Possibly getting an ig

[DragonBeards]

This is only a possibility. The woman needs to talk to her husband, and I need to talk to my parents, but I thought it best to be prepared.

A woman at my bible study came up to me last night and asked me if I would like another lizard. I said sure, thinking she had something small that she want anymore. But I got to talking to her, and it turns out she has a 3.5 foot (therebouts. She was estimating with her hands) iguana.

I have read up a lot on iguanas before (it was what I wanted to be my first lizard, for a while), and I'll be doing some more reading up, but is there anything I should know if I take this guy in?

She says she has a big enclosure for him. I'm not sure how big that is, but she said her husband custom built it, so I'm thinking its pretty good sized.

She also said something that worried me, that she has been feeding him "those bags of lettuce you get at the grocery store". I'm thinking she means the garden variety salads or whatever. This I KNOW is not a proper diet, so I'm worried what shape he'll be in. I have calcium and multivitamins of hand for my bluey, but I guess I'll have to see his condition to assess what to do.

She also said that he needs to be worked with, that is, he whips his tail when he is handled, so he will defiantly have to be worked with.

I am hoping to get this guy out of his situation, or at least be able to assess his condition so I can inform his owners the correct way to feed him and etc. But is there anything I should know going into this?

Thanks for anything you can tell me, and sorry this was so long. I'm still trying to process everything.

Dragonbeards

 

[iguana20s]

not every iguana gets use to being handled so it may take some time. you are right that is not a good diet for a iguana. feeding them colard mustard and turnip greens is much better for them and adding in there favorit fruit will be good to. you can also feed them rice as a rare treat as long as the rice is cooked. i would visit http://www.greenigsociety.org/ for all your iguana needs. as for the cage he would be fine in a 6 ft high 4 ft deep and 4-5 ft long cage with 1 or more uvb lights and heating lamps. i hope this helps

 

[latshki]

the above poster already gave you the green ig society page but I would print this one out http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm

also for a cage I would do 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall
and have two basking spots using mercury vapour bulbs
also a misting system is a great idea too

 

[Holly12]

Oh my Iguanas they can take some time to be work with it will not happen overnight but if you give it time and tame it right you should be okay. My friends boy friend has 2 male Iguanas and I help tame them and they are as sweet as can be. So when you are trying to tame him I think you know to be very understanding because this guy has never really been held befor. I wish you luck on your new Iguana if you get him I hope you do they are awesome.

 

[M_surinamensis]

/facepalm

 

[latshki]

I do not reccomend getting it if yours still with your parents
as he can still reach his huge size plus igs aren't the kind of lizard that ever really is nice
you do not want to see what these things can do to someone

 

[im faster]

2 things i learned as a child..

THEY HAVE ONE HELL OF A TAIL SLAP!!!

also.. dont hold it in front of your face as it licks your nose..
eventually he will bite and not let go for a while.. (i was 9 i think running around the house with a iguana stuck on my nose.) hahahah

 

[iguana20s]

haha i use to have one that wouldnt let go for nothing either. iguanas will do what they want when they want. and i agree you will need some very good lights for these guys. if it is possiable giveing these guys a whole room to there selfs isnt a bad idea either. as long as you make sure theses no chance of mold and he has a tub to poop in.

 

[DragonBeards]

Thanks. I've been pouring over the iguana society page, as well as Melissa Kaplan's website, and I plan on buying her Iguanas for Dummies book (I've read it twice, but I figure its always nice to have a reference on hand).
I fully well know and am prepared for the dangers on owning an iguana. I'm not going into this because I think "Ooh, its an awesome pet, won't my friends think I'm cool", because this is one of (if not the) worst reason out there, and leads only to cruelty to the animal (neglect or otherwise). I've seen it all too many times. I am prepared for a giant lizard who doesn't deserve to be called anything but Godzilla, and who will lunge for body parts to bite off every time I go into the cage to take care of something. At the same time, I'm hoping for a lizard that won't. (Prepare for the worst, hope for the best). A lot of what I do for the iguana in the future depends on how he is living now. I've seen a picture (from January, but still), and he looks to be still young. But we shall see.

Dragonbeards

 

[M_surinamensis]

Thanks. I've been pouring over the iguana society page, as well as Melissa Kaplan's website, and I plan on buying her Iguanas for Dummies book (I've read it twice, but I figure its always nice to have a reference on hand).

I really didn't want to respond to this. I want that understood on the outset, my participation is a result of inadvertent duress. Iguana discussions are rarely fun; almost entirely due to wanton misinformation and the participation of ignorant individuals.

I'm going to say some things. Some people will contradict them. I encourage you to judge the relative intelligence, experience and knowledge of the participants as you decide who to listen to. It should be readily apparent to you which participants actually know what they're talking about.

The Green Iguana Society is okay. Not perfect, but some of their practical information is pretty decent. It's a fine source for information on housing, lighting, heating, hydration and... close... to an appropriate diet. Iguanas are foliovores in nature, with 75-85% of their diet being composed of leaves and flowers, the green iguana society diet page doesn't quite reflect that, they use a few more stems, roots and fruits- but the breakdown of nutritional information for individual veggies is adequate.

Melissa Kaplan is not okay. Following her information, either on her website or in her book, will result in an iguana dying a lingering death. Kaplan is not motivated to educate the public honestly; she is a radical animal rights activist who believes that nobody should own pets. She's not interested in animal welfare, she is interested in destroying the rights of the individual to own an animal and in dismantling the pet industry. Her website and book are both insidious animal rights propaganda pieces, she repeatedly raises the idea that reptiles are impossible to keep healthy in captivity, then she provides information which will result in an unhealthy iguana. When the animal succumbs to her misinformation, her first point seems as though it has been proven.

If you decide to take this iguana, Melissa Kaplan is one source of information that should be actively avoided. Don't use her site, don't buy her book, don't trust any secondhand information given to you by someone who cites her as a source.

I fully well know and am prepared for the dangers on owning an iguana.

That's a good start then.

Green iguanas make terrible pets for most people. They're big, beautiful, interesting animals that are absolutely fascinating but they also display behaviors and have care requirements that are well in excess of what most people want to, or are capable of, dealing with.

Healthy iguanas, genuinely healthy- given a proper diet, kept at the right temperature, given adequate UV for D3 synthesis, with adequate humidity- are aggressive animals. They're territorial, they're defensive and every behavior they have goes back to an aggressive response to stimulus. It will make routine maintenance more difficult relative to that of almost every other species of reptile. You will be whipped, a lot. You may be bitten, you will be scratched. You can take some precautions to minimize some of the risk of injury to yourself, aim away from face kind of steps, but these are a mitigation of the potential for you to be injured, there is nothing you can do to remove the behavior the animal displays (not while it's healthy anyway).

You will encounter people, some on this thread already in fact, who will make claims of docile iguanas, friendly iguanas, trained iguanas... these people quite simply do not know what they are talking about. They have experience with extremely young iguanas, or unhealthy iguanas, who are displaying different sets of behaviors than a healthy adult. Sickly, injured animals, those who are kept in conditions outside of what is required to maintain their life, respond differently. It can take an iguana a decade to slowly die from inadequate care, to succumb to a bad diet, to damage their ability to replicate cells when they're too cold, for the lung function to be damaged from a lack of humidity. They may be docile during that time, while too cold, malnourished and too dry. A green iguana that is kept properly can easily live twenty five, even thirty years... they'll just be an aggressive, difficult display animal the entire time.

One other explanation for some of the seeming docility that is sometimes displayed in the hands of keepers who are subjecting their pets to excessive handling is the buildup of lactic acid that is associated with anaerobic muscle function. An iguana's physiology is really not built to supply oxygen during periods of sustained high activity- when a keeper manhandles the lizard (puts on gloves, grabs it for an hour at a time and wrestles it into some semblance of submission), the muscle tissue does not receive adequate oxygenation. Without oxygen, lactic acid is produced, building up and destroying muscle tissue- directly in those muscles being exercised, but also carried through the bloodstream to other muscle groups (including the heart and musculature associated with respiration).

There really is no middle ground on the subject, regardless of what some of the lolspeaking and inexperienced participants of this thread might maintain. Your choices are healthy and aggressive or stressed and abused into docility.

I am prepared for a giant lizard who doesn't deserve to be called anything but Godzilla, and who will lunge for body parts to bite off every time I go into the cage to take care of something. At the same time, I'm hoping for a lizard that won't. (Prepare for the worst, hope for the best).

Unfortunately, the best as you have defined it is impossible. It's unfortunate for the animals involved and for the owners. Iguanas really should be a niche species in the pet trade, rare and owned by the few individuals who are really prepared to invest the expense and effort required.

You genuinely sound like you want what's best for the lizard and you seem- from the little I have seen- like a reasonable person. I believe you understand the enormity of the commitment you're considering, which is why I'm willing to take the time to discuss it with you. You're very close to knowing what is likely to happen, just needed a little clarification. "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best" in this instance is really more "Prepare for the worst, because it's inevitable if you keep the animal healthy."

I'd also just like to reiterate a concept you seem to already have hinted at the edges of; as much as you may be dedicated to providing the animal in question with a healthy long term home, that is a pretty significant undertaking and there's no shame in looking at it and deciding it is not for you. Green iguanas are generally very poor pets for most people, it's very likely to be an intrusion and a burden, rather than a pleasure. At eighteen years old, you're very likely right on the verge or right in the middle of a lot of changes in your life; where you live, where you work or go to school, social interactions, financial obligations. An iguana will represent a factor in your life that can make some of those activities more difficult. If you'd be good for the animal but the animal would be bad for you...

A lot of what I do for the iguana in the future depends on how he is living now.

Admirable sentiments, whatever decision you arrive at.



There are a few other threads on this forum that discuss iguana behavior. As I said, weigh the sources carefully and choose the ones who are credible; there's a lot of dissent born of ignorance to wade through.

If you have any follow up questions or want any clarification, feel free to ask. I'll be happy to respond, right until the "my eegwanna IS MY BEst frend!!1!!11!one!!eleven!!" crowd makes me want to hit them with a stick. I find it's best if I back away from discussions right around the time the homicidal inclinations start creeping in.

 

[DragonBeards]

Thanks so much for your reply, M_surinamensis, I truly appreciate your time. I understand (and am willing to accept) having a healthy, aggressive iguana. I have cats and dogs to fulfill my need to have a docile, trained animal I can snuggle with.
And you're right, I am on the verge of a lot of changes, one of them being going to college to become a medical examiner, something which will take up a lot of time, and which I'll have to keep in mind when thinking about getting this iguana. I am defiantly going to be doing a lot more reading up and thinking, especially researching the details surrounding where I am going to be staying while at college and etc.
And thanks for the information about Kaplan. I hadn't known that before, and it is very good to know. Do you have any other websites or books you can recommend? I don't want to go into this with the wrong information, for the iguana's sake.

Again, thanks for taking the time to help me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

Dragonbeards

 

[lyndak]

At eighteen years old, you're very likely right on the verge or right in the middle of a lot of changes in your life; where you live, where you work or go to school, social interactions, financial obligations. An iguana will represent a factor in your life that can make some of those activities more difficult. If you'd be good for the animal but the animal would be bad for you...

Solid advice.

Please think long and hard about an iguana fitting into your life. They will be with you until your married and with kids. It's a commitment and and in fairness to the Ig you must be prepared to take them on for the long term.