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Posted by xta on March 16, 2003 at 12:09:41:

In Reply to: Re: Ban Iguanas posted by BeDreamin on March 15, 2003 at 21:07:53:

:Just thought I'd offer my thoughts, as I am one of the many who really did not know what he was doing when I first got my iguana. I was about nine years old when I got Rex. An iguana was like the "in" pet to have back then. I happened to have adaquate housing for him, he was in a fifty gallon tank with lots of room and lighting/heat from the start, but I admit, I was pretty much just guessing. The local pet shop was filled with scrawny igs that just got shelled out left and right. When I think of all the poor iguanas that my friends had that didn't make it, I truely am ashamed. I always fed Rex romaine lettuce (yes, I know better now). Most of the igs that were sold around here got plain iceberg lettuce, and no vitamin supplement as babies (one thing I did always give Rex as a juvenille, everyday) and withered away.
:Once it came time to move Rex to a large, adult size enclosure is when I actually started to read up a little, and came to better understand proper diet, heating, humidity, and lighting. Most of this information I found online, mainly Melissa Kaplans pages.
:The big problem is pet stores. It's seldom that you ever even meet an employee who cares about animals, and when you do you can really tell they are often breaking their back to care for their animals, often under management that really does not care. When I got Rex, I was told that all an ig needed was romaine lettuce and to be misted w/ a squirt bottle, no need for a water dish. I thank God that I found out about dandelines and other diet items soon enough. I really believe that the small amount of nutrition in romaine versus iceberg (along w/ vitamin powder supplement) is what allowed Rex to make it until I learned proper care.
:Another crazy notion entertained by pet stores is that the iguana will not outgrow it's enclosure. Around here people were told that a lizard will grow according to his surroundings, that he will reach a sort of equilibrium with his cage somehow.
:Every time I see baby igs in a pet store I really do cringe. Let alone when you see lizards that have obviously been dead for some time, IN the the enclosure, that have become just more furniture for the others.
:I don't know if I really have anything to offer as far as a ban, but you really do have a valid point. Like I said, I am ashamed of any suffering Rex may have endured as a juvenille, and I really do thank God that he made it. So much of the suffering imposed on iguanas is the fault of pet stores looking for profit. I'll admit, I may not have bought Rex if I had known what it took back then, but after seeing so many other poor little igs in my area die off, I feel the odds are he would have died with someone else.
:I suppose it isn't fair to ban any sort of animal, but it really does break my heart to think of all the hurt that
:people end up putting things like iguanas and Beta fish through....

::I�ve been in the herp hobby for about 20 years now and I�m wondering if it�s not time to ban the sale and importation of some animals outright. Iguana�s come to mind as a prime example. Over the years I think I�ve seen more abuse inflicted on these animals than any other herp. They are cute little things when young but the vast majority of people who purchase them have neither the time, finances or inclination to properly take care of them as adults. That�s assuming that they make it that far. I�d absolutely love to see an accurate census of the number of animals imported into the country and the number that end up still alive 5 years down the road. It�s almost like a reptile holocaust. So if people really care about these animals as much as they say they do, they should support a ban of the keeping of these animals as pets. Grandfather the animals already in the country but ban outright the importation of any more. They belong in the wild or in zoos but not in the hands of the vast majority of the general public.

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