Post by Marie on Jan 7, 2005 17:19:19 GMT -8
I didn't ever go looking to own an iguana.
I was helping out a friend who just opened a computer store by setting up his bookkeeping. One day a man came in a little desperate. He had bought a green iguana earlier in the day. When he got home the wife told him he could get rid of it or leave himself. Well the petstore was already closed. In fact almost everything was closed except us. He asked Eric if he could buy the iguana from him. Well he did (Baby) buy her. He took her to his office and put her on the shelf in his office. He was planning to just let her wander on the shelfs. The next day he went to the petstore and brought back a heat rock and a small book. I started to read and then decided that he was not taking care of her well and started taking care of her myself. He named her Dragon but I renamed her Baby.
Then one day two boys came in carrying a paper bag and told Eric they had a male iguana and did he want to buy it. Eric decided to buy him (turned out to be a her). I let him name this one Dragon. The boys told us she loved dog food and peas & carrots. She ate what I gave Baby though when she seen Baby was eating it. There was something wrong with the lower half of her back and the upper part of her tail. Later I realized it was deformities caused by MBD. She also had lost part of her tail at one point. And when it grew back the boys must have thought it would be cute to put an earring in it. There was a small hole at the tip of the tail. I ended up taking her on also. It took me about 2 months of just going by instincts to tame Dragon. At first it looked impossible. Then one day I just got so frustrated I gave her one shake and told her to knock it off that I wasn't going to let anyone hurt her. She stopped gave me a look and calmed right down. Since then she has been my sweet heart.
We set up one of the display cases as their enclosure and yes they both were together. Dragon wasn't at all aggressive with Baby. Dragon at that time was larger than Baby. She was just aggressive with humans. Later the boys came into the store for some software and Dragon started acting aggressive while they were there. That is when I realized that they must have been mean to her. She still doesn't particularly like young boys even 9 yrs later but she doesn't get aggressive around them any more.
Then one day the SDHS president came in and saw Baby and Dragon together in their display case--he didn't say anything about them being together. He told me he had an older female (Lady) that desperately needed a home. He asked me to take her. I did. She had a respiratory infection when I got her but he told me to just put a lot of heat on her. It worked. So now I unofficially owned 2 and officially owned a 3rd iguana. Then Eric's wife kept complaining because she thought lizards were bad luck so he then gave them to me. He built a wooden enclosure for them and moved them to the back room.
A week or so later the SDHS president called saying someone dumped a male iguana off at a petstore and they did not want it because it kept fighting with all the bigger iguanas. He asked me to take him and I did (Sampson). He turned out to have mites and gave them to my poor girls--damn male. I tried the dips and baths and nothing worked. Then I read on the internet that a "No Pest Strip" would work as long as the enclosure was well ventilated. It did work. Of course knowing what I know now I wouldn't do it today and definitely wouldn't recommend it.
I went from 0 iguanas to 4 iguanas within a years time. When the computer store closed I moved us all to a small 1 bedroom apartment. I bought me a futon sofa and slept in the living room and gave the bedroom to the iguanas. When I was home I would let them out of the enclosure to roam the room but only Sampson came out on a regular bases. The females perferred lounging around. Although when they tried to come out Sampson would try to chase them back into the enclosure and I'd have to yell at him. He thought it was fine for him to wander but the girls had to stay home.
Lady died about 3 years later--don't know what her age was--she was completely full grown when I got her. Sampson stayed with Baby and Dragon for 7 years and only during his seasons was he banned from the enclosure. He never was mean. He just didn't know how to take no for an answer. Well that is how I came to have 4 iguanas at one time and don't ask me why they got along--maybe they didn't read the books.LOL. I currently own Baby (11-12yrs), Dragon (11-12 yrs), and Huff (about 18 months).
Marie
I was helping out a friend who just opened a computer store by setting up his bookkeeping. One day a man came in a little desperate. He had bought a green iguana earlier in the day. When he got home the wife told him he could get rid of it or leave himself. Well the petstore was already closed. In fact almost everything was closed except us. He asked Eric if he could buy the iguana from him. Well he did (Baby) buy her. He took her to his office and put her on the shelf in his office. He was planning to just let her wander on the shelfs. The next day he went to the petstore and brought back a heat rock and a small book. I started to read and then decided that he was not taking care of her well and started taking care of her myself. He named her Dragon but I renamed her Baby.
Then one day two boys came in carrying a paper bag and told Eric they had a male iguana and did he want to buy it. Eric decided to buy him (turned out to be a her). I let him name this one Dragon. The boys told us she loved dog food and peas & carrots. She ate what I gave Baby though when she seen Baby was eating it. There was something wrong with the lower half of her back and the upper part of her tail. Later I realized it was deformities caused by MBD. She also had lost part of her tail at one point. And when it grew back the boys must have thought it would be cute to put an earring in it. There was a small hole at the tip of the tail. I ended up taking her on also. It took me about 2 months of just going by instincts to tame Dragon. At first it looked impossible. Then one day I just got so frustrated I gave her one shake and told her to knock it off that I wasn't going to let anyone hurt her. She stopped gave me a look and calmed right down. Since then she has been my sweet heart.
We set up one of the display cases as their enclosure and yes they both were together. Dragon wasn't at all aggressive with Baby. Dragon at that time was larger than Baby. She was just aggressive with humans. Later the boys came into the store for some software and Dragon started acting aggressive while they were there. That is when I realized that they must have been mean to her. She still doesn't particularly like young boys even 9 yrs later but she doesn't get aggressive around them any more.
Then one day the SDHS president came in and saw Baby and Dragon together in their display case--he didn't say anything about them being together. He told me he had an older female (Lady) that desperately needed a home. He asked me to take her. I did. She had a respiratory infection when I got her but he told me to just put a lot of heat on her. It worked. So now I unofficially owned 2 and officially owned a 3rd iguana. Then Eric's wife kept complaining because she thought lizards were bad luck so he then gave them to me. He built a wooden enclosure for them and moved them to the back room.
A week or so later the SDHS president called saying someone dumped a male iguana off at a petstore and they did not want it because it kept fighting with all the bigger iguanas. He asked me to take him and I did (Sampson). He turned out to have mites and gave them to my poor girls--damn male. I tried the dips and baths and nothing worked. Then I read on the internet that a "No Pest Strip" would work as long as the enclosure was well ventilated. It did work. Of course knowing what I know now I wouldn't do it today and definitely wouldn't recommend it.
I went from 0 iguanas to 4 iguanas within a years time. When the computer store closed I moved us all to a small 1 bedroom apartment. I bought me a futon sofa and slept in the living room and gave the bedroom to the iguanas. When I was home I would let them out of the enclosure to roam the room but only Sampson came out on a regular bases. The females perferred lounging around. Although when they tried to come out Sampson would try to chase them back into the enclosure and I'd have to yell at him. He thought it was fine for him to wander but the girls had to stay home.
Lady died about 3 years later--don't know what her age was--she was completely full grown when I got her. Sampson stayed with Baby and Dragon for 7 years and only during his seasons was he banned from the enclosure. He never was mean. He just didn't know how to take no for an answer. Well that is how I came to have 4 iguanas at one time and don't ask me why they got along--maybe they didn't read the books.LOL. I currently own Baby (11-12yrs), Dragon (11-12 yrs), and Huff (about 18 months).
Marie
