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Post by midnight on Jun 16, 2004 22:50:20 GMT -8
Hi everyone, I just stumbled upon this site, and am glad I did ;D I (took over) an iguana from a guy that was not taking care of him at all, occasionally threw a whole head of green leaf lettuce at him, no water, branches, CEDAR SHAVINGS, a flood light, no attention at all. The poor thing at one time was kept in a closed dark closet. He is presently in a large deli case. I am not overly happy with that so my husband is going to build him a cage asap! I have had him for a year now, he looks beautiful, he is quite large about 4 1/2 feet long. I was afraid to take him out of his cage. He doesn't seem to interested in coming out, but I want to not just be with him in his cage (if you know what I mean)? He is around 8 to 9 yrs old. Very affectionate, in his cage, he loves to be pet, and have his shoulder massaged, hold my hand, and lay beside my arm. But I want to take him out!!! I have had smaller Igs, am usually not afraid of them , but his size throws me. He needs his nails done, and a bath would be nice if he like it??? Anyone have any advice for me on how to do this the first time? I do know the way to pick him up properly, I am just nervous. At the moment he is (in Heat). and just a little moody, not so much with me but anyone else who gets too close to his cage, I can still get right up to him and pet him though, but I will wait till he is over this. Please offer advice, I will gladly take it!!!
Thanks so much
Carolyn
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Post by Diane on Jun 17, 2004 4:19:31 GMT -8
When you are petting him and he is relaxed you should be able to just slip your hand under his chest and use the other to slip under the back half of him and go for it! My Narcy has just gone through a horrible season and i found it best to use what those here call a 'football' hold, with his tail tucked between my arm and body, and his body laying on the length o my arm (see pic to left). I had much better control of him. Or you could just scoop him up and let him roam freely for a bit, just make sure there is nothing on the floor that he can accidentally ingest. Narcy and I are battling right now reinstating 'who's the boss' since his season (i think) has ended, and i actually have to throw a towel over him to get him out of his cage, once he is out he is much better. also, if he is nice while in his own domicile, you really shouldn't have any problems when you take him out of where he is comfortable. He should be more protective IN his cage rather than OUT. Hope this helps, but do be cautious if he is in season, they can be so very tempermental. And welcome to the group!
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Post by Lyn on Jun 17, 2004 4:42:09 GMT -8
Welcome to the Zone Midnight Glad to have you here... Ditto to Diane...poor girl I feel for you...Narcy is a handful, but where your guy doesnt seem to be interested in coming out, it will be more of a struggle to hold him...wear long sleeved shirt and work gloves "in case" of a bite or scratch...he will most likely struggle when you grab him and hold him... One of my Males, Rocky, never showed much interest in coming out of his cage for the first 3 yrs I owned him...he is 4 1/2 ft and over 11 lbs so quite a large beastie lol....well in the past few weeks, he has learned to open his door and come out to check things over around my living room and is as tame as a puppy dog...not that I am saying they would all be that way...but he has decided that he wants some attention other than being pet, sprayed, fed etc...Definitely read the care section and get the book Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan great book to rely on....let us know if you have any questions....Lyn This is me with Rocky.  |
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Post by Tesa on Jun 17, 2004 4:46:27 GMT -8
Hi Carolyn! Welcome to Iguana-Zone!
I really can't add any advice, as I completely agree with what these ladies have already told you. It sounds to me like he will be very cooperative.
Glad to have you here and SO glad that you adopted your guy!!
Let us know how it goes!!
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Post by midnight on Jun 17, 2004 19:13:51 GMT -8
Thank you all for your advice. Lynn, Rocky is beautiful!!  As soon as he is no longer in season I am going to try this. At the moment I am the only one who can get near him. He never acted like this before??? My daughter opened the cage today and he totally freaked. With me so far he is loving and affectionate, when he was freaking out I opened the cage and just talked to him for a second he looked at me, than he was fine,Go Figure??? It is so nice to find all of you, I don't have many people who understand how you can fall in love with a lizard (as they say) most people are terrified of them. Great to be here. Carolyn ;D |
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Post by Tesa on Jun 18, 2004 4:51:16 GMT -8
**humph**
I prefer to not understand how they can NOT fall in love with a lizard! ;D
My mother thinks I'm a complete freak, particularly when we go to her house to visit and bring Thrasher with us. ;D
(My grandmother, however, would rather see the iguanas than the human grandkids!! lol )
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Tammy
Senior
I scream, U scream, we all scream for ice cream
Posts: 104
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Post by Tammy on Jun 20, 2004 10:21:26 GMT -8
Congratulations on being brave enough to take on this task. You seem to have the handling down, even though your confidence isn't there yet. But be sure that he trusts you enough to "share" his space that way.
As far as the bath goes, which I do all too frequently. Rex loves his bath but does not like to be in it when the water is running. I guess he thinks some big water monster is coming at him as it comes out of the faucet. But once I put about 3" of water (about 95 degrees) and slide him gently in. I keep my hands close to him and talk softly to him. If I don't do this, he freaks out and then tries to climb the shower curtain.
Good luck and hope this helps. I almost forgot, in the beginning I had to put a towel in the bottom of the tub, sort of a security thing for him.
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As soon as he is no longer in season I am going to try this. At the moment I am the only one who can get near him. He never acted like this before??? My daughter opened the cage today and he totally freaked. With me so far he is loving and affectionate, when he was freaking out I opened the cage and just talked to him for a second he looked at me, than he was fine,Go Figure??? It is so nice to find all of you, I don't have many people who understand how you can fall in love with a lizard (as they say) most people are terrified of them. Great to be here.