Post by gonzal on Sept 3, 2008 11:53:33 GMT -8
Hi everyone,
I need some help from experienced iguana owners.
Out 8-month-old iguana Nick has been with us since when he was 2 months old. In the first couple of weeks of his arrival, Nick free roamed in the house, spending most of the time by the window. He was relatively sweet, climbing up my back when he became hungry.
He also let us hold him for a long time.
After realizing that he needed UVB (my bad) I built an outside enclosure where he spent 5-6 hours each day. He started to grow really fast after making this change, but it seemed he became more easily frightened by my hands trying to reach him.
Now the summer came and we moved to a new house. We've got a nice deck outside the living room looking over forest, and we decided to keep Nick on the deck in his enclosure for the time being until we finish settling down and build him a new enclosure. We occasionally brought him inside the house on hot days but otherwise he has spend the last 2 months outside by himself. In the enclosure he was very active, very green, eating well, and growing fast. BUT, he doesn't like humans anymore! He frantically ran away whenever I tried to reach him.
So, I finally decided to build a new home for him in the house so that Nick can spend more time with us. I just finished building his new home.
tesa.proboards24.com/index.cgi?board=housing&action=display&thread=3604
He is behaving badly in his new home.
He hates me now, whipping his tail all the time, and even when I manage to hold him he makes aggressive attempts to escape. My arms are all scratched up. He's also trying to find ways to escape from the enclosure, obviously wanting to go back to his favorite spot in the house (the top of the mantlepiece) where he had spend many times during the summer. He is also pooping in places I didn't think he would. Before (whether in his outside enclosure or in the house) he never pooped in his basking spots. He's now pooping so randomly, on his favorite log and on the basking shelves. He rarely comes down to the floor (only when he is looking for escape routes) where we placed a cat litter box with some of his old feces inside (to signal the location of the toilet).
I have a few questions.
1. Did he become difficult because he has been more independent in the outside enclosure in the last two months?
2. Is he behaving even worse than before (summer) because he is confused with the new enclosure? He is letting loose three or four times a day now. Before in his outside enclosure he pooped only once a day, in the same spot.
3. Are these behaviors unique to young iguanas? Will he outgrow?
So the bottom line is, will things get better? What should I do?!
Any help will be appreciated!
I need some help from experienced iguana owners.
Out 8-month-old iguana Nick has been with us since when he was 2 months old. In the first couple of weeks of his arrival, Nick free roamed in the house, spending most of the time by the window. He was relatively sweet, climbing up my back when he became hungry.
He also let us hold him for a long time.After realizing that he needed UVB (my bad) I built an outside enclosure where he spent 5-6 hours each day. He started to grow really fast after making this change, but it seemed he became more easily frightened by my hands trying to reach him.
Now the summer came and we moved to a new house. We've got a nice deck outside the living room looking over forest, and we decided to keep Nick on the deck in his enclosure for the time being until we finish settling down and build him a new enclosure. We occasionally brought him inside the house on hot days but otherwise he has spend the last 2 months outside by himself. In the enclosure he was very active, very green, eating well, and growing fast. BUT, he doesn't like humans anymore! He frantically ran away whenever I tried to reach him.
So, I finally decided to build a new home for him in the house so that Nick can spend more time with us. I just finished building his new home.
tesa.proboards24.com/index.cgi?board=housing&action=display&thread=3604
He is behaving badly in his new home.
He hates me now, whipping his tail all the time, and even when I manage to hold him he makes aggressive attempts to escape. My arms are all scratched up. He's also trying to find ways to escape from the enclosure, obviously wanting to go back to his favorite spot in the house (the top of the mantlepiece) where he had spend many times during the summer. He is also pooping in places I didn't think he would. Before (whether in his outside enclosure or in the house) he never pooped in his basking spots. He's now pooping so randomly, on his favorite log and on the basking shelves. He rarely comes down to the floor (only when he is looking for escape routes) where we placed a cat litter box with some of his old feces inside (to signal the location of the toilet).
I have a few questions.
1. Did he become difficult because he has been more independent in the outside enclosure in the last two months?
2. Is he behaving even worse than before (summer) because he is confused with the new enclosure? He is letting loose three or four times a day now. Before in his outside enclosure he pooped only once a day, in the same spot.
3. Are these behaviors unique to young iguanas? Will he outgrow?
So the bottom line is, will things get better? What should I do?!
Any help will be appreciated!
