iguana popularity dropping?

I still see tons of igs for adoption, doesthe situationseem to be getting any better? I notice a lot of people still buying pets without thinking, but it seems that the amount of uneducated herp owners, especially iguanas seems to be staying the smae. I've only been into herps for a few years however, so i'm curious abpotu old timers opinions...

Well, Iguanas were "the" reptile to get back in the day. Now, other, smaller, more predictable, more handleable, easier to care for, friendlier animals are available. I had iguanas, and they both died because our VET at the time recieved newsletters stating that high protein diets, including catfood and dogfood made them grow faster. When we brought them back in for calcium proiblems and gout a year or so later, he told us that it wasnt' a good idea...they had NEW info.

So, I was at the cutting edge back then, and our poor iguanas suffered as a result. They start out so cute and small and cheap (ours were $40 each, and they were tiny), they are easy to impulse buy.

Plus, people think a herbivore is a plus - that it is going to be easier to feed them. not the case. It's hard to balance their diet, and they need a lot of space.

I raise chameleons. Iguanas are far more challenging, for a number of reasons.

I have to agree with Eric. At one time iggies were the thing to have but through the years we as a community have come to realize there is far more easier pets to have. Iguanas are very cool. But they require so much more space and time than at one time was thought. Plus as Eric also pointed out their diet can be a challenge. I wish I had more space to be able to work with them but I just don't. I think alot of people buy them because they are cheap and most pet stores lead buyers to think they are easy. Then once they get them home and start to research a little relize they might have bit off more than they can chew.

To add to all of this there are so many more smaller more handable reptiles available from captive born stock now than say 15-20 years ago.

All I can say is that somedays MY iguana is unpopular with me.

I almost never see iguanas in pet stores anymore like I used to. That is a good thing to me. I got my iguana 16 years ago when they were the "it" pet. Everyone else I knew that got one around the same time as me put theirs to sleep or it died from poor care. It saddens me. I would like to see iguana adoption have the same care and screening as if you were adopting a dog or cat from the ASPCA.

YEah, I got mine even before they were "in". I've been keeping chameleons for over 10 years, and we had iguanas for more than 5 years before we got chameleons. Unfortunatly, NOBODY knew how to care for them properly, and the few that did, well, it was hard ot get that info out to the little 10 year olds... No internet, no good books.

Byt he time we figured out how to care for htem, they had kidney amage and were stunted from MBD. Poor Ned and Spike.

They are so very hard to keep alive and in good condition unless you have a lot of space, time and patience. Even them, they can be nasty, and inflict more damage than almost any other reptile commonly kept - 6 footers have a NASTY bite, plus claws and tail. They need to be kept more like a domestic herbivore (goat or sheet) than a dog or cat - unless you paper train them, which takes time. When they're paper trained, they are AWESOME pets, just like a housecat. It's just hard to do it.

I will get one again in the future - when I have space to keep one in a free oram setup in a reptile dedicated room.

I remember those times... It was very difficult to find a vet that knew what they were talking about. The books they had available at the time I got my ig were crazy. I have a book, made in the late 80s where this guy says igs can eat pizza. Seriously. The caresheet I came home from the petstore with included broccoli, dog food, and lettuce as the staples. Broccoli gave my ig serious diarhea and I had already known lettuce wasn't anything to give a reptile. But the dog food, sadly to say, was a main ingredient in my ig's diet the first 4 years we had him. Lucky for us, nothing went horribly wrong, and he's still very healthy. He's been a free roaming ig his entire life living amongst 3 cats and a dog which have become sleeping buddies. We ended up raising him like a dog because no one really knew what they were doing. So I think he secretly thinks he's a dog. Even hisses at the mailman on a daily basis....

Originally Posted by coyote

All I can say is that somedays MY iguana is unpopular with me.

hee!

thanks for the replies! I have only met a few pet iguanas and I am glad for it. i got to see a wild one in mexico which was cool! I think they are beautiful animals and it just makes me sad to see how hard it is to even give a way or adopt igs out as pets to proper owners. It is unfortunate that so many had to die of bad care for people to figure out their proper care.

i was discussing this with a friend and she thinks red tailed boas are becoming the new "iguana," which does seem to be happening alot. A rescuer i know places up to one red tail a week during the most sire months of the year!

i know the petshop i work at wont carry iggies at all because if we sell one it will either be back in a year or so , or they end up dieing in a few months and the people want a refund .
my nephew has 2 in the three and a half to four foot range . my brother converted a walkin closet into an iguana cage for them . they also raom my nephews room when he is home . their closet is 8 ft by 8 ft by 8 ft and has two home made trees built into it as well as a couple shelves at various hieghts for them .
i agree that they require alot of time and effort to raise , but if you have the space and the willingness to do what needs to be done , they can make good pets .

Originally Posted by markface

i agree that they require alot of time and effort to raise , but if you have the space and the willingness to do what needs to be done , they can make good pets .

yeah, I've known a few people, one of my cousins included, that had a really nice setup for their igs. it's just sad that a lot of people will buy anything, a kitten, fish, puppy, or reptile and expect it to stay exactly the way they want it. i admire those who are able to provide and research the things they want to do before getting in too deep.
just wish more buyers would do their homework.