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Green Iguanas in the pet trade.

varnyard

varnyard

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This post is just my opinion.

I wanted to start a conversation about Green Iguanas as pets. I would like your thoughts and opinions on this as well.

My thoughts are that they should not be in the pet trade for a few reasons. If you think of how many are sold in the pet trade each year, verses the amount of adults that are around, this would make one wonder how many parish each year.

It is common knowledge that the pet trade offers these for very cheap prices. It also usually comes with a spiel about how easy they are to care for. Or how tame they are. This is far from the truth. I have seen some that were quite tame, I have owned quite a few as well. Most of the ones I have had were rescues. The biggest part of them were not at the least part tame. But most only get more aggressive with time. Iguanas tend to get mean around the age of three, the time they start getting sexually mature. I have seen adults that were tame as babies, only to turn very aggressive as they mature.

They are also not for the budding herper. They are far from easy to care for. This along with the size they can obtain makes them not the best choice for new keepers. Then this issue of lighting and feeding. They require special needs. I would say all of these reasons add up to the very high mortality rate in these animals.

This said, if the budding herper are not experienced enough to keep and care for the green iguanas. Then this leaves the advanced herpers to keep them. I do not know to many advanced herpers that have a desire to keep big greens, there are some out there, but I do not know of many.
Give me your input and thoughts on this.
 
I agree with you. I think it is unconscionable the way juvenile iguanas are marketed. I have had a few myself--have an adult now in fact. Although some were tame, they did not enjoy being handled. The adult male I have now is an aggressive sh*t. He has been that way since he was a hatchling. I would never give him to an inexperienced person. Also, iguana husbandry is so critical and so commonly neglected that it is shameful. I hope never to see another ric-rac spine and tail. They are definitely a specialty. A person needs prior animal handling experience, preferably with livestock!, a realistic attitude and courage in order to properly handle sexually mature iguana males.
 
Many here know my thoughts on iguanas as it is. With proper care they can be great pets, they are beautiful but need to be respected just as any other animal. It seems many just do not want to put the time and energy needed into them. I have taken in rescues and babies that I have found homes for, all of which had an attitude problem, yet each one in turn became tame in one way or another. My current one does not like to be held, but she loves being hand fed, a trust she used to never give people. It used to be a tail whip then a run and eat while the person was staggering with a black eye. If someone is competent enough to care for one then let them. Take them off the market then which reptile will be the next to follow?

This goes with any animal, how many buy a dog and do not have the ability to care for it? How many buy a Macaw, yet they do not want to put time into the bird so it becomes a pain? The Chapuchin monkey, there is a problem right there. These nice and cute little spider monkeys are so adorable everyone should own one. Look on the web, these things can be vicious little terrorist. There was a story last week about a mans pet bull that killed him...what? Yeap, pet!

There is no excuse for any animal not getting the proper care needed for it. There is no excuse for a person who says "well I didn't know the hognose snake was venomous and could hurt my daughter"(true story of someone I know, a lady's 4 year old daughter was chewed on by there hognose and they never knew it carried toxins). There is so much at our fingertips to find out the information needed. No excuse for saying you did not know a great dane would get so big. or that a Cockatoo can bite off a finger, or not knowing an adult burmese python could kill your 14 year old son.

Look at the ball python market, they are sold for the same price as iguanas and you know that they are not always healthy. Thousands die each year because of poor husbandry at stores, homes and even through transport. Many are given to someone else, many do not want to bother with a $200 vet bill on a $4 snake. They carry salmonella and can be dangerous if you lick them. They can be bred with a cottonmouth and be poisonous(some people...!). You want a market that is way over done then that is the place to look, sorry but buying 100 females just to breed out $40,000 animals and trying to sell them is crazy. Ball pythons are an exploited animal, not everyone can afford to pay $500 just for a male pastel. They are not treated as a snake for it's natural beauty any more, they are widely used for money gain by breeders. What new morph will hatch out this year or next year and who is going to be the next sucker to pay the $60,000 price tag. I will not be surprised if the price of ball python morphs drop to the price of corn snake morphs.

Don't get me wrong, I am a sucker for an Albino Pied, but I am in no way going to refinance my place just to buy one. Instead I will drool on my keyboard, at least a tissue to clean up with is cheaper then that snake.
 
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