Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey. im raising a 5 months old iguana for 3 months now.
the problem is that hes terrified of me.
i did everything i read on the sites: i gave him time to adjust in the terrarium in a quiet room, then moved him to my room, i sat and looked at him for days! i talked and even sang to him, open door, hands in hands out. pretty much everything.
i dont want to just grab him because he is very sensitive.
one time he escaped and since then he has an eating disorder. he got thinner and he barely eats. every time he is stressed he fasts.
ever since he got much more stressed about any attempt to tighten our relationship. even if i just look at him he gets scared.
im really scared to try to get close to him cause hes still not eating properly and i dont want to traumatize him and let him die of malnutrition! i once had an iguana who didnt eat a whole month and almost died on me and i had to give her to a veterinarian.
if he continues to be terrified of every little thing i wont be able to let him out the terrarium!
im beginning to question my abilities as an owner...
i envy all those owners who have iguanas with good appetite and who are so friendly! how do they do it????

please i need help...!

hi
i am not close to an expert but i do have 5 iguanas. if he is only 5 months, that makes him pretty small. i found our iguanas when that young are not much into being handled. as they get older they start to mellow a bit which makes handling a bit easier. also, if he is not eating much it could be any number of reasons. what are you feeding him. also, my understanding is the temps and humidity have to be correct in order for them to digest food and i believe if the temp is not hot enough their appetite is not stimulated.

I am sure someone can come along with more info but you might want to post what you are feeding. the size enclosure, is there water in the enclosure. the temps, etc

good luck

5 iguanas???wow! are they all together?
so when am i supposed to start taming him? i thought that this is the time to start before he becomes too aggressive and old...

i feed him with fresh leaves, green veggie, orange veggie, fruit and sprouts every day.
the temps are in the "warm zone" are about 32[Celsius]at day and not less than 27 at night. its winter here so the temps don't go higher as in the summer...you thing i should get another ceramic lamp?[or whatever its called]
the terrarium is 80X40cm and obviously he has fresh water everyday in a small pool that he can put his whole body in [but he doesn't like it..]

thanx!

a couple of things. my iguanas as they get older will be kept separate. right now i have 3 different enclosures for the 5 iguanas. based on what you told me, i think you need to get your basking spot just a bit hotter. also, your terrarium seems small. is the height the 80cm. you should post a pic of it which would help alot. also, I use a megaray bulb which produces not only heat but UVB which they need to digest their food. There are other brands of lights. do you have a UVB bulb on this enclosure or just the heat lamp

i have both uvb and heat lamp. what temp should be? and how should i raise the temp?
the height is about 60cm.
i would post a pic if you could tell me where the "upload" button is..there is only url...

the only way i know to raise the temp would be either abulb with more wattage or bring the bulb closer to the basking spot. as for posting pics in the thread you have to go to the top where it says photos and it will walk you through uploading photos that can then be used in your posts. basicly you are creating your own photo gallery. Like i said, i am not an expert on this but have 5 who seem to be doing well. You could also check with one of the main breeders of iguanas.