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Posted by IGUANA JOE on April 24, 2003 at 13:22:19:

In Reply to: juvie or sub adult or adult? posted by HerpGirl on April 24, 2003 at 09:35:07:

Well..... in general the majority of people agree that the best way to go, especially when starting with iguanas, is to get a juvie.

Por's n cons': you can start from scratch in taming it and getting it to know u and trust you. Cheaper to feed due to smaller quesntities of food. You will enjoy it longer since it is a juvie and will have many years ahead as your pet. Cage size does not make a differnce, since it is better to invest big first, and forget about it, than spend more money by having a smaller one, and then a bigger one within a year or two. So start with an adult-sized cage. The iguana won't have the stress sometimes happens when the enclsoures are too small and have to be replaced or changed. 6H, 6L, 4 D are the miminum requirements. And juvies cannot be sexed with accuracy, so "Jack" might turn out to be "Jackie".

Young adult's can be a little tricky. Most of them have been owned already, and so either they were abused (as in not cared for prperly or scared of humans) or already somewhat tame. They
are easier to sex... especially if over 2 years of age. They will already need a large enclosure. They eat more, and if not tame, can already slice u a bit and wack u with the tail.
They are often adoptee's.

Adults are usually avoided. They are often "rejects" from previous owners. They can be devils or angels. The former means u will have much work to do with taming it. Good thing is they can be sexed more easily. They will also need some free-roaming eventually, so u better pray that it is tame and easy to handle. If you get a male...breeding season won't be fun. A female may have problems with eggs. Adult do look cool, but are a lot of work if its ur first iguana.

All 3 need vet visits asap with fresh fecal samples. All 3 can make wonderful pets if cared for properly. Juvies are cute, teens are neat, and adults are awsome. All three are better off with a very large cage. If u live somwhere warm, like Florida, an out-door cage is the best thing in the world u can offer.

If you got any more Q's feel free to ask.
Regards,

-IJ

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