Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious if anyone has any updates on their blue iguanas that they have? Mine is doing ok, not a huge eater, but he poops everyday. Other then that he is retaining his color thus far
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-Robert

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

My vet said he's seen a number of them, which makes me think mine weren't the only ones with health issues. I can't blame the store, since they didn't have them long enough to cause any harm and they stood behind their health guarantee and paid for the vet.

I had mine set up the way Tom C. sets up his but I must have done something wrong. Mine managed to get up under the light, hang from the screen, and burn themselves when we weren't home. They are doing okay, thanks to Silvadyne, but it was scary. I moved them into a bigger enclosure and switched to a deep dome light. Still, they kept getting dark so finally I moved their entire (wire) enclosure outside and placed that enclosure inside a large cage designed to protect rehabbing wildlife from predators. I have them set up on a misting schedule to keep the temps from getting too high outside and so far they are doing MUCH better. I do think they'll keep their color but they won't be the deep vivid blue of Tom's. Tom breeds the best to the best and has developed incredible animals. I think these will look more like the blues sold by a different Iguana farm, Quiver El Salvador. Here is a link to their page:

http://quiversurfindustries.com/about2.html

all of mine are doing well, however the coloration now ranges from blue to green. not the normal green of the green iguana but a darker green. I think the coloration is affected by a combination of heat and humidity as i have 5 different cages set up and for the most part the ones in the screen cages appear to be more greenish than blue or turquoise. as for retaining color, i guess only time will tell. all of mine are eating well and all appear to be healthy and active. I will try and get some decent pics this weekend and post some.

I would love to see some pics of what you are talking about on the colors. Mine tends to go from light blue to a blackish blue when he is stressed etc.
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-Robert

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

i did a short video where you can see 3 different colorations in the same cage. hopefully the link works.

if not on youtube search ageber2158 and see the videos

maybe this will work

http://www.youtube.com/user/ageber2158?feature=mhee
Link

Nice video, you have some good looking blues. Were all three of those from petco? Any issues with yours so far? Mine seems to be doing better by the day
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-Robert

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

all 3 were from petco. i have not had any issues with any of the ones i got from petco. they all seem to be eating well and very active. i will try and get some new pics of some of my other ones

Ageber, I thought mine looked more green -- one is definitely less blue than the other. However, I went into Petco today and there were a couple of baby greens about the same age. BIG DIFFERENCE. I had forgotten how much of one!

Yes, even when in their green shade they are worlds apart from the coloration of the basic green iguana. some of mine are shedding out to a nice light blue right now. Some are a very dark green. Unfortunately these are not consistently blue such as tom crutchfields blue one or even my blue one thats a bout a year old right now. I think we will just have to wait and see

I think that in the case of Tom's it is a matter of breeding the best to the best to produce a superior animal. If they do turn out to be all real axanthics, I think there is still the matter of quality. If I had to compare it to dogs, the Petco blues would be "pet quality" as opposed to Tom's which would be considered "show quality". That doesn't mean that some of the Petco ones won't be striking because the best genes have to start someplace. While some of us will have gotten really lucky, not all of us will. I think Tazumal will be an amazing animal, but only time will tell. If you look at Tom's albinos they are much more colorful than any other albinos I've seen, with their amazing Peach markings.

Has anyone found these blues to be more sensitive to light? Tom's blues are not, but I feel that mine got burned a lot more easily than they should have. I am not new to iguanas and this should NOT have happened. I am going to be so sad if Tazumal scars. Not only do I feel horribly guilty about what happened, but he is such a beautiful animal that it is even more depressing.

It sure seems to me that some sort of sensitivity is going on in these little blues.
There are some dark spots that may be heat burns or something on my little guy. In the picture posted see the dark spot on the back of his neck.
Susan is that a burn like what you are talking about on yours? He also has been trying to fight some bacterial infection spots w/ the help of betadine. Still not super healthy but on his way. You can see his color in comparison to the green leaf in the background of his enclosure.
I too believe that we will have some striking adults but not the quality of Toms.

Mine does not seem to have any light issues....he seems to do real good after a couple hours in the sun...other then a slight lack of appetite...he seems to br doing good........any full body pics of your little guy?
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-Robert

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

We haven't had any issues at all with real sun, only with the artificial light -- and I only use the best lights. I've never had this problem with any other lizard.

It's not exactly like what you are showing there. There is a small spot but it doesn't look quite like that but there was also an all over darkening, almost like one would expect a "sunburn" to look. As they are shedding, they are looking good underneath, but no one else's seem to have gotten dark before shedding.

I only have this picture with a little more of the body. I misted him before I took it. The black spot on the back is one of two bacterial infection spots. The one on the tail I think is a burn, but I will need to take another photo to see that. It didnt look like the others and I never applied betadine to it.
He still has little appetite. I know I shouldnt have the reptibark in there but I am having difficulty keeping the humidity up without it.
Here is the other picture and I know you guys have cyclura also so I included one of Czar. He will be 2yrs in November.

Here is a full body look and then one in better light by the window. Hopefully his window when he settles down a bit and I construct a basking shelf for him. He is going into shed as you can see in the closer pic of his neck.
They do get a green color to them where the unshed skin is. You can see the difference on his back left ankle. I know yours are in shed too but comparitive pics would be helpful.

No issues here with artificial light either, could be a variety of reasons I guess. Each setup is different, so its hard to define why yours seem sensitive to artificial light and mine doesn't. Who Knows?

Your Cyclura looks awsome! My Blue Iguana does not have the greatest appetite either. But what I have found that seems to work for my little guy is that I hold him and feed him. Otherwise I don't see him touch his dish. yet when I hold him, he takes food eagerly. Its a bit odd...but whatever works. I assume he will grow out of it, sooner or later.

I will try to post some pics of my guy in the nest day or so. Just haven't got around to it yet.
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-Robert

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

Robert, I had the same issue with my little blues. They would eat from my hand but not the plate -- until I put them outside. I had them double caged for a week and they were eating well. Unfortunately, my husband and daughter had to go out of town and I couldn't handle the cage outside by myself (the way it was set up it needed to be moved to get the door open to give them water and food) so the cage is in my bathroom for a week. So far I haven't really seen them eat inside, but I'm trying to give them time. I hated to take them in because they were finally starting to thrive. They'll be back outside next week.

The outdoor enclosure I have has spaces in the wire mesh that will allow for a lizard as small as the little ig to get out. I am getting some smaller and will build another so he can get some natural sun.
Thanks for the tip, I will try the holding and feeding. That seems odd that the stress of holding wouldnt do the opposite and make them not eat. I am up for anything to get him to eat more.

Really---- Mine loves to be outside, but lately he has been mashing his face up against the cage. I hate to stop putting him out, but i don't want his face permately rubbed off, you know. Any suggestions on that?

noskire----- Yeah I thought it was odd he would eat out of my hand, but not in his cage, but if it works, its works anything helps at the moment. I figured eventually he will want to eat on his own.
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-Robert

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

I bought mine about 2 weeks ago, Petco had two at the time mine, and one that was a lot smaller and emicated looking. I saw mine eat while at Petco and picked him because he seemed to be in much better condition. I have to agree on their appetite seeming to be lacking. I have him in a 75 gallon tank with all the neccessary lights/temps/humidity until I build him a bigger cage to go in. Some days when I come home I can't tell if he just ran through his food or picked at it, and some days I can tell he has a little bit. I walked in on him eating one time and quickly left to give him some time but other then that I have never seen him actually eat. I have kept handling to a minimum to try and let him acclimate, handled him a few times the first week and twice when taking him out to let him soak in the tub. I have tried to hand him while he was in the cage but no go, this weekend when I take him out to do a full clean on the cage I will try and feed him while hes out and see what he does. (his current salad consists of collard/mustard/turnip greens, butternut squash, yellow squash, green beans, carrots and every other day I mix it with strawberries and mango, and mix in some calcium everyday all finely chopped)

Been looking for some alfalfa to feed for protein but haven't had luck finding any, anyone know a good place to purchase some? After the first couple of days he has been very active going from is couple of basking spots to everywhere in the cage and poops everyday, stool looks normal with no odors so everything seems ok minus the minimal appetite. He is usually a very bright turqouise blue with white stripes on his side and a turqouise belly, when he gets scared/stressed he darkens down to a very dark blue/green.

My 3 are eating fine, they have actually picked up in the past month i have had them. I find they love zucchini and collards chopped. I also add some grated parsnip and green beans. I tend to grate everything fine so they can eat more and they are gaining even around the tail area now. I sometimes mix mazuri tortoise chow in to give them a little more protein.
Sorry for poor photo quality they were done with my cell



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Michelle
www.AssortedSerpents.com
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

i happen to notice that you had mentioned adding some calcium to the diet. I was told and have read that it is not good to add calcium to an iguanas diet. they basicly make their own thru good diet and proper lighting. i am no expert, just repeating from the experts. just want to mention that.

on another note, i have been told that handling iguanas that are that young is not good to be handled almost at all. they perceive you to be a threat. again, i am just repeating.

I don't use a calcium supplement I use the repashy dust for herbivore's it is a complete diet type dust.
I don't handle them much mainly just watch them. the darkest blue one will jump out to you and sit on your arm.
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Michelle
www.AssortedSerpents.com
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Using a calcium/D3 suppliment for a few reasons, one is because he had no UV lighting when I got him from Petco and as well I had to order new UVB bulbs as I wasn't planning on purchasing an iguana at the time, but he was just to stunning so he had his first few days w/o any exposure from that as well. Lastly since I don't have a setup sufficent to use as an outdoor cage he does not get access to natural sun only the UVB cage light, for a young iguana they need the additional Calcium/D3 for proper bone growth among other things, even when fed the proper diet.

As far as handling goes I prefer to handle as little as possible the first couple of weeks so they can acclimate to their new home and reduce their stress levels, and get use to me changing water and food and being around the cage. Once they seem to settle in and start feeding properly I like to start handling them a few times a week to get them accustomed to it but not overdue it and have them in a constant stressed state, as time goes on the handling becomes more regular and hopefully less stressful of an event.

When did Tom breed the blue Iguana's?
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Gerard
www.livebaitclip.com

GONE FISHING!!!

As far as I know, he is currently breeding blue axanthic iguanas. It is one of his projects
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-Robert

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

They are being raised to breed but have not been bred yet. There is a couple people working on that project in south Florida but Tom and the others haven't produced one yet. He bought them all from a farm just like where everyones Petco animals came from. They will have albinos for cheap soon too. Its going to be awesome.
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Gerard
www.livebaitclip.com

GONE FISHING!!!

interesting! I thought he had hatched a few? I can't waite tell the albinos come down in price! I would love to have one! It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years! Petco will have albinos soon? where did you here this and when is this supposed to happen?
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-Robert

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an egg-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

Uhm... that is not the case. Tom has produced axanthics and he has a youtube video on that. I think he also has some hatching pics.

Those all came from a farm. He bought them and is raising them. They are the same as yours and were all born at a farm. None were produce here and they are going to be available all over soon. Sorry but its true.
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Gerard
www.livebaitclip.com

GONE FISHING!!!

did Tom produce blue Iguana's?
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Gerard
www.livebaitclip.com

GONE FISHING!!!