Anyone have iguana advice?

[AutobotTrixter]

Apart from "Don't?"

Because I went to my reptile shop to get some crickets for my veiled and the guys reaches into a cardboard box and pulls out this beautifully colored, healthy looking, docile little thing and says, "Want an iguana?"

They apparently have people dump iguanas off on them all the time and they don't even try to sell them, they just try to find them good homes. It was a prefect darling except for NOT wanting to go back in the box or leave my nice warm self in any way, and it didn't show any signs of MBD or anything else that would make it a massive money sink or at worst a heartbreaker, so I called my roommate and got clearance to bring it home.

So are there any good resources for the care and keeping of iguanas? I know they need all the normal UVA/UVB and basking lights, I know they need to be heavily socialized, I know they get MASSIVE, but what else? I'm hoping it's a female, as at about 8" it has no signs whatever of developing jowels, but that may just be wishful thinking because I know females are a little easier to deal with than males. I've been poking at www.greenigsociety.org all morning, but does anybody have any other suggestions?

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

So the stray followed you home?

Well, aside from the advise that you should really have as much info
as you can before picking up some unknown exotic animal as a pet.

This is what "I know" and the impressions gleaned from iguana owners.
Males will get very aggressive and can (do) attack their owners, other pets, neighbors etc.
Even this very nice and tame animal on display at a local breeders show.

This Iguana (above) gave it's owner from the local reptile club (pict lower right)
one hell of a bite damaging her breast. The damn thing leaped
from a bookshelf and jumped on her as she entered the room.
When the males focus upon someone -they're likely to attack them as intruders.
When the seasons is right and they're all hopped up on hormones (roid rage)
you can be certain that they'll take every opportunity to attack "someone" and do damage.

IF you've got a male, you better introduce it to other male iguanas
so it can learn the difference between humans and other lizards
otherwise, you'll be asking for problems.

 

[booshified]

i had an iguana for over 9 years before i gave it away due to college.

id say my biggest piece of advice is make sure you realize how much room they can take up. they can be 5-6 feet fully grown.

as for aggression i didnt have to many problems with my male. make sure you handle them regularly. also if you get a toy stuffed iguana they can take some aggression out on that.

 

[SierraNevada]

Iguanas are complicated, complex and require a big commitment. You need to keep them at tropical temps & humidity 24hrs a day, full spec lighting, and basking. My female was 6ft long. Taking care of them can be difficult, cleaning, care and caging is a large undertaking.

They have large bowl movements daily and snort out salt water all day and all over your enclosure...it all needs to be cleaned numerous times in a 24 hour period.

Feeding involves lots of fruit and veggies which is best provided in a custom mix and changed for variation...including supplements. Whatever is not eaten should be removed from the cage daily.

The Cage I made for my iguana cost me $500 in materials and was 48"x48"x24" with a sliding glass window serving as the front door. It took up a large portion of my living room...and when we had our first baby, had to give her up for adoption because of communical diseases...and young children risks. I miss my iguana...but my kids were more important...

Anyway...You need to wire it for full spec, basking and infared heat emitter at 250w in a ceramic socket which has a protective screen so the iguana doesn't burn itself. The 250w heat emitter should be on a dimmer system which can handle the wattage and keep in mind it will be on all the time...your electric bill will show it. The rest of the lighting can be on a timer system.

You will have to trim the very sharp claws. This is a difficult process even with a tame critter. They are wild animals and not easily tamed. Yea...some will mellow out with their owners...but they are very large powerful reptiles and if it decides its scared or spooked..you can get a very sharp tail whip on the bridge of your nose or a claw rip in your arm...and they are razor sharp.

I would not recommend an iguana for anyone but the most advanced reptile keepers with alot of time, space, patience and money.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Iguanas...........

Hi there...........iguanas are powerful creatures and they can be difficult during breeding season. But I have two full grown adults (one male and one female) and I love them. I think it's a matter of working with them and handling them. If it's a female I recommend getting her "fixed". They tie the tubes just like a cat or dog. The egg production (fertile or infertile) is physically very hard on females. They stop eating and use their body's resources. They require a huge nesting box and that is a very very messy process. I had my girl fixed because she was egg bound. She has been a dream ever since. Great personality and never suffers through that process any more.

My male is a little more problematic. In the off-breeding season he is very personable. During a three month breeding season he is a pain. He constantly roams his cage and is noisy. He stops eating for almost a month. He's not really mean but he's not friendly either. I give him a garden glove "scented" by my female to satisfy his urges with. After he gets through with this season he is going in to be fixed too. With males they actually remove the male organ tissue. They have to do it off-breeding season. The vet said that it can sometimes regenerate. But he said it usually works and they don't have any of the hormonal behaviors anymore.

I love my iguanas. I don't believe in free roaming though. A mature iguana can wipe out your house decorations, etc. I do stick them in the bath tub for regular swims. Mine are potty trained to go in Rubbermaid dishwashing tubs. They get a salad of collard greens, dandelion greens, thawed frozen mixed veggies, cut up zuchinni and grapes or blueberries every other day. It is spayed with Fluker's liquid Vitamin supplement several times a week. Once a week they get a bowl of ZooMeds iguana pellets.

Your iguana will get big. I have a big stainless steel cage on rollers for them in my solarium. I got it from Cages by Design. It is four sides of stainless steel wire and a black bottom that is made of a special waterproof material. It does not scratch, stain or blister. I love that cage. It has a black solid partition to form two separate cages for the male and female. The male "LOVES" the female but the female wants to kill the male. She almost did the one time they were together.

Take your iguana to the vet for a fecal and a culture for Salmonella right away. Most farm raised iguanas have Trichamonas (treated fairly easily) and Salmonella. Salmonella won't show up on the standard fecal test. It needs to be cultured. Don't let your iguana out in the house until you get these tests done. Trichs reproduct with cysts that can live for years on a dry surface. They are only killed by bleach, etc. You don't want your iguana roaming around your house leaving cysts. After he/she gets treated it will only get it again the next time it roams around the house and "tastes" things as it roams. You can disinfect the cage but the house is another issue. Same thing with Salmonella. You don't want Salmonella around the house either. Certain types of Salmonella can be treated with antibiotics.

There is a book out there called "The Ultimate Iguana Manual". It's a big thick book that tells you everything you want to know. Can't remember the author's name. The cover has a picture of him holding a big iguana. I see it advertised in Reptile's Magazine every month.

Hope you are not too scared to keep this iguana. There are many homeless iguanas and not enough people to adopt them (another reason to get iguanas fixed). They are a handful but they have a lot of personality and like affection. Mine love to be petted like a dog does. Good luck and don't hesitiate to email me privately if you have any questions. You can have my direct email too if you want

 

[AutobotTrixter]

Thanks for all the advice! My family actually had an iguana for a few years. I got him as a rescue and nursed him back from a terrible case of MBD when I was just out of high school. He was technically mine but my parents kept him when I first moved out. He was an adult when I had to move back in with them for a year and when I moved out again...they said they'd keep him and then decided not to once I had already signed a lease on a place too small for him. So I had to find a rescue to take him. Maybe this little girl (not 100% certain, but I'm going to hope) is my penance. I had a pretty decent idea what I was getting into when I took her in, but I did want a "refresher course". Thanks!

I've been amused reading web sites talking about what a huge ordeal it is to tame them when she just lets me scoop her right up. I've handled her for at least a couple hours every day since I got her, even if it's just letting her sleep across the back of my neck while I play WoW. I'll definitely make a point to keep that up, though I'm reminded of a puppy my parents had who was still convinced he was lap-size at his full-grown 50lbs. Our previous iguana was free-roaming more or less, and I wouldn't mind letting her work up to that eventually. I'm putting the finishing touches on a new enclosure for my veiled, and I think it's taught me some things that will help once it comes time to think about a custom home for my new baby.

I've named her Ysera, barring a sudden discovery that she's not actually a she. Because I'm kind of a geek.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Sounds Great

Sounds like you have it all under control. And it sounds like you are on the right road with handling her. Too funny. My girl is named Riley. Thought she was a he for a long time. Decided to keep the name since there are both girl and boy children named that. Those male looking jowls won't develop for a long time. Looking at the femoral pores is the best way to sex them. Males will start to grow "fringe" on them long before their jowls buff out. Do handle her. With chameleons you don't want to handle a lot because of stress. With iguanas you have to handle them a lot or you will end up with an unmanagable monster. And just make sure you get a fecal and culture for Salmonella before you start the free range thing Sounds like you adopted a real prize!

 

[AutobotTrixter]

I'll get the Salmonella check soon, that's one I hadn't really thought of. I don't have any children around, but I have a few housemates who'd be unamused if my new baby gave everyone food poisoning. I had to explain to them why I carry her around all the time when I'm home, but they've only seen Kaiju (the veiled) out of his enclosure once - they thought I was just playing favorites and neglecting my chameleon! I'll keep an eye on the femoral pores more than the jaws, though they don't seem to have developed at 8" either. Either way, it's a little sweetheart.

 

[spencer k]

wow if its only 8 inches and tame your lucky. i have two and they are about 16-17" in total length and when i first got them they were like greased lightning. now (3 months later) i can grab them without them running and and feed them ect. they really are fun, just make sure to give them a large enough cage becuase ive heard of them reaching 3 feet in a year. they seems to like mustard greens and butternut squash the best. green beans too. greenigsociety should tell you everything you need to know, good luck and lets see a pic!