as they are often inundated with calls for them. If you wish to exchange, check out the link I posted for you. That will help you in selecting your animal.
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Cindy
PHFaust

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>>Should I take him back to the pet store and ask for another? I don't know what to do...All this is making me feel so horrible. My warranty hasn't ran out yet on him and I know they had others, at least a few in separate cages if it is a parasite.

If it is a parasite, the others have it as well. I would suggest a vet visit. If you exchange it for another, I would suggest you pick the one that bites you and is most active. Baby iguanas are not mellow in the least and if they are mellow, they are more commonly sick. Shipping them is stressful and hard on their systems. Here is another link How to pick a healthy igunana

Remember many pet stores are not excessively well verse in reptiles. Parasites are easily treated with a trip to the vet with a fresh fecal sample in hand. If you need help finding a vet try these to sites Herp Vet Connection, Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians, User submitted list at MK site

No matter what you do, a vet visit is suggested with in the first few days for any pet store purchase.
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Cindy
PHFaust

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>>Okay, thanks for the reply.
>>
>>I'd like to ask a little more advice, though.
>>
>>What do you think I should use as bedding?
>>
>>Do you think I should try hand feeding it something more natural? Such as homegrown cantaloupe, corn, or tomatoes? And I should try to hand feed him, even though he act like that?
>>
>>I might have more questions. I've picked up a few books and all that, and have read a lot of internet articles. But I find that I'm more prone to listen or learn if I'm able to ask questions or discuss it with a person.

The two books are are worth your time in any shape or fashion are
Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan and Green Iguana; The Ultimate Owners Manual by James Hatfield. Those two books contain the most current up-to-date care information. Lordy when I look at my books, I even have a care book that was printed in 1973 that has a recipe for Iguana Stew in it, in case you get sick of your pet! I have been doing Iguanas for about 15 years now, and have read alot. I have also learned along the way with running a rescue and the rehab work involved. I swear by the information contained in these two books. If you didnt buy them, toss the ones you got out and get them! You will learn a lot.

I have never fed corn, simply because I know for a fact (and if you have ever had corn you know too) what goes in must come out. Corn is very hard to digest, period. I have always avoided tomatoes simply because of the acid level. If you go to this link www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html there is a whole section on feeding. While many people dispute Melissa as a reference, her Iguana materials can not be touched. Melons are high in water content so I have always offered in limited amounts. These animals are from south america, so things like cactus pad are normal diet staples. If you have a hispanic market in your town, that is a good place to go for native foods like the cactus pads. Mangos are also a good fruit.

I personally never hand feed at home. My biggest thing is I do not want my hands associated with food in any manner. That may be the snake owner in me, but everything goes into their food dish and they take it from there.

I personally prefer newspaper or craft paper. Cheap, easy to dispose of. You can change daily and don't feel bad throwing it out! The drawback is it does shred, however because daily cage cleanings are often needed, it doesn't really have a chance to. Things that can be eaten are hard to spot clean, you may get the visible soiled part, but leave behind some other soiled parts. This can harbor bacteria. The other drawback is the ingestion of things. Iguanas taste everything. It is a lot harder for them to swallow a piece of newspaper than it is to swallow a bite size nuggest of wood chips. These items then remain in the gut and impact. If you prefer something more pretty, indoor/outdoor carpeting is an option. You take a butane torch and melt the ends to prevent fraying. Make a few pieces to fit and you can rotate between washing and the cage. I do want to warn you that the carpeting can NOT go through a washing machine. It makes a BIG mess.

Feel free to ask away. Ill do my best to answer what I can.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!