Iguana Temperament

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Posted by M.Eguro on December 12, 1999 at 16:37:20:

In Reply to: Several Million Questions for the Experts on this board. posted by Priest8841 on December 10, 1999 at 23:08:54:

Welcome to this board!!

The other folks have answered your other questions wonderfully. I thought I would just add something about ig temperament.

I agree you should get one from rescue. There are so many tame and sweet igs out there that can be perfect as a new family member.

I personally would *never* choose a baby iguana that is really wild, i.e squirming in my hand and trying to bite, etc. Yes, with regular handling these igs may become tame, some may even become very tame, HOWEVER... the wild ones will also very likely have a predisposition to have high flight potential and will probably take a lot longer to tame than one that is sweet. Some very wild igs may never tame completely. Don't mistake an unhealthy, sickly ig for a tame one though.

Igs that are skittish don't deal well with strangers coming into the house, they don't like to be taken out of the house and have crowds of people petting them. If they see a dog or other human in the distance they will *BOLT* out of sight faster than anyone could catch them, or at the very least they will try to hide, etc. there *are* iguanas out there that are much, much calmer and will put up with a variety of stresses, including being handled by crowds of friendly, gentle strangers.

Now of course there can never be any guarantees as far as temperament is concerned (even if you buy from a breeder), but if you choose a nice tame *adult*, chances are they will make a better iguana as far as interaction is concerned, than a wild and untrusting one. I took a lot of time to choose my igs and I am *very* pleased with their temperaments. Both of mine are females and one is 6 yrs old, the other is 2. I have had them since they were tiny babies. For a male ig, you may have to deal with breeding season aggression but with a non spayed female you may have to deal with egg laying. This is a matter of personal opinion which you prefer.

Best of luck, and find a sweet rescue ig!!!!

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: Welcome to this board!! : The other folks have answered your other questions wonderfully. I thought I would just add something about ig temperament. : I agree you should get one from rescue. There are so many tame and sweet igs out there that can be perfect as a new family member. : I personally would *never* choose a baby iguana that is really wild, i.e squirming in my hand and trying to bite, etc. Yes, with regular handling these igs may become tame, some may even become very tame, HOWEVER... the wild ones will also very likely have a predisposition to have high flight potential and will probably take a lot longer to tame than one that is sweet. Some very wild igs may never tame completely. Don't mistake an unhealthy, sickly ig for a tame one though. : Igs that are skittish don't deal well with strangers coming into the house, they don't like to be taken out of the house and have crowds of people petting them. If they see a dog or other human in the distance they will *BOLT* out of sight faster than anyone could catch them, or at the very least they will try to hide, etc. there *are* iguanas out there that are much, much calmer and will put up with a variety of stresses, including being handled by crowds of friendly, gentle strangers. : Now of course there can never be any guarantees as far as temperament is concerned (even if you buy from a breeder), but if you choose a nice tame *adult*, chances are they will make a better iguana as far as interaction is concerned, than a wild and untrusting one. I took a lot of time to choose my igs and I am *very* pleased with their temperaments. Both of mine are females and one is 6 yrs old, the other is 2. I have had them since they were tiny babies. For a male ig, you may have to deal with breeding season aggression but with a non spayed female you may have to deal with egg laying. This is a matter of personal opinion which you prefer. : Best of luck, and find a sweet rescue ig!!!!

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