Part of Growing up...............

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Posted by nanci on November 13, 2001 at 08:58:47:

In Reply to: arg! why'd she try to bite me???? posted by badgrrl on November 12, 2001 at 20:18:11:

: Arg!!! I picked up my baby ig like i always do, around the middle and not the neck or tail or anything and when I got her all the way out of the cage she tried to bite the index finger on my other hand!! She has NEVER shown any kind of aggression or anything so I was really freaked out. Is she mad because I took her to the vet or something? It didn't hurt or even break the skin but I didn't know what caused her to do that. She's been getting a little more squirmy lately (I've had her for ~ 3 weeks now), like she squirms around when I pick her up and she runs up and down my legs/arms when I hold her. Is this normal or did I do something bad to make her mad? Help -- she was soo friendly before!!

When we first got Max, he was so tiny and gentle and as he grew and got a little more independent, he would try to bite and whip his tail every time I tried to take him out of the cage. Once I had him out, it was okay. Also......if you have touched food that smells interesting to your ig, your iguana doesn't know it's your finger and might decide to sample. My ig seems to do that with seafood and fish. In fact, my ig hadn't nipped in months and months and the other day I had been making crab patties and picked him up afterwards and he "nibbled". In his case, there is a definite difference between a nibble and a bite........he doesn't hurt at all with a nibble.

Anyway, it did take me six months to get Max to stop trying to bite. Around that time, I also turned him into a "free roamer" and bought a soft little cover (which he still sleeps with) to pick him up, so maybe all of that helped. After that he did nip once in a while, but it became less and less and now not at all.

Be patient and handle your ig as much as you can. I also see they (at least mine) does NOT like loud noises or loud people. They seem to like it soft and quiet.

nanci

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: : Arg!!! I picked up my baby ig like i always do, around the middle and not the neck or tail or anything and when I got her all the way out of the cage she tried to bite the index finger on my other hand!! She has NEVER shown any kind of aggression or anything so I was really freaked out. Is she mad because I took her to the vet or something? It didn't hurt or even break the skin but I didn't know what caused her to do that. She's been getting a little more squirmy lately (I've had her for ~ 3 weeks now), like she squirms around when I pick her up and she runs up and down my legs/arms when I hold her. Is this normal or did I do something bad to make her mad? Help -- she was soo friendly before!! : When we first got Max, he was so tiny and gentle and as he grew and got a little more independent, he would try to bite and whip his tail every time I tried to take him out of the cage. Once I had him out, it was okay. Also......if you have touched food that smells interesting to your ig, your iguana doesn't know it's your finger and might decide to sample. My ig seems to do that with seafood and fish. In fact, my ig hadn't nipped in months and months and the other day I had been making crab patties and picked him up afterwards and he "nibbled". In his case, there is a definite difference between a nibble and a bite........he doesn't hurt at all with a nibble. : Anyway, it did take me six months to get Max to stop trying to bite. Around that time, I also turned him into a "free roamer" and bought a soft little cover (which he still sleeps with) to pick him up, so maybe all of that helped. After that he did nip once in a while, but it became less and less and now not at all. : Be patient and handle your ig as much as you can. I also see they (at least mine) does NOT like loud noises or loud people. They seem to like it soft and quiet. : nanci

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