First time Iguana owner...

[gotiggy]

Our son is 11 years old. So far he has taken on all the responsibilities for Elvis. I help him, but he has done nearly all the work. Today I went to the site provided earlier in the post and we read about the care and looked at pics of our future T-Rex. He was a little surprised to read about the tail whipping and the biting, but he does not believe that our cute little guy will be like that.

I mentioned trading him in and getting something else. He quickly anwsered, no. I am not giving up, but I am not going to force it I need for CJ to feel like it is his idea to get something else.


If I could guarantee him a snake. I know the lizard would be GONE!!!!!! I may have to work on the husband instead of the child.

By the way as I type this message Elvis is sitting on my shoulder. He really is a social little guy.

I can't thank everyone here enough, A HUGE THANKS to all!!!!!!!

[Shelby]

Please don't be decieved.. yes, young iguanas can be sweet, but as those hormones kick in, they can turn on you in an instant! I talked to people who were chased around their house by their iguanas.

Is it really prudent for you as a parent to allow your young son to keep a potentially dangerous animal? In my opinion he is not old enough to make such a decision.. all he knows is this is a cool animal that he likes. It would be easier to trade it in sooner before you get attached to it and before it starts maturing. Please consider this all seriously.

Ask your husband what his reasons are for refusing a snake.

[frankykeno]

Having 4 kids of my own I can just imagine the pull of a mother's heart and a child's not understanding fully the eventual possible issues with this iguana. Perhaps if your husband could do some reading at this site about ball pythons he might be less uncomfortable with one or another lizard such as a bearded dragon.

With any snake or lizard you will of course end up doing some of the care and helping your son (don't all us moms and dads end up with that when it comes to kids and pets LOL). Balls are actually quite nice snakes with the younger set as they are a more heavy bodied, slow moving snake compared to say a cornsnake (though they make excellent starter snakes as well). Balls just need a bit of research on husbandry issues as they have specific needs for temps and humidity. Would your son or you have problems feeding prey though like frozen/thawed mice or rats?

A good sturdy enclosure will ensure the snake stays put and some simple house rules about removing the snake w/o supervision are always good with my kids as well as learning how and when to handle the snakes. My kids adore the ball pythons and help with all their care as well as feeding them (a big kick once they got over the initial "oh that's gross!" thing LOL).


~~Jo~~

[lars5277]

If that thing is just chilling on your shoulder, you might have a very sick one. Remember what the site said about a healthy Iggy being a mean Iggy. We had Easa for almost 2 months and she was constantly a beast. Sometimes she would be held but just chilling on a shoulder? I am willing to bet that thing is sick.

[Shelby]

Often igs in pet stores are sick.. parasite infested and lethargic. Pet store igs are all wild caught.

[mr~python]

i dont know much about iggys but i know a lot about snakes i was 11 last year when i got my ball python. tell your husband that a ball python is much easier to take care of and a very docile snake. there is no reason not to like them if you understand them. at first my dad said "absolutely not!" when i asked him if i could get a snake, but once he finally understood them he was ok with them. he was the one who actually took me to get my snake. im sure that's exactly what you're going through(right?).

[Python-77]

I must totaly agree with the posts above stating that a Iggy is not a great pet for a child much less most adults. Now that being said I have had the pleasure of dealing with osme extremly nice Igg's but that is few and far between. If you son really likes the look of a Iggy might I suggest the compact model, a Chinese Water Dragon.
here is a pic of one of mine at around 6 months old.

They are very similar to iggy's but far smaller 20-30" 2/3rds of it tail. They are also much nicer to be around and with proper handling are as tame as any of my beardeds.
CWDs eat both crickets and veggies(if started early in life).

[Shelby]

Ah yes, I forgot to mention CWDs. Very cool lizards.. one I wouldn't mind having.

[rabernet]

If that thing is just chilling on your shoulder, you might have a very sick one. Remember what the site said about a healthy Iggy being a mean Iggy. We had Easa for almost 2 months and she was constantly a beast. Sometimes she would be held but just chilling on a shoulder? I am willing to bet that thing is sick.

Yeah, I agree, just based on my experience with Zeus. When he was feeling good, there's no way I'd NOT have a good hold on him. That boy could fly and there was no way he'd just chill on my shoulder!

[gotiggy]

I went to the pet store yesterday and they will not take the iggy back. If I didn't want it they said I had to return it after 48 hours. They told me they could not take it back, because they did not know if he was still in good health or not. I asked to exchange him for a water dragon, it would of been an even trade. They said sorry!!!


I knew this would happen to me. It is my own fault anyway, I should of studied it more before buying it.

Do you really think he is sick?? He eats well and he does run all over the place. He usually sits on us for awhile and checks everything out. Then he takes off and goes for the quilt rack behind the sofa. He likes it because it is a wall mounted rack and it is really high from the floor.

Well I guess I need to call the other vet to see if he handles Iguana's. The first one said absolutely not!!!

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your help.