Taming Ig

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Iguana Forum ]

Posted by nanci on January 17, 2002 at 07:11:01:

In Reply to: Re: Taming an Iguana posted by vicky on January 16, 2002 at 19:15:16:

: I have a different opinion, I'm not saying I'm right, but just thought I'd share. If an iguana is really scared of you the isnt it better to first gain its trust before handling it? If you keep grabbing into the cage and forcing it to be held, you just going to scare him and the taming period wont be pleasant for the iguana.
: I did it in a different way, and it took me about 3 -4 months to get him completely tame. First of all I gave him a few weeks to get settled in. I started by giving him mostly food by hand. I would hold a large leaf infront of him and if he wanted it he would eat. Eventually he will get totally comfortable with this. Then you can try tempting him onto your flat hand with food. When he will climb onto your hand with out any hesitations, try to move your hand about a bit to get him used to the movement. If he wants to get off, let him go. Never restrain him. You can then try to take him out of the cage, but stay near to the OPEN cage so that he can return easily. He will eventually climb out onto you by himself.
: This will definately take time, and you'll feel when he's ready for the next stage. Be Warned, mine used to climb off me any moment he could in the beginning after coming out of the cage and this often took a long while to catch him again.

Yes, we all do things differently and what works for one doesn't always work for someone else. The reason I kept handling mine is because he was a teeny thing when he came here and in the beginning he was fine when you reached in and picked him up. As he got older and bigger he started whipping and biting. My other board recommended to KEEP handling him. They said if he KNOWS you'll stop trying to get him when he whips and bites, he will continue doing it. When he knows you mean business, then he'll stop. They also said to keep it up when they're small because you can really get hurt if you try to tame it when it's bigger (because of the tail and teeth).

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: : I have a different opinion, I'm not saying I'm right, but just thought I'd share. If an iguana is really scared of you the isnt it better to first gain its trust before handling it? If you keep grabbing into the cage and forcing it to be held, you just going to scare him and the taming period wont be pleasant for the iguana. : : I did it in a different way, and it took me about 3 -4 months to get him completely tame. First of all I gave him a few weeks to get settled in. I started by giving him mostly food by hand. I would hold a large leaf infront of him and if he wanted it he would eat. Eventually he will get totally comfortable with this. Then you can try tempting him onto your flat hand with food. When he will climb onto your hand with out any hesitations, try to move your hand about a bit to get him used to the movement. If he wants to get off, let him go. Never restrain him. You can then try to take him out of the cage, but stay near to the OPEN cage so that he can return easily. He will eventually climb out onto you by himself. : : This will definately take time, and you'll feel when he's ready for the next stage. Be Warned, mine used to climb off me any moment he could in the beginning after coming out of the cage and this often took a long while to catch him again. : Yes, we all do things differently and what works for one doesn't always work for someone else. The reason I kept handling mine is because he was a teeny thing when he came here and in the beginning he was fine when you reached in and picked him up. As he got older and bigger he started whipping and biting. My other board recommended to KEEP handling him. They said if he KNOWS you'll stop trying to get him when he whips and bites, he will continue doing it. When he knows you mean business, then he'll stop. They also said to keep it up when they're small because you can really get hurt if you try to tame it when it's bigger (because of the tail and teeth).

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Iguana Forum ]