A little bit of advice

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Posted by Derek on January 21, 2001 at 03:14:39:

In Reply to: Can I get my 9yr olg male ig to stop attacking me??? posted by Dennis on January 19, 2001 at 19:04:38:

I may be repeating some of the advice already given, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

My first thought was that he had some sort of health problem, but since you've said that it started when he was two or three, then I was thinking that he was just one of those extremely aggressive types. My attack ig bit me as well when he about three, and I too lost quite a bit of trust.

If this is an attitude change that has recently gotten much worse, then I would definitely think about a vet visit...just to be sure. He may be trying to tell you something. I truly believe that older males, with something physically wrong with them, will show their pain in the form of full, blown-out rage and aggression. Not that a nine year old iguana should be considered old, but it seems to be very common for igs in the seven to ten year old range, to start developing quite a few different ailments.

Have you always fed him appropriate foods and was there a time early in his life that you may have fed him some "bad stuff" or given him improper care in any way? I'm not saying that you did or you're to blame, but many people don't realize how to care for their iguanas until some time after they get them and have been caring for them in a way that they thought was the right way. I'm the first one to admit that I didn't know what I was doing with my first iguana until a couple of years into caring for him...yes, I did provide much better care later on, but some of the care that was given early in his life, most likely attributed to his early departure. :-(

As far as a trick with dealing with attack igs...don't let him intimidate you. Get yourself a very large, thick, beach towel and take it with you everywhere you go while he's out. Let him out of his enclosure, let him sit far across the room and act like he's not even there (but of course keep a close eye on him at the same time). Chances are, if he was anything like my rage machine, he'll start the tail waggin', posturing all bad like, swagger around and probably come at ya, full of teeth and anger. When he does, drop the towel in front of you with some of it on the floor. He should run into the towel (and possibly up towards you), and then toss the rest of the towel over him. Watch out for him biting through the towel, pick him up, take him back where he was and quickly take yourself and your "safety blanket" back to your side of the room. You may also want to have a back-up towel in case he does bite the towel and clamps down on it. If this happens, leave him be with his new towel/love toy/victim and safety retreat with your backup towel to your side of the room. This may take a while, and you may have quite a few encounters, but eventually, with a little luck, he'll begin to go back into a normal, curious, "I'm just going to walk around the house, lay on the couch, and be a normal ig" mode. But, don't let your guard down, because he'll probably get a wild hair up you know where and suddenly feel like messing with you again. Hopefully, he'll liesurely walk around, and he'll probably look like a "normal iguana", but then all of a sudden, he'll remember you're there and it will start all over again. You'll need to do this routine every single day and for as long as possible per session (for hours if possible). Also, if at all possible, don't put him back in his enclosure until he's "been good" for a while (if possible that is). Okay, you asked for tricks, that's the best one I've got. ;-)

As for the advice on wearing a few thick sweatshirts...this may work, but then again, this may make him go into a seriously angry mode. I tried this approach, thinking that I could get him to think that biting me had no effect on me...but it never worked...getting a hold of me or my shirt or a glove only made the rage worse. Worse as in alligator rolls, the clamped-down jaws of death, and even while not reacting in any way, I was not convincing him anything. I'm not saying the "let 'em bite you" approach won't work, but it may not.

There's really no set trick for dealing with or curbing aggressive behavior. Most igs are different and until igs can talk, we may never really know why some igs turn like they do. Health problems, breeding season, lack of a good diet, lack of proper light, lack of good humidity, too much light, not enough light, too small of an enclosure, change in temperatures, change in seasons, changes in general, and just about a million other reasons could cause an ig to turn into the meanest creature on earth.

The best and only trick is to figure out what he's thinking or feeling...and that's one that I haven't quite figured out...yet.

Good luck!

Green Iguana Society

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: I may be repeating some of the advice already given, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents. : My first thought was that he had some sort of health problem, but since you've said that it started when he was two or three, then I was thinking that he was just one of those extremely aggressive types. My attack ig bit me as well when he about three, and I too lost quite a bit of trust. : If this is an attitude change that has recently gotten much worse, then I would definitely think about a vet visit...just to be sure. He may be trying to tell you something. I truly believe that older males, with something physically wrong with them, will show their pain in the form of full, blown-out rage and aggression. Not that a nine year old iguana should be considered old, but it seems to be very common for igs in the seven to ten year old range, to start developing quite a few different ailments. : Have you always fed him appropriate foods and was there a time early in his life that you may have fed him some "bad stuff" or given him improper care in any way? I'm not saying that you did or you're to blame, but many people don't realize how to care for their iguanas until some time after they get them and have been caring for them in a way that they thought was the right way. I'm the first one to admit that I didn't know what I was doing with my first iguana until a couple of years into caring for him...yes, I did provide much better care later on, but some of the care that was given early in his life, most likely attributed to his early departure. :-( : As far as a trick with dealing with attack igs...don't let him intimidate you. Get yourself a very large, thick, beach towel and take it with you everywhere you go while he's out. Let him out of his enclosure, let him sit far across the room and act like he's not even there (but of course keep a close eye on him at the same time). Chances are, if he was anything like my rage machine, he'll start the tail waggin', posturing all bad like, swagger around and probably come at ya, full of teeth and anger. When he does, drop the towel in front of you with some of it on the floor. He should run into the towel (and possibly up towards you), and then toss the rest of the towel over him. Watch out for him biting through the towel, pick him up, take him back where he was and quickly take yourself and your "safety blanket" back to your side of the room. You may also want to have a back-up towel in case he does bite the towel and clamps down on it. If this happens, leave him be with his new towel/love toy/victim and safety retreat with your backup towel to your side of the room. This may take a while, and you may have quite a few encounters, but eventually, with a little luck, he'll begin to go back into a normal, curious, "I'm just going to walk around the house, lay on the couch, and be a normal ig" mode. But, don't let your guard down, because he'll probably get a wild hair up you know where and suddenly feel like messing with you again. Hopefully, he'll liesurely walk around, and he'll probably look like a "normal iguana", but then all of a sudden, he'll remember you're there and it will start all over again. You'll need to do this routine every single day and for as long as possible per session (for hours if possible). Also, if at all possible, don't put him back in his enclosure until he's "been good" for a while (if possible that is). Okay, you asked for tricks, that's the best one I've got. ;-) : As for the advice on wearing a few thick sweatshirts...this may work, but then again, this may make him go into a seriously angry mode. I tried this approach, thinking that I could get him to think that biting me had no effect on me...but it never worked...getting a hold of me or my shirt or a glove only made the rage worse. Worse as in alligator rolls, the clamped-down jaws of death, and even while not reacting in any way, I was not convincing him anything. I'm not saying the "let 'em bite you" approach won't work, but it may not. : There's really no set trick for dealing with or curbing aggressive behavior. Most igs are different and until igs can talk, we may never really know why some igs turn like they do. Health problems, breeding season, lack of a good diet, lack of proper light, lack of good humidity, too much light, not enough light, too small of an enclosure, change in temperatures, change in seasons, changes in general, and just about a million other reasons could cause an ig to turn into the meanest creature on earth. : The best and only trick is to figure out what he's thinking or feeling...and that's one that I haven't quite figured out...yet. : Good luck!

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