Beautiful story!!I loved it! Now I want an Iggy for me too!

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Posted by Flavia Guimaraes on August 29, 2002 at 02:19:45:

In Reply to: My Desert Iggy Story! posted by billshorneys on August 28, 2002 at 22:39:10:

Are they easier to tame than green iguanas??

Flavia
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:Hello Iguana Lovers! I joined this forum you might say thanks to my son Andrew! He wants to get a Desert Iguana. I told him about the one I had while living in Arizona, and Florida. That is a story in itself. Anyway, I have found someone who breds Desert Iguanas. So I hope to get a couple juveniles in a month or so! Anyway on with my story! In 1966 my family and I vacationed in San Diego CA. We vacationed in San Diego almost every Summer! But this Summer I was looking for a Desert Iguana because I had recently lost a green Iguana and thought a Desert Iguana would be easier to care for since I lived in the Desert! I lived in Mesa AZ at the time near Phoenix. Saw an ad in a San Diego classifieds paper selling Desert Iguanas for $1.00 each. Went to the home of some private collectors. They got the Iguanas from the Mojave Desert! We got two, one for me and one for my brother. It was September. Mine survived the winter my brothers didn't. His didn't very eat well. Even force-fed it. But if they are skinny going into winter they won't survive to spring! Anyway, I learned a lot about taking care of "Iggy", I named him short for Iguana of course. He was the pale white variety and my favorite pet I have ever had! It's amazing how attached you can get to a lizard! He was part of the family! He went on vacations with us everywhere! I don't know what the record of having the little guys in captivity are, but I had him from Sept 1966 to October 1982. 16 years. He was getting blind and had a hard time seeing his food in his tray! I never had him in a terrarium or aquarium but a plain old cardboard box. Every morning I set it up where he could climb out of his box onto the couch or a shelf against the wall depending on where he found his sun. He would bask in the rising sun get active climb off the shelf or couch, and run around the house for awhile, come back into the living room, do his duty, then get back up in the sun! I'd feed him lettuce, grated carrots, some fruits, mealworms which he loved. Also dandy lion flowers, and yellow milk weed flowers! When I fed him meal worms he did something I never saw a Desert Iguana do before. I would hold the worm in front of him higher than his reach. He would actually stand up on his hind legs grasping for the worm! Kept himself balanced for along time before he got back down on all fours. He looked like a minature T-Rex. In the afternoons he would settle down on the shelf and go to sleep in a little box. He would routinely do this every day! Sometimes I'd take him outside, and he'd bask in the sun. I had it fixed so he could get in the shade if he wanted to, but I would find him laying in the hot sun so warm he'd be paler than he already was, and panting like a dog. He enjoyed the heat. He was as tame as you could get in a lizard! I have never had one since as tame as he was! I'd sometimes lay on my back and let him warm up on my chest. He'd wiggle his little sides and go to sleep! My Mother would say he thinks he is people! I think he felt like part of the family! In the winter he would go into partial hibernation, He'd scratch to get out of his box every few days or when it got warmer! Sometimes I would give him water in an eyedropper. Sometimes he would get a cold. White crust would build up around his nostrils, and he'd sneeze. I would give him bird vitamins and he'd be over it in a week or so! One time my brother had a large green Praying Mantis for a pet. Some how he got out of his cage, and was missing for awhile. Next thing I knew my brother was chasing after Iggy with his Praying Mantis half down Iggys throat. I tried to get the Mantis out of Iggys mouth, but he wouldn't let go! To late for the Mantis. The last thing I saw was the poor Mantis frantically thrashing his arms trying to get away! My brother was not to happy with Iggy for a few days! A year or so later I got another Desert Iguana I named Wana I had Iggy, and now Wana. Iggy-Wana, short for Iguana. She was just the opposite from Iggy, she was wild and afraid all the time! Even holding her she would never tame down! In 1978 we moved to Florida! I was worried about the humid climate but Iggy did fine! I had him 4 more years before he decided to leave us! It was strange because we took a vacation trip out West to AZ and CA. While in San Diego he died. The same town we bought him in! It seems like he was waiting to go back home to pass away! To this day I fondly remember my friend Iggy and miss his presence in my life! I don't know if I could find another one like him! But now my son would like to find one! Since Iggy shared 16 years of his life with my family I have my own family and might try again to raise one, or two in our home for 16 more years. Hope you enjoyed my story. I have some photos of Iggy, I will post them when I find them! Bill

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