New Enclosure..good idea?

[simbalovesnala]

hello, i am making a new enclosure for my 4 year old iguana, the cage hes in now is about 5ft high, 3ft deep, and 4ft across. the iguana is about 4ft STL. the new enclosure will be 6ft high, 3ft deep and 5ft across. I wanted to know if this would be a good idea, because my iguana can be very territorial. whenever i go to take him out he puts his dewlap out, makes himself bigger, head bobs and goes to bite, i have seen him move his face to my hand very quickly, and gape his mouth, and sometimes snap. but once hes out, hes pretty calm, unless he wants to get down, or something then i have seen him mouth gape then too, and sometimes near other people. he has always been like this with his cage, but just recently with other people. i not sure if i should change his cage that he loves so much, will be become stressed? because this is also a cage, what im going to make will have plexi-glass and it will look very different. and also what is making him so agressive lately when hes out of the cage? thanks so much guys!

[prism_wolf]

The new cage might stress him out...but not for long. 2 weeks is pretty normal, but many igs adjust much quicker. He will eventually become territorial in his new cage, too...possibly more so with the plexiglas...unless you use something to break up the reflection. He sounds like a dominant ig...and he's testing you...and everyone around him for the top spot. He will also test the reflection if you don't do something to keep him from seeing it.

There is also a chance it could be a medical problem. When an ig is in pain they will often act out this way. What better way to get someone to put you down. This same trick works for them just being sassy. The best way to determine which it might be is to go to a qualified herp vet and check for a medical reason...just to be sure. If you're positive it's not medical...then it's just him pushing his dominance.

[crazybaby]

Sancho I find gets like that with me. He doesn't do it with my hubby but when I go to stick my hand in to pet him it's almost all out war! Lately though, I've been just takin it slower (back to phase one it seems ) I would just stand there for a while and when he started to relax I'd leave, then progressed to petting him until he de-puffed (at this point he wasn't going too nuts so it was safe) and now, he seems to be alright-ish with me. lol

I was thinking in your situation, it would likely be that he's just telling you "get outta my house!" lol As for him being aggressive outside, personally, I would say battling for more territory or even an early breeding season. I'm still one egde waiting for sancho to go into his, he normally goes in July but since it got warm here so fast I was thinkin it hit him faster but nope...still waiting. I'm also with Prism, it would be a good idea for a check up, ya know...just in case and it rule out anything physical.