Tameness

[Thunder380Lady]

Hi all,

Well I guess my first question I would like to ask
is: How long does it take to actually tame an
Iguana to where it isn't jumpy and tail whipping all the time?
I have had Lenore, my juvenile Ig, for a little over a month.
When I first adopted her, she was very jumpy and always tail whipped me, and scratched me alot.
After about 2 weeks, I was able to trim her nails with absolutely no problem. I held her with one hand and trimmed with the other. She was a total angel!
She did , and still does put up somewhat of a fight when I try to take her out of her "home" to hold her. But once out she calms down. Wiggles and squirms every now and then though.And opens her mouth but doesn't bite.
I still have to always keep my hand wrapped around her body when she is out.
I would love to have her sit on my shoulder when she is out, but I am almost certain she will attempt to jump off and run for cover somewhere!
I just hope that someday Lenore will be as tame as the ones I have seen in the pics that all of you have posted of your babies!

~Karen~

[mar]

Bob, my 8.5 year old male ig, I consider to be very tame. No fear of me while walking around my room or even stepping over him when he decides that the middle of the floor is a comfy place to sit. He still struggles a little when I pick him up out of his house but I think that is to be expected of anything. He has a sure grip and now there are two hands picking him up.

Most igs I have heard of are great when held until you let them wonder on the floor a little. After wondering a little they don't want to return to the confines of your arms again but want to stay "free". A little struggling is not bad, or really unexpected, when initially picked up.

Just keep working on it and don't "take a day off" if you can avoid it.

Mark

[prism_wolf]

My 5 1/2 yr. old Zair is much the same as Bob. I don't even remember how long it took to really "tame" him...although it's not really taming. It's just getting them to the point of trusting. It may have been as long as a year.

My female, Icecube, was already an adult (going by size about the same age as Zair) when I brought her in as a rescue. She was wild and it tooks 8 months to get her to where she wouldn't try to bite my fingers off. No joke there. She really tried. Now I can hold her in relative safety...still minding the mouth, but no more thrashing, whipping and attempts of biting.

Keep on it every day and one day you will have a shoulder ig. I don't encourage shoulder riding for safety's sake...ears and faces are awefully close to very sharp ig teeth, but I do it too. You just have to know your ig.

[Tesa]

I've had Thrasher for a year and she still tries to take my hand off when I get her house. After I get her out she is fine tho
If she has come out of her cage on her own she is fine too. We can pick her up or walk all around her with no porblem. She even comes up on the couch to sit by us sometimes.
Keep working at it. The time will come for you too. :-)
and it's SO awesome when it does!

[Tesa]

as an afterthought.....
It is recommended that you handle them at least 3 times a day. I also found it helpful to stop and talk to Thrasher several times a day without touching her. Not only does it help them get accustomed to you, but they don't know whether you are gonna "get" them or not, so they don't automatically go into defense mode. ;D

[SurvivorSteph]

I agree with Tesa that you definately need to handle you ig as much as possible and talk to it without actuall touching it too. Gil has been "tame" for quite a while but it's really been the past 3 months that he's decided to walk across the room, crawl up the couch, and sit next to me. He's almost 2 now, and I've heard that's sort of the "magic" age if you've had your ig since a hatchling. It's very rewarding to KNOW that he actually wants to be near me. But by the same token, if the cat gets anywhere near his enclosure, he throws a fit. He'll lunge at her and try to attack her through the glass. If he's roaming, he doesn't get as aggressive toward her.

I'd say he's "tame," yet territorial.