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Thinking About Getting an Iguana

Remelody

Remelody

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To start off, I've always been a reptile lover. I love the way they look, act, and I simply love the way they are. For years I've been into birds - parrots, pigeons, doves and even ducks, but now I think I'm ready to get a reptile. I chose an iguana because of their size, diet, and tamability. I don't want a tiny reptile that will only last a few years and I can't get a reptile that eats crickets, because my roomie absolutely despises crickets, so I think an iguana would be the best option for me. :yesnod:
First of all, I have a few questions, of course. I printed out a huge 37 pg. manual dedicated to indepth iguana care, and I'm going to keep that close to me, but I always need backup information and guidance. :) So here it goes.
I've heard iguanas can be "free-run" of a sort. I think I'd love to share my room with an iguana, as for many years (not anymore though) I've shared it with other lovely creatures. What do I need to do to make sure my room is iguana-safe? It is heated, of course, but how warm does the whole room need to be? Where would I hang the lights? Obviously they'd like to find a place to sleep or go to the bathroom (though I'm not afraid to clean up), and where should I put those and what should they be?
Lately I've been looking around town for some igs. There are 3 small ones that I know of so far, and I'd say they're a bit over a foot long, tail included. From what I could see, there was one male and 2 females. One of the two females is at an aquarium store dedicated to selling fish and reptiles, and the other male and female are at an independently owned pet store that deals with pretty much everything. I know the guy who owns the store and I know he's very knowledgeable.

Do those places sound reputable and trustworthy enough?

And should I get a male or female? That's a big question for me. I've heard males can get aggressive. I have no care about size - I've built aviaries as big as half my house before, so of course that wouldn't be an issue, but I don't want an ig that's aggressive.
I know everything there is to know about their diet, as I have a few huge charts dedicated to different vegetables, fruits and other food items that are good, what they contain, and also certain plants and foods that are poisonous.

Aside from that... I guess I just want to say hello to everyone. :)
It looks like a good site.
 
Well. I'll toss a few things in here and hope not to get attacked for them. I would never buy an iguana from a pet store. I did that when I first started out and will never do it again. Unless the store can prove otherwise, majority of them are farm raised in poor conditions with low quality food that will lead to vet bills and heartache before too long. This is what happened to me. Also as far as I know there us no way to tell if it is a male for female until it gets about 2 yrs old. A 12" iguana is far from that stage and I personally don't know anyone who would be able to tell at that age. However, you may want to get a young juvi because of temperment. It is what you make it, for the most part. Personally when I am in the market for my next iguana, I will definitely be looking at rescue again because there are so many unwanted iguanas out there. Plus you already know what gender they are and their disposition/temperment. And that is where you get the bigger ones! I rescued one years ago, great female. She was free roam only if someone else was home. She never had an accident outside her cage either thankfully, but lemme tell you, if they do, you won't want to keep having to clean that up! I would even let her sleep at the foot of my bed, like a dog, on occassion. She really thought she was a dog. I wish you luck and hope you find the iguana of your dreams! If there is anything else I can try and help you with, let me know.
 
Yeah, I was thinking about the whole pet store thing... Personally, I never buy animals from the pet store unless they're in very bad conditions and I want to rescue. I will talk to the people at the pet store about their iguanas, for sure. They seem to be in good condition, but could be better. There are no iguanas at the rescues here... In Regina, Saskatchewan, that is. They only deal with dogs and cats. There is a rescue out in Saskatoon that I know of, but the thing is that they are no longer holding animals for some reason. They used to have an iguana that I was thinking of adopting, but it got adopted before I got to it. If you have breeders in Saskatchewan (close to Regina, if possible) or rescues with iguanas... I'd be grateful! But I would like to start with a young one, because I'd like to spend many years with it. Gender would be one of the last of my concerns...

Thank you! :D
 
The main thing to remember about Iguanas is to read everything you can. The sad thing about most pet shops are the animals are not in the best of shape, often times they are imports. They might have many things wrong with them, parasites and MBD to name a few.

Bar None Reptiles, has good advice above. :thumbsup:
 
Sexing these animals is easy, they have a row of scales that run down the inside of the back legs. It runs from close to the vent to the knee. These scales are raised buttons in males, they look like little buttons running in a row.

The females do not have these and the scales are smooth there.
 
I know about the vents, but I didn't think that was prominent until they were older. Especially bigger than 12 inches! I can't think of any rescues off hand as I am in NY, but what you could do is get on petfinder.com and put in your location and do a search that way. You'll find places and things you never even knew existed that way! Sometimes I look around that way for fun to see if anyone needs some help. Even a 5 or 6 year old will still give you many years to enjoy.

Wow! I feel honored, I got a thumbs up from varnyard!
 
Shannon, actually sexing can be done at a early age this way. They keep this row of scales throughout their life.

The top picture is the male, the bottom photo is the female.
 
Remelody said:
:D Thanks, that's great for my care manual. Now even more pages to print out. Muahahahaha.
Click to expand...

No problem!! Glad to help!! :thumbsup:
 
Cool! Good to know that it is more conclusive now. Not like I ever planned on breeding the ones I had anyway, but it helps when you are naming them. Glad I learned something new today aside from giant kelp species, blah stupid essay for school. Sorry petfinder didn't help. That was about all I could think of aside from hitting reptile shows. It's rare to find one, but I wouldn't give up. The day you do is the day one will be posted! Best I can say is research alot.
 
Okay, so one of the two pet stores selling iguanas is pretty good, I'd say.
They're blue-diamond green iguanas, apparently. Canadian bred. They're young, and eat a huge variety of good fruits and vegetables. The people there are very knowledgeable and say that they try not to encourage the purchase of iguanas due to the fact that they're high-maintenance. We talked for quite a while and I think the store is trustworthy.
 
I agree with not buying at the pet stores. I have three adopted iguanas and would not trade any of them for some of the store bought ones I have seen.
While the store does not encourage people buying an iguana I have to wonder why they are selling them in the first place then :shrug01:

As far as male vs. female, I have one male and two females, in my experience with them the males tend to get much prettier but (and again this is my own experience) the price paid is that the male is more aggressive and messier then the females. He is not always aggressive and I can control his temps a bit so he is not in season for as long but he is messier when he eats and can and does get back at me if food is a little later then normal or something by pooping where he wants and then dragging it around as he walks thru it. He is a character. My females are very neat while eating and are trained to go in the bathtub which is nice for me with clean up duty.
Also the females do not seem to be as color aggressive. Around Miggs (the male, and yes the name is from "silence of the lambs") certain colors I wear or patterns can set him off, I do not find this with the females as much. They are time consuming, but for me can bring lots of pleasure and laughs. They are not animals I recommend but if you are willing to take the time, get to know and handle (handling should be an everyday routine) and understand that one must always be careful (up to 120 small razor sharp teeth at any given time) not to mention the tail and nails then this can be a wonderful pet.
Good luck, please do tons of research and just check out the adoption places in your area before making your final decision.
 
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