Sleep jumper?

[bergman]

First i will introduce me and my beautiful green ig.
My name is cameron and have had my iguana around 5 or 6 months. i named her after the all time cutest cartoon character ducky, from the land before time.

i got her because i was forced to get rid of my poodle and was looking into an alternative pet. As soon as i saw my ducky on craigslist, i knew i had to have her. she came with a 6 foot tall, 3.5 feet wide and 2.5ft deep cage, and the essentials for 100 dollars. i was pumped.

i love her to death and am in the long process of taming her but shes a real treat, shes independent as are most female iguanas and would whip anyone who got in the way of me and her.

but she frequently belly flops from the top of her perch into her kitty litter pan filled with water. or flat onto the ground. two occurrences happened during they day, and two at night when i was sleeping,mind you she is almost four feet long and probably around i don't know exactly but 10 pounds or so so she makes a major thwack when she hits ground, and at 16 i don't think i can take another midnight heart attack.

is this normal or is my iguana a thrill seeker.(or does she think its funny to see her dad run over in his boxers, completely disheveled and scared to her cage. ;D)

ps how do i put on a picture of her?

[George-n-Me]

HI!!! Welcome to I.Z. everyone here really knows what their talking about and are always more then willing to answer any question...as for the jumping I dont know if thats normal or not, but it would freak me out too. As long as she doesnt hurt herself like breaking a rib, she might just be taking a shortcut down to the bottom. But i don't really know.

as for the pictures, under the pictuer section it will tell you how to upload it. You'll need to upload the pictures onto something like photobucket, there are other ones out there on the internet, but i cant think if them

[darkluvr]

haha ben has done that lots of times. i dont know why, but the other guys might. it scared the heck outta me the first time i saw it too lol

[prism_wolf]

Welcome to the IZ!

You're just "jumping right in with a good question". Did I just make a pun...? ;D

Some igs are more susceptible to what's called myoclonic spasms. Instead of trying to explain it when it's already been done - here's a site that explains what that is:
www.anapsid.org/spasms.html

It's not generally dangerous and should only be a real concern if it's accompanied by tremors, "star gazing", loss of motor control - just to name a few - then i wouldn't worry.

Some igs seem to go through night terrors, too. There are studies going on looking for real evidence that they dream. Personally - I think they do. It's very possible a bad vision, thought, dream or memory also causes these.

If the care is as it should be - such as a good UVB source still within it's 6-9 month window, temperature gradients are where they should be in the basking area, ambient and cool end/nighttime and the diet is varied and healthy - in time this behavior may go away.

Until then - invest in a dephib monitor so your folks can jumpstart your heart... ;D

One thing I would strongly suggest and could be a very strong reason for her falling. She is 4' long with an enclosure shorter than she is. This means at least part of her tail will be hanging over the edge. It's very possible her tail begins to pull to the side and the weight of it slowly pulls her off. Her shelf can't be very wide if the enclosure is only 2 1/2' deep so little room for any real stability for her size.

Modify the enclosure as soon as you can making it at least 6' L and 3' D. This will allow for a longer and wider shelf for her to secure herself on.

One more thing...PICTURES! Not only does it give us a chance to see your ig for the pretty girl she is - but it also gives us a chance to catch any little things that may need a tweak...

[bergman]

thanks guys i will try to get my camera working to show you her enclosure i only put her in at night so it may be the width issue:) thanks

[Merlin]

If the ig is only in the enclosure at night how are you addressing her heat and UVB needs during the day?

[prism_wolf]

Very good question. She will need her heat and UVB. We're waiting for a follow-up!! ;D

[bergman]

merlin said:

If the ig is only in the enclosure at night how are you addressing her heat and UVB needs during the day?

She has her basking branches in the house with lights set up above her.

[prism_wolf]

I would really love to see the set up. Some people have very nice free-roam areas. Have you got the UVB hanging from the ceiling? On a stand? How far away from the light is she?

[Yungair23]

My yoda does this as well he sleeps on top of a open door and will occasionally jump off in the middle of the night and run frantectly into walls until i turn on the lights and calm him down. So your not alone on this.

[deanie]

See!! by V's post above, I don't think that they are jumping I think they are falling and that is what is scaring the crap out of them.. I have worried about Iggy doing the same thing when she hangs right on the edge of her bed... I know one of these day's she is going to go into such a deep sleep that she is going to fall off.. Yikes, when that happens I am glad I will not be in the cage . :0)
If you go into this site that V has given You will see that they do the same jerking motion going into sleep that us humans do, right before you fall asleep... So I am thinking that if they are on the top of a door way and jerk,,,, not jumping!!! Falling... Ouch!!!