Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I run a reptile rescue here out of my home but this is the first iguana i have rescued. He/she is a young iguana, not sure on age he's not a large iguana but not a baby. anyway he/she's agressive and i was hoping for some advice on taming him/her. I have no problems when im not touching him/her. but if i try to take him/her out of the cage he/she spazzes out with the tail whipping and biting and scratching. very cute otherwise, i love the way he/she cocks her/his head when im moving my feet under my covers. I have tried holding him/her but i get all scratched up.im not worried about a little cuts and bites but is there some kind of trick to this? i have cats /dogs/ toddler running around so no free roaming iggy. I dont know much about the history but a few of the toes are crooked like maybe they were broken. so idk. thanks

You have to be VERY pacient when it comes to tame a agressive or better said scared ig. Your ig has probably never had any possitive human contact in its woule short life, she sees you as a giant predator. You have to do several things both indirectly and directly. First of you should let your ig calm down for a few days, give it food, dont handle it, speak to it in a soft gentle tone, etc. Then our going to start handle it, start slow just a few minutes and then prolong. Avoid "capturing" your ig, that is if she holds her ground allways grab her from bellow, that way you become a "branch". If she becomes agressive handle her anyways in a very gentle but firm way (in this case if need be you can catch it from above) let her stuggle wich will last some moments and then you will see your ig will just relax on your hand, talk to her, pet her gently on the head (watch th teeth) and even hand feed her with something she likes. You will bond with your lizard in no time. For now even if you get scrached dont wear gloves, you will lose quickness and sensitivity.

thats what i've been doing. ive had him for almost a month and if i even make a move towards his cage he puffs up and pulls his tail back like hes gonna whip me. hes fine if i let him sit on the back of my chair in the sun. thanks for the advice
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Owner of:
7 Ball Pythons
4 crested Geckos
2 Bearded Dragons,
1 Red tail boa hybrid
3 hamsters
8 dogs
10 cats
1 rat
2 red eared sliders
RIP:
Rocky-chow mix-11 years
Willow-lab mix-8 years
Kain-Savannah Monitor-2 years
Scooter-sulcata tortise-1 year
Mr Krabs-hermit crab-5 years
Niko-gerbil-3 years
sweet pea&niblet-dwarf hamsters-1 year
Hannibal-dwarf hamster 2 years