Reptile & Amphibian Forums

that Cyclura don't want or need baths, so I thought Kismet was an anomaly. Then, this morning, I woke up to find this:

I think I need to give Sebastian a bigger water dish!

that if a lizard is laying in its water dish, its a sign of dehydration.
Cyclura dont seek out water for bathing, soaking, whatever you want to call it. standing water is not really part of their lives.
... just passing the thought

jf

I keep all my Cycluras outside. I never see them laying in the water bowls but I will tell you that they will sit in the pouring rain and get soaked. Maybe this iguana cant sit in the pouring rain so it's laying in the tub to get the same effects. Also, if it is used to being bathed and soaked, like any animal, it can learn to do so if it enjoys it. Cyclura have a diverse and individual personality.

No JF, it is not a sign of dehydration since he had just soaked in the big bath tub the day before. He shows absolutely no signs of dehydration at all. Kismet does the same thing and both of my Cyclura are very healthy and not dehydrated at all.

Good, I'm sure you are right.
If I saw one of mine doing that I would take it as a warning sign to check relative humidity in the enclosure.
That's just me.

jf

Did all of those things before I posted. Kismet does the same thing. It can be 90% relative humidity outside and she'll be soaking in her dish, with her tail hanging over the side. Apparently, I just have really weird animals, JF. Incidentally, Sebastian's temporary home is the back bathroom and the humidity never dips never below 60% and is usually higher.

and anyone else who might have been worried about him, that Sebastian is not dehydrated, here are some pictures from this morning. This is what my boy looks like when he isn't curled up in his water dish. He has some nice colors coming in, but they don't really show up well with the flash. He is gaining about 50 grams a month right now. He turned two in October and he's about 750 grams. Does that sound about right?

I totally agree with Manny. I found that Cycluras do have their own personalities and some do like to soak (learned captive behavior?) and some won't go near them except to drink. Although we can all learn from their behavior in the wild, in captivity, they do adapt to the environment provided (many be in the wild, they do not have access to shallow pools they can soak in?) and act accordingly. I have yet to see any damage from bathing them for short time and I do not know what the big deal is if we choose to treat our pet to some soak. Just my two cents.....

I have been soaking Petra since I got her- Def a learned behavior..

BTW she also learned to crawl into the tub, and then crawls out to poop, and then back in to clean..

Shes a princesss..

So adorable!

so defensive. I dont need to be assured. You seem to, He looks great.

jf

I totally didn't mean it as defensive. If I came off that way, I apologize. I just wanted to show how handsome he is.

ya ........So yes, some captives like to soak although you will never ever find one soaking in the wild. Possibly soaking is a learned behavior. Mine dont soak but have learned to use the waterslide i built in thier enclosure (see photo). A few however refuse to go down even when being tempted with fresh dandelion greens. Climbing the ladder up is what I believe one of the best forms of exercise you can give a cyclura.

Dang, Mark....your Cycluras look incredibly human....evolution you think?????

I don't think those are Cyclura at all, Ty. I think they are Silurian's from Dr. Who pretending to be Cyclura. Or maybe Mark's Cyclura have been interbreeding with the "V".

Mark,
I've been to your house, that picture is fake, you dont have palm trees!
Look, I gave my opinion, Really did exactly what I said I would do, check the humidity. She did that before she posted, fair enough.
Heres my question, they dont do it in the wild, they do it in captivity, cuz its learned?
They see water and they think they need to lay in it why? What is the reason they are in it, learned or instinct. before you say cuz they think it feels good dont you think millions of years living on an island they wouldnt evolve to use the water that surrounds them. Us keepers opened the door to the benefits of water?

jf

JF, I've seen evidence that they learn from each other. I'm guessing Kismet learned from my old green and Sebastian learned from Kismet? Maybe?

I used to live in Malaysia and Thailand and never got heat rash... When I moved here in 1993, I itch everytime it gets hot and when I sweat. It got better, but when I was younger I used to get bad heat rash. I wonder if the animals feel the same way about living over here in the U.S...if they itch more or something. [chuckle]

One thing I've learned over the years about keeping reptiles is: they don't always behave the same as their wild counterparts and we can never fully duplicate their natural habitat. We can try to keep them as comfortable as we can, but we cannot 100% duplicate their natural habitat. As a result they develop some behavioral problems. A lot of iguanas like eating weird things because no captive environment is ever big enough for them like in the jungle. I don't know. Maybe I'm rambling... [chuckle]

Looks to me like he's just having a good time!! Jeff