Cage Manners

[frmcreamer]

Clover is about 8 months old now, ive had her for 5 months and the pet shop said they had her for 2 months so im figuring that she was 1-2 months old when she went to the shop. O yeah and the vet said from the looks of her and a lil test she did, she believes she is a female. Well my clover is as nice and cudely as can be for already being eight months old and she loves to be around me and her mommy. Shes only bit us one time and it was only an accident when we were handing feeding her and she wouldnt let go of my hand guess cause of smell. But unfortunately she has one downside, she does not like coming out of her cage. She would rather run around like shes never seen me before but once i get her out after a minute or so shes completely fine. I thought maybe it was her uvb so i went from 10.0 to 5.0 tropical and still no change. I figured maybe she felt unsecure so i have made the cage full of art leaves/etc. Shes completely healthy and getting adequate uvb/uva and is eating perfectly fine. Ive tried everything from the towel on a stick to moving a millimeter a second still nothing seems to work. Any ideas on why shes like this only thing i can think is she is territorial but why so crazy like this and the cage is not way over my head she bask about eye level and her lower part of the cage is about waste level. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

[einstein]

frmcreamer said:

But unfortunately she has one downside, she does not like coming out of her cage. She would rather run around like shes never seen me before but once i get her out after a minute or so shes completely fine.

In my brief experience, this seems like the norm. I've had my ig now since August 2006 and he still hates coming out of his cage. Although he doesn't run from me or tail whip anymore, he does grab onto whatever he can and holds on for dear life! I'm sure once Clover gets a bit older (and bigger) she'll be less likely to run from you but may still not like being removed from her cage. Like you said, that is her territory.

[Jen]

My male , he will allow you to take him out because he knows he is going to be spoiled! Then he will return to his cage when he has had enough, He is allowed to free roam but he would rather lay in or on top of his enclosure. My female, hates being taken away from her cage, she prefers not being handled much. She stays on top of her enclosure, unless she wants to explore or go try to pick a fight with our male. They all have different personalities as well as likes and dislikes just be patient. Keep working with Clover this behavior may change eventually. Maybe there is some object that she fears out side of the cage?

[Merlin]

Shes an iguana! And 5 months in the Ig scheme of things isn't that long. some can take a year or more to settle down.
The cage is HER place. Its her territory, her "safe place". When you enter it, YOU are an invader. Since she is small,... she runs. If she were larger there is a good possibilty that she would stand and fight!
Continue working with her and don't allow her to think by acting like this you will give up and go away. Try approaching with some of her favorite food to hand feed.
Most iguanas go gah-gah over bread, but don't over do it.

[George-n-Me]

George hangs on for dear life too, last night we had to go to the basement cuz of a tornado and it was a 5 min challange getting him out. I think its because I woke him up and was like..wtf are you doing mate...lol..everything was safe though. but what clover is doing is perfectly normal, when george was a baby, be didnt run, he would wip..good times

[prism_wolf]

Merlin has suggested what I would have. Instead of going in every time to try and catch this normal acting ig...offer just a treat. Make sure she sees it in your hand and place it down where she can see it. Do this getting as close as you can without her bolting until eventually she will stop running because she knows you have good things waiting for her. She may even come towards you on her own... ;D

[zammy12]

My iguana Rex is his name about 2 1/2 years of age has okay cage manners he poops oh what am I saying all iguanas do that well my point is that when I take him out he's like a dog exploring my house and guarding the counters and tables he's on when I walk near him lol.

[j5ive]

Yea, I've had Emerald for about 10 months. He/She still scratches, whips and etc. Just so I don't get her out of the cage. Just don't give in. Even if your iguana bites, because if you do they may find this as a way to get you to leave them alone. Your iguana is probably so small that if she bites you you probably would feel nothing.

[prism_wolf]

Zair is nearly 10 yrs old and has been going through some "moments". It's just something you deal with keeping a wild animal. They have moments...more so when they're young...but you have to always expect it even as a settled and social (normally) adult iguana.

[thelamecow]

Same here. He hates coming out of the cage. Then same thing going in.

[darkluvr]

Ben doesn't necessarily "hate" coming out of his closet *haha i made a pun*, but he'd rather me not move him. he grabs onto the astro-turf with three or four claws, and just holds them there ... its kinda cute lol. its a little bit of a struggle once i get him, but then i start massaging his neck and back then he's as limp as a doll. its cute.

[jordan]

i need help my iguana keeps digging under its food bowl and getting a bunch of dirt in the food why is this and is there any thing i can do to prevent it.

[Jen]

When you have a question its best to start your own topic, it makes it easier on everyone. Get rid of the dirt, your Ig will accidentally ingest it which isnt good, I dont know if it would actually cause impaction but as a rule never use loose substrate with Iguans because 99% will cause impaction. You can use tile, reptile carpet, newspaper (my favorite). Iguanas have sticky tounges that they constantly flick while strolling about and can very easily ingest some vert dangerous objects.

[Camilo]

Reptarr hates to come out, he/she will run around to avoid my hand, but once i grab him/her and bring him out, hes comfortable with it.