First time Iguana owner...

[gotiggy]

Hello, My son just recieved an Iguana for his birthday. We have had it for 14 days. He has been asking for a snake, lizard some type of reptile for awhile. We made several trips to the pet store and talked to the employees. He finally decided he wanted an Iguana. Now the Iguana is here. I am now having concerns......I brought this on myself because I allowed my decision to be influenced by the salesperson at the shop. I am a little upset, because I feel like I was not completely informed.

We are feeding the recommended food from the store and things like green beans, peas, carrots and corn(a frozen veggie mix), yes we thaw it out and cut it up into small pieces.

I buy it distilled water for his dish and for misting. We mist a few times a day.

The tank is 3x2x2. The Iguana fits in my hand, but with his tail he reaches to the bend of my arm. He has greenery and things to climb on.

We have it out a lot and let it climb around. We even have a potted tree near a window to climb on.

We don't know if it is male or female and they never offered to tell us at the store, but I didn't ask either.

Well this post is getting long. What I need to know is what to do with our little green friend. He is a lot of fun and we are happy to have him. We just want to care for him properly. Any help is greatly appreciated. Genivive told me this was a great place to get friendly advice.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shelby]

Well, it is good that at least you are here.

There is a reason why there are thousands of unwanted pet iguanas. Igs get big.. they get big fast. Females get to 4', and males to 6'. Males often get extremely aggressive as they mature. Getting tail whipped or bit by a 4'+ lizard is not pleasant.

That said, some people do have success with them, but they are fairly unusual. A 4'+ lizard will need a huge cage when it's full grown.

If this sounds too daunting, see if the pet store will take it back in exchange for another animal. Good beginner reptiles (especially for kids) are:

leopard geckos
crested gecko
corn snake
ball python
king snake
milk snake

tell us what you plan on doing, and good luck!

[gotiggy]

Well, we were lead to believe that this iguana would be a great pet. The store knew it was for a young boy. My son is so attached to the iggy, getting rid of it would be hard. Maybe we will explore the option of an exchange. My husband will not allow a snake in the house. My son had to work really hard to persuade his dad to get the iggy.


Thanks !

[ddbjdealer]

My husband will not allow a snake in the house. My son had to work really hard to persuade his dad to get the iggy.

Try telling hubby that a BP or a corn won't be nearly as imposing on the family, and will require far less attention/feeding.

[frankykeno]

Sadly iguana's are selling for under $20.00 in our local pet store too. A good friend of mine allowed her daughter to get one and they quickly found out the high level of care these lizards require to thrive. She's often said to me it's basically like having a needy human infant 365 days of the year for the rest of it's life. Their iggy is doing supremely well but it was work, work and more work getting up to speed fast on what they were told was an "easy lizard" to keep.

Having said that, if you decide to keep the iggy there is no real reason with education and dedication you can't provide it with a caring, healthy home. I'd say do a ton of research online, make a pile of notes and then come here and check specific things like good husbandry practises as far as caging, heat, lighting, foods both good and bad, proper handling, etc.

If you don't know a good herp vet, I'd say locate one and keep the number handy. Iggy's have very specific requirements and you may well need a vet trip at some point so best to have a number handy.

Best of luck with your decision.


~~Joanna~~

[Shelby]

Unfortunately pet stores will tell you almost anything to make a sale.

I wouldn't recommend an iguana for any child.

Consider the geckos, or a bearded dragon, now those are nice lizards! Beardies grow to around 2' and are omnivores. They are quite personable.

[JimiSnakes]

Iguanas are mostly down right mean lizards. I have never understood the trend of iguanas.

[Shelby]

Iguanas are mostly down right mean lizards. I have never understood the trend of iguanas.

Cheap + cute babies + pet store salespersons + veggie eater

[lars5277]

They are right, iggys are hard to care for. I got my wife one on an impulse buy so to speak, and now we kind of regret it. We have a female and she is mean as hell! She bites, scratches, and whips her tail. That being said if you decide to keep it you got work to do. We handle our Iggy twice daily, sometimes she dont like it. They are very fast moving and very agressive at times. My wife also makes a special diet for her alomst daily. We have a huge enclosure for her, and I know we will need a bigger one. Your temps should be around 100, and humidity on the 90s. We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into when we got her, but we made the commitment to take the best possible care of her. We have spent a lot of cash to give her the best home possible.

Just a side note we got a leash for her and let her explore the house a little at least once a day. We talk very soft to her and let her watch TV and listen to the radio. One thing to take note of, don't look them in the eye. It pisses them off. Also do not let it bully you. If the Iggy figures out it can boss you around it will continue too. I would invest $10-$15 on a small leash for it. I am also going to post a pic of my enclosure and another link for you.

http://market.rescuenetwork.org/deta...?cat=10&de=662
Off an adoption thread I cam across that, they have 25 up for adoption!! Those 25 Iggys are not up for adoption, because they are sweet, cuddly or easy to care for. They are very hard animals to care for.

the Iggys house is the top one, that makes sure she don't escape so easily.

[Shelby]

This is why I am a monitor person, not an ig person.