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Post by mr&ms_doolittle on Sept 19, 2004 20:06:52 GMT -8
Hello to all! I happened to stumble across the boards early this evening and after hours of reading I thought I would share a little about our Iggy (or B.U.L.L). Iggy (for short) is a male iguana that we are estimating to be about 4 years old. I aquired him about a year and a half ago in hopes to offer my two boys an interesting pet. Well that novelty wore off quite fast and now I am Iggy's mom (and he seems to be quite happy with that!). We are not sure about Iggys life style before we got him...and i wouldnt know much of what it meant any way because I didnt know anything about B.U.L.L. (Big ugly lazy lizard). But know I learn more every day and wouldnt give nothing for my 'baby'.
As far as we know the previous two owners did not know much about ig care either. They told me what he liked to eat, that he liked to roam, and that he could be aggresive. I wanted to make sure that our new ig was in good health and to get a jump start on how to take care of him...so off to the vet we went (which was not easy to find!). The vet agreed with some of my fears about the food (I was told to feed him crickets and that he loved celery...wich he didnt eat either). So she gave me a proper diet list, put him on vits, pre-treated him for mites, and to be safe treated for parasites.
As of today, Iggy has not been the most normal ig if there is such a thing. And through the many months we have learned his likes and dislikes. For one he DISPISES to be caged. He started in a cage and was very violant. Then I moved him out side of a cage with lamps so he could roam and still get UV light. He didnt like that either- he likes natural sun (go figure). We learned that his favorite snack is red hibiscus which we now grow outside for him and when he wants to treat himself to a snack he munches on cat food WITH the cats. I am sure some one reading this is going to gasp but I have 4.5 foot ig that has domesticated himself. What makes Iggy happy? His home is on my computer monitor where he keeps his belly warm and can sneeze all over me and wobble is head that he loves me. His routine consits of sleepling through the night. Getting up in the morning and taking a stroll into the kitchen and parking himself in front of the sliding glass door. He camps out there for awhile has some collards and maybe a snack and when it starts to cool off he takes a stroll to the water bowl. The cats gleefully share it with him and then strolls to the laundry room. He then crawls into the cat box and does his "dooty". From there it could be crawling up my leg and hanging out with me or back to another window before bed time or letting the cats play with his tail. And he WILL NOT take a bath! As far as we know he is generally healthy, good color, no mites, etc. Today he gave me the first scare when I found out that he 'inhaled' and apple bag(the mesh kind) and had trouble passing it. I have wondered for over a week what had happened to it (being red he must of thought it was his hibiscus). I was distraught and had the worst mess I have ever seen that I spent cleaning up! and then having to remove the last part of the bag from his vent. It was horrible but I think he is fine. He seems to be perking back up again tonight.
Anyway, thats our story. I will try to post a pic of him on the pic board he is looking a little tired though it is his bed time.
I look forward to getting to know you all!
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Post by Merlin on Sept 20, 2004 4:49:10 GMT -8
Hi and welcome to Iguana Zone! Cat food! Not a good thing. Animal protein is VERY bad for them and will seriously damage their systems! What else are you feeding him. Free roaming iguanascan present a lot of problems. As you have discovered their views on what is edible is not necessarily very intelligent. They "eat" color.
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Jay
Full Member
Learn something new everyday.
Posts: 30
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Post by Jay on Sept 20, 2004 5:50:47 GMT -8
Welcome to IZ. I love B.U.L.L. as a name but I'm sure you don't really think he's ugly. lol ;D
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Post by Lyn on Sept 20, 2004 7:27:12 GMT -8
Hi and welcome to the zone...another thing you didnt mention is if he has access to UVB lighting...without this, he will get metabolic bone disease...again welcome and let us know if you have any other questions...Lyn
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Post by mr&ms_doolittle on Sept 20, 2004 7:40:25 GMT -8
Hi and welcome to Iguana Zone! Cat food! Not a good thing. Animal protein is VERY bad for them and will seriously damage their systems! What else are you feeding him. Free roaming iguanascan present a lot of problems. As you have discovered their views on what is edible is not necessarily very intelligent. They "eat" color. I didnt think the catfood would be the greatest thing for him I do monitor him as much as possible to sway him away. But regardless he still tries to sneek a bite. Mostly he eats a mix of collards, mustard, and turnip greens. It is very difficult to get him to eat vegetables expecially if they are hard like carrots (just like the kids ) He gets fruit sparingly and likes pears and watermelon the most. He gets a red hibiscus flower once every other day (as long as the plant is producing). I printed out the diet that was listed on this site and we are going to try some more things. This list was much more extensive then what was given to me at the vet. For the most part we have never had to many problems with him roaming. And it has been the only way he has let me handle him. He was just plain MEAN when he was caged. I really think he has been a free roamer most of his life. And he knows his raoming boundaries (so he doesnt find the kids toys). He found one spot on a tile floor that he would use to 'relive' himself which I was cleaning up contiously. Once he found the catbox and became litter trained it has been a dream! (now all of the cats go out side!)
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Post by mr&ms_doolittle on Sept 20, 2004 7:42:00 GMT -8
Welcome to IZ. I love B.U.L.L. as a name but I'm sure you don't really think he's ugly. lol ;D Of course not!! Hes my baby! Other members in the house would disagree though ;D
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Post by mr&ms_doolittle on Sept 20, 2004 8:02:56 GMT -8
Hi and welcome to the zone...another thing you didnt mention is if he has access to UVB lighting...without this, he will get metabolic bone disease...again welcome and let us know if you have any other questions...Lyn That is one thing I am concerned about as well. We had lamps set up for him but he refuses to 'use' them. He always strolls to where he gets natural sunlight. At the begining when tried to kept him in his enclosure (a tank that was given to me when accuired him) I could force him to use the light. But then again that brings us back to the aggresivness problems: continous thrashing and nose banging on the glass, wouldnt let me touch him, etc... I am here on the boards because I am concerned of his habits and trying to break them over the past year and half has not been very succesful. Plus he is spoiled and I think he knows it! ;D We have been considering creating a large enclosure on the living room wall. I can not find anything locally and searching online does not offer something in a reasonable price range that is large enough for him. He was only 3 feet when got him and he has been growing like a weed! Now he is 4.5 feet so a custom built 'something' seems to be the only option. That way at least I could force him under some lighting. I am open to options and ideas!! I know just because he looks and acts healthy doesnt mean he is healthy. And I would be distraut if something happend to my 'little guy'- We have developed a pretty neat relationship
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Post by sillywoman1969 on Sept 20, 2004 8:09:20 GMT -8
I also love the name Bull, I'm all about silly names which is why my male iggy is named Puppy. I also nearly had a heart attack when you mentioned cat food but as a free roamer I could see how it would be hard to keep him out it.
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Post by Merlin on Sept 20, 2004 18:24:44 GMT -8
The access to UVB light is a biggie! Is the sunlight direct or is it coming thru a glass window. Household glass filters out the needed UVB light. With the harder veggies are you cutting them up or grating them. I grate most of them for Zok and she chows down. I would be very concerned about him continuosly eating the cat food. Maybe put him in another room until the cats are done eating. Another thing to watch is the catbox. As gross as it sounds to us he may very well look at it as a food source. And If he tongue flicks the litter and swallows it it could cause an impaction. There is a lot to look at with a free roamer.
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Post by mr&ms_doolittle on Sept 20, 2004 19:29:48 GMT -8
The access to UVB light is a biggie! Is the sunlight direct or is it coming thru a glass window. Household glass filters out the needed UVB light. With the harder veggies are you cutting them up or grating them. I grate most of them for Zok and she chows down. I would be very concerned about him continuosly eating the cat food. Maybe put him in another room until the cats are done eating. Another thing to watch is the catbox. As gross as it sounds to us he may very well look at it as a food source. And If he tongue flicks the litter and swallows it it could cause an impaction. There is a lot to look at with a free roamer. Merlin, He gets both screened and natural sunlight. When the glass door is closed the light is deffinetly filtered. My glass doors have a tint on them. However, for several hours a day he lays next to the screen door. When winter comes a long I am not sure how to fix the lighting/heating problem. Again, he wont go near the lights or the heat lamps (we tried all winter long). I wonder at times if with his previous owner he may have been burned and now shys away from it. For example, He used to let me hand feed him his treats. It was sort of 'our time' together. One day he miss judged the size of the pear and accidently bit me. Ever since he wont take food from my hand. Any way to move on...grating carrots?? Holy smokes! I never thought of that!! (its the simple things in life ;D) We will be trying that tomorrow! Next as for the cat box...the cats do not use it any more except on rare occasions. When Iggy gets in the box he immidetly turns around and sticks his head out from under the hood. He then does his business and crawls out. I have watched on numerous occasions to see if he would try and eat the litter etc.. but have never seen him do so. I will deffinetly watch more closely when I can to see if there is an issue. As for the cat food I am trying to move the bowls around. Today he did not even try to eat it (yeah). Do you think he may have gotten bored with the bland diet he was on and that is why the cat food became so appealing? This is only been a recent thing. BTW, Your help is deffinately appreciated!
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Nanshe
Senior
I am owned by Elvis & Angel :)
Posts: 167
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Post by Nanshe on Sept 20, 2004 23:44:25 GMT -8
A tank? How big was the tank? I'd be willing to bet it was much too small. I don't know of a tank on the market that's made big enough to house a 3 foot iguana - much less a 4 1/5 foot one! Iggy's will get VERY protective of their environment, and very violent about it - when they're forced into an area that is too small for them. I'd be willing to bet if you had an enclosure large enough to support him he would be alright Have you tried putting his UVB lights so they shine where he liks to lay? Like by the screen door & window? If so, what did he do? If not, you might give that a shot! As to the apple bag - I adopted a severely deformed iguana, and a short time after we brought Angel home, he pooped out a full size medical latex glove! I nearly crapped my OWN pants when I saw that! LOL He must have gotton it at his previous owners home, or the pet store, but he was only at the pet store/rescue for 2 days before we brought him home - and we don't have that kind of thing here LOL It's amazing what they'll eat! I think Merlin is right - they eat "color". Sincerely, ~Nan P.S. To Everyone: I am having the HARDEST time calling Angel a HIM instead of a HER now lol. I had to edit this post so I could change the "her's" to "him's" LOL
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Post by Merlin on Sept 21, 2004 3:53:09 GMT -8
I think that moving his lights to where HE is normally laying is a very good idea. Much simpler than trying to rearrange his habits! He is getting no UV at all thru the glass and the window screen is also shading out a lot of the UV. Unless things get changed MBD is a real concern.
Most iguana owners, unless they just are rolling in money, have resorted to building their own enclosures. The commercial cages on the market that would be large enough are ridiculous in price. I spent about 300 dollars in building Zoks and it is fully enclosed with Plexi glass doors. Take a look at what Mark (Mar) built with pvc.
The agitation concerning the tank is possibly due to it being to small for him. Sort of like trying to make you live in a telephone booth. Once you got out you would try your darnedest to NOT get put back in. There is also the possibility that he associates the tank with being mistreated by former owners. Iguanas are very complex, intelligent creatures and NOT the stupid reptiles that some make the mistake of thinking.
Generally iguanas when provided with an adequate enclosure view them as a good thing. It is their secure place to go. Mine for a couple of years if taken out would immediately make a bee line back to the cage. Its only been in the last year that she voluntarily comes out of the cage and interacts with us. Usually to try and beg a bite of something she is NOT supposed to have.
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Post by Tesa on Sept 21, 2004 5:39:00 GMT -8
Hello Reading over this thread I can see that people have given you some great advice, so I dont really have much to add. The UVB and cat food issues really need to be dealt with. Iguanas need UVB in order for thier bodies to make Vitamin D, which is then used to aid in the absorption of calcium. Without the UVB/vitamin D combination, calcium is sucked from their bones back into the bloodstream. Aside from the obvious bone related problems, the extra calcium in the blood causes damage to major organs (kidneys in particluar). I see you are trying to find a solution. (our little green friends always seem to want to make things difficult for us) ;D Welcome to IZ. I hope you enjoy the site and find it helpful.
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Post by mr&ms_doolittle on Sept 22, 2004 10:33:24 GMT -8
A tank? How big was the tank? I'd be willing to bet it was much too small. I don't know of a tank on the market that's made big enough to house a 3 foot iguana - much less a 4 1/5 foot one! Iggy's will get VERY protective of their environment, and very violent about it - when they're forced into an area that is too small for them. I'd be willing to bet if you had an enclosure large enough to support him he would be alright Have you tried putting his UVB lights so they shine where he liks to lay? Like by the screen door & window? If so, what did he do? If not, you might give that a shot! As to the apple bag - I adopted a severely deformed iguana, and a short time after we brought Angel home, he pooped out a full size medical latex glove! I nearly crapped my OWN pants when I saw that! LOL He must have gotton it at his previous owners home, or the pet store, but he was only at the pet store/rescue for 2 days before we brought him home - and we don't have that kind of thing here LOL It's amazing what they'll eat! I think Merlin is right - they eat "color". Sincerely, ~Nan P.S. To Everyone: I am having the HARDEST time calling Angel a HIM instead of a HER now lol. I had to edit this post so I could change the "her's" to "him's" LOL Obviously... the tank was to small! I am trying to come up with ideas on how to build an enclosure for him. I have lots of height to work with but am limited on width. I am sure I will come up with something! Yes the apple bag really suprised me... and I am sure BULL is still not to happy about it either. Today is day three and his bowls look like they are returning to normal. He hadnt been eating much and when you did hear him eat you could here is bowls gurgle! Poor thing. He crawled up in my lap yesterday and just wanted to be held! The good news is he is back to no good today ;D- doing things he knows he is not supposed to do ! Oh well GO TO LOVE 'em
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Nanshe
Senior
I am owned by Elvis & Angel :)
Posts: 167
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Post by Nanshe on Sept 22, 2004 11:17:58 GMT -8
Glad to hear he's getting back to normal! I think my Ig's have taken MANY years off my life with some of their antics! LOL There are a lot of really nice cage plans out there on the internet, that actually don't take up that much floor space. Have you looked at www.lizardcages.com yet? They have a couple of great plans that are expandalbe later on Best of luck to you! ~Nan
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