The size of my dinosaur

[joseph2]

Hey Tesa. I was looking through your "growth chart" for an iguana's approximate size at certain ages. My Zilla is not quite 3 years old yet and is 51 inches long!!! He blows away all the average sizes of iguanas according to that chart. My God, at the rate he's growing, I'm going to have to chain him to the outside of the house when he gets full-grown. ;D I named him Zilla for a reason!!! I just hope the neighborhood children don't come too close when he gets to his max size, because they will no doubt end up as lunch....yeeeehhaaaaa!!!
;D ;D ;D ;D


Joe

[dominick]

Hi Joseph-

Thanks for posting to the Zone. Cool that your Ig is growing so large, I couldn't wait until Rex grew up. Though I miss that cute little green critter that used to tail-whip us every chance he got, I truly enjoy his size now.

Couple of questions:

Where'd you get him? Pet store, show, adoption or breeder?

Have you been able to figure out his native land? If you look at the pics in MK's book, you can pretty well match an Ig to the different origins. I'd be interested in seeing where he came from.

What's your Igs diet?

I ask because I'm curious if his incredible growth rate is a result of his origin or his care. It's would be interesting to learn or try to explain an increased growth rate.

A pic would be great too!

Best of luck with him.

[Tesa]

I was wondering too Dom.....great minds think alike.
(or warped) ;D
Also, what's his snout to vent length?
We wanna see!!

[joseph2]

Hey Dom and Tesa. First Dom, I bought Zilla at a pet store in Port Huron, MI. He was approx. 6-8 months old at that time (guestimate by his size, which was 19 inches STL). His diet is very basic: Collards greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, sometimes turnip greens, snap peas, green beens, parsnips, watermelon for occasional treat, and mango and papaya also occasionally. As far as his origins, I don't have MK's book to determine this. Which book are you referring to anyway? I'm almost certain his origin is the reason for his size, but not one-hundred percent positive. As far as posting picturesd, I do not have a digital camera at this time, so this is impossible right now. But, as soon as I do get one, I most certainly will be showing off my junior T-rex. Oh yeah, snout-to-vent length I believe is 15 or 16 inches(another guestimate). I need to measure this aspect of him. Another reason I believe he is so long is because his tail his so extraordinarily long. I haven't seen other Iguanas with tails even close to Zillas tail length. Hope that answers your questions.

Joe

[sweetjlynn]

Gosh i read what dominick writes half the time n think my god where does this man think or get these things LOL

SO Smart and of course tesa is the same!!

But yeah i would love to see a pic if there is already one let me know PLEASE i feel like a dummy when i ask but maybe we should come back and post on where we wrote it sometimes i find the pic in pics or on subjects im a tart when it comes to if u have a question where do u put the pic and etc.

But im sure tesa will bring it to my attention sooner or later~!!!~~

Thanks

[Tesa]

Joseph,
The book Dom is referring to is "Iguanas for Dummies" by Melissa Kaplan. It is a very interesting read, easy to understand, humorous at times, and full of information and insight.
Here's a great link for finding used copies (cheaper) **grin**
www.fetchbook.info/compare.do?search=0764552600

She also has a great website www.anapsid.org althought it can be a bit confusing to navigate, and isn't as focused on igunas as the book.

btw: Do NOT let him eat children! He's supposed to stick to an herbivorous diet! ;D

[mar]

15" SVL and 50" STL sounds about right as that is the same size as Bob, to the inch. But man he grew up fast. Bob is about nine years old, while he has not been abused he did not have the best life early on because of my lack of knowlegde. Bob is one of the igs that developed a bladder stone that had to be removed, this one was about the size of a large chicken egg.

Keep up with Zilla it pays off big time.

[dominick]

Hi Joseph-

Excellent answers, thanks. Most Igs are from South America or Mexico. That's why I asked about origin. Some are larger than others.

It's great to have a large Ig, they are so impressive.

As Mark said, it sounds normal.

I asked about the food, because some foods can accelerate growth, but they are usually the very bad foods. You sound like you are feeding correctly, so that's great!

Would seem that you are just doing a great job caring for your Iguana. Good on you!

Continued good luck with him.

[dominick]

sweetjlynn said:

Gosh i read what dominick writes half the time n think my god where does this man think or get these things LOL

Hi Jlynn-

My answer.....the bathroom! LOL. The only time I get to read a book! ;D

[joseph2]

Hey Mark, where did you get that harness for your iguana? I love the look of that thing!! It looks as if it's easy to put on the iguana and more comfortable than the one I have.

Joe

[mar]

I got this harness at the local big box pet store can't remember which. It is actually a small dog harness not one of the dangerous slip ropes sold for igs and rodents.

If you go out to buy one take Zilla with you into the store. With Bob on my shoulder I got great service and I knew that the harness would fit. Had I not had Bob with me I would have bought the smallest one they had which would have been too small.

It is very easy to put on and not too hard to take off when unclipped. The front loop is a little hard to pull off over the large jowls but I am going to put a clip on that loop too. Bob has not been able to get out of it either.

Remember leash safety. Don't think that you will be able to walk Zilla. The leash is just a "safety" for when you are walking around with him on your shoulder outside. Don’t take your ig outside the first time it is on the leash. On the other hand don't expect him to allow it on when he is in his territory (his house). Get him used to it slowly walking around your house -- some where you can get him back if he takes off.

How about we allow Nashville get hooked on Cup Crazyness -- three more games in their season should be enough.

Mark