Re: i need sum good adive on the agresivness of ig's

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Posted by PH Meliss on November 24, 2002 at 16:25:25:

In Reply to: i need sum good adive on the agresivness of ig's posted by Vladimer on November 23, 2002 at 22:42:49:

:ive heard they get scared really easily,

When hatchlings, yes - they are already prey and so it takes a while to figure out that humans aren't going to eat them.

:well i dont really hear goo things, only bad, thats y i came here, r they seriously !that! bad??

It depends on the iguana - and the human. Mostly on the human. Most igs are given away or abandoned by people who thought they were prepared for how much it cost to keep them, how hard it was to tame them, and what it takes to deal with them as they mature, especially males who are more territorial and potentially more aggressive than females. That being said, however, serious, permanently disfiguring bites and attacks have been done by very tame and socialized iguanas, too.

:out of curiosity, how many of u guys have been bittin?? how bad are the bites??

I've been bitten several times, each one by a highly tame and socialized iguana. One was trying to mate with me, the other mistook my hand for the piece of banana he was going for, and the other one thought my hand was going to zig when it zagged instead. The one who bit me instead of the banana, btw, did routinely go up to other humans who came too close to me (in his estimation), especially during breeding season.

How bad can the bites be? I know of a 10 year old girl who lost her thumb, and a woman recently lost part of her finger. I know a couple of others who have had their chins and necks remodeled. The last one just barely escaped having her juglar vein severed by the ig who leapt up off the floor to grab her by the neck.

Not all aggression is breeding season aggression. Some is just normal (for an ig) intimidation, often reinforced by the improper responses of their humans. Some may be due to illness and pain.

If you haven't already done so, please read my Iguana Care, Feeding & Socialization article. See also the articles on behavior, breeding season, etc., at my Green Iguana site.

You also need access to a knowledgeable reptile vet, especially since you have other reptiles. You also need to make sure you can get all the foods you need for the iguana. Since they are herbivores, you can't rely on the use of animal protein to round out an otherwise inadequate plant diet.

Igs get to be 5-6 ft a lot faster than most people think (the growth rate is in my ICFS article). The dorsal ridge on their tail is like a sharp knive blade and their teeth, though small, are set in a set of very powerful jaws in a lizard known for its determination, a lizard who, no matter how well you tame and socialize it, is still a wild animal with the instincts and reactions of a wild animal.

Iguanas remain the number 1 dumped lizard despite a decade of popularity due to their "cool" factor and how cheap they have become (at least in the U.S.). Iguanas are also continuing to die at alarming rates far earlier than they should because people really can't afford to care for them properly, and can't or won't take them to a reptile vet to get them treated as required by illness or injury.

There are a lot of wonderful lizards out there, ones who don't require giving over a large part of your own living space to them (the minimum enclosure size for an adult is 9 ft/2.75 m wide), nor who require tropical temperatures all year round, no matter how cold it gets outside or inside the house they are living in.

IOW, there are a lot more (and better) reasons for not getting an iguana than there are for getting one... ;)

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PH Meliss
Iguanas Pet Host for PetHobbyist.com
Herps and Iguanas
Herp Societies/Rescues and Vets

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