BF wants an iguana..

My boyfriend found a good deal on an iguana and a tank and he's gonna call today.

I'm a little uneasy about it but he really want to get one.

I'm just wondering if anyone's had one and how it went for you..

Thanks.

Iguanas are really cool. My friend had smaller lizards for a few years.

Surprisingly, these things will stink up a room. Their cage needs to be cleaned often. And, they should have access to a heat lamp in order to keep their bodies warm.

The tank should be pretty large as this is a larger animal than people think. And give them little rock caves to squeeze under and bide time.

Ask yourself (and your b/f), if you were an igunana, would you want to be in hold up in a tank or would you rather be wandering around South America somewhere being free. Ignanas aren't domesticated and neither are they particularily cuddley. Just sayin'

They do, however, lend themselves to some imaginative names. I vote for James or Osterberg. (lets see how many ENAers get that!)

Iguanas are really cool. My friend had smaller lizards for a few years.

 

Surprisingly, these things will stink up a room. Their cage needs to be cleaned often. And, they should have access to a heat lamp in order to keep their bodies warm.

 

The tank should be pretty large as this is a larger animal than people think. And give them little rock caves to squeeze under and bide time.

How bad do they stink? Haha. I live in a small basement suite.. with two rooms. So not really a lot of room to hide from the smell!

I'm just worried I'm going to be creeped out and not be able to hold one. And my BF is gone for a week and then home for a week, so during the time he's gone I'd be the one looking after it.

I think they look cool. I'm just not really a pet person, but I've never had one so part of me wants to give it a try.

How bad do they stink? Haha. I live in a small basement suite.. with two rooms. So not really a lot of room to hide from the smell!

 

I'm just worried I'm going to be creeped out and not be able to hold one. And my BF is gone for a week and then home for a week, so during the time he's gone I'd be the one looking after it.

 

I think they look cool. I'm just not really a pet person, but I've never had one so part of me wants to give it a try.

They stink pretty bad, actually. I can't describe it. It's not the lizards themselves but their wastes. It's similar to having a bird, I suppose. You just really have to keep up on the cleaning. My friend wasn't very good about it and that's probably why it smelled so bad.

Also, you'll be feeding the iguana live food, most likely. So, if you're left with this thing alone, you'll be the one dumping crickets into its tank.

They stink pretty bad, actually. I can't describe it. It's not the lizards themselves but their wastes. It's similar to having a bird, I suppose. You just really have to keep up on the cleaning. My friend wasn't very good about it and that's probably why it smelled so bad.

 

 

Also, you'll be feeding the iguana live food, most likely. So, if you're left with this thing alone, you'll be the one dumping crickets into its tank.

The one that we're looking at apparently eats veggies and fruits, and sometimes meal worms. It's a Juvenille Iguana. In the picture, it looks quite small actually - he's just holding it in his hand and the tail is hanging down.

Awesome and unique pets! Cheap to care for, very interesting behaviours! I use to put mine on my pant leg and it would just chill there as I walked around like a fixture! Like anything with a mouth it can bite, but almost always on accident so if you handle/feed it by hand just watch the fingertips. Basically respect it's ability to nip ya like you would a turtle. They look slow but can be fast so watch in delight as it makes a break for your Christmas tree and hit the top in 4 seconds flat! You'll get a great laugh out of it!

Don't let it gross you or freak you out. They are really neat animals! I miss mine, but I moved onto Tarantulas as my choice now. Make sure you pick out a cool name that fits it's personality, they actually all tend to have their own, even Tarantulas do and they're 'just spiders' to most people. But like any animal if you watch it long enough you'll see what I'm talking about.

It's a cool one. Don't sweat it. He'll be thrilled if you embrace it too. Keep a little exotic fruit, especially kiwi as a treat and it will love you long time! GL

- Matt

Ask yourself (and your b/f), if you were an igunana, would you want to be in hold up in a tank or would you rather be wandering around South America somewhere being free. Ignanas aren't domesticated and neither are they particularily cuddley. Just sayin'

 

They do, however, lend themselves to some imaginative names. I vote for James or Osterberg. (lets see how many ENAers get that!)

Ask yourself if you were an THE iguana in question. Would you rather be thrown away, killed, or taken in by someone who will provide for you with a lamp, water, and food?

Thanks for that! They sound pretty interesting.

My BF already named it Burt. Haha, he hasn't even called yet and he's already named it!

Ask yourself (and your b/f), if you were an igunana, would you want to be in hold up in a tank or would you rather be wandering around South America somewhere being free. Ignanas aren't domesticated and neither are they particularily cuddley. Just sayin'

 

They do, however, lend themselves to some imaginative names. I vote for James or Osterberg. (lets see how many ENAers get that!)

Yeah, well this guy is going to sell it to someone.. haha it's not going back to South America. It wouldn't be my first choice as a pet either, but who knows.. maybe I'll come to love the little guy.

Ask yourself if you were an THE iguana in question. Would you rather be thrown away, killed, or taken in by someone who will provide for you with a lamp, water, and food?

I'd rather be free, but the poster does make a good point that it's already "not in the wild" so....yes this is the next best thing.

Yeah, well this guy is going to sell it to someone.. haha it's not going back to South America. It wouldn't be my first choice as a pet either, but who knows.. maybe I'll come to love the little guy.

I think you will. And I believe your logic on the matter of keeping exotic pets; it's already here. In fact a lot of people not educated in the exotics hobby may not realize a lot of variants are captive bred, and not wild caught. And since the 'deed is done' the next best thing you can do to help the animal is care for it.

On the info about a 'smell' This is either poor housekeeping, or really sensative smell. I changed the bedding in my talk once every couple of months and it wasn't even ten bucks. I never noticed a significant odor. Crickets are captive bred and dirt cheap as well but I never fed mine any live prey. They are happy as hell with fresh fruits! It may even encourage you and your SO to start eating a little healthier too!

Now they will grow to be quite big as stated. But it takes a LONG time for this growth to mature. Mine stayed in a 10 gallow tank for years with a simple basking rock, and some greens and never seemed anything less than content. I knew someone who had theirs for over 10 years, and they grew from nose to tail tip about 3.5 FEET long. They actually kept them lose in the house. It was a quarter million dollar home and they usually sat on the fireplace rock content to just sit there. I never heard horror stories about them attacking anyone in this home, or destroying any furniture.

They really just kinda chill there all beedy eyed until they get an idea, and that's not often. I would seriously just let it happen and give it an honest go. From owning one small one myself for a few years, to witnessing them full grown lounging around an expensive home I can say they are pretty cool to keep.

Heck! They sell leashes to take them for walks! LOL!

- Matt

LOL. I'm sure I would get quite a few looks out walking my iguana!

I'm glad that I can just feed it fresh food, though. The idea of crickets and other things would REALLY turn me off.

Thanks for all the advice!

I had an igauna... I named him Tarzan only to find out that he was really a she.

I got it as a juvenile but they grow amazingly quick. They require special uv lights, adequate space. I took mine out of his/her cage everyday and put her in the bath tub or kiddy pool to swim. This helps them go poo too and yes their poo smells so if you are not consistent with the cleaning of the cage it can get nasty.

They stink but thats about it. A lot of maintaince just as any animal would demand.

I love iguanas. But where I live, they run rampant. Be sure to buy a "heating rock", as it can't regulate it's own body temp.

When I had mine back in the day it was mega expensive to set up and then keep running properly their heat lamp alone should be ran 24/7 being their tropical animals. You also have to clean the tank like once a day other wise it smells really bad! and there prone to sickness easily I liked him but I don't think I would do it again personalty. I also use to go thu like at least 40 bucks a week to feed him between the fresh fruit/veg and the live foods..