Worried about owning an iguana please help!!!!!

[sblancha]

Ok so i have wanted to get an iguana for a long time now and i knew that he would need a special in-closer when he gets bigger and that they need special lighting and food and all that but when ever i ask about them in pet stores they always said they make great pets. So finally my boyfriend bought me one for my birthday and i have been doing alot of research on them cause i want to do everything right for the little guy. The more research i did the more information i found on iguanas being aggressive animals and attacking and biting during the breeding times and it has gotten me all worried now that i have gotten in over my head. So then i started looking up all of the different thing of iguana temperament and how to tame your iguana but they all say different things. I am just wondering what the best way to tame a baby iguana so i can start with him now and hopefully make it so he isnt aggressive growing up.

[JennaAndIguanaGwen]

well iguana's are always going to have a mind of their own but not all of them are aggressive. Males tend to have moody, and yes sometime aggressive, breeding seasons but paying special attention to his mood and just letting him be when he doesn't want to be bothered you should be ok (I should note I have never had a male, I have a female, but this is what I have heard). Females usually have much milder breeding season; my female only gets a little grumpy sometimes but she is usually her regular self enjoying her view of outside from her basking spot but you do have to make a nesting box for when she lays her eggs. Young ones tend to be very skittish and want to hide so if you can make his/her basking spot a bit concealed from the outside world that would probably make him/her a bit more comfortable. They usually don't like being held especially when they are little so just know when he/she tries to squirm and run away, its not you, its just their instinct to run and hide in safety. You should probably give him/her a good amount of time to settle in though before handling (a week maybe? - it depends, wait until he/she seems comfortable), I'm sure he/she is stressed from being shipped to the pet store and likely just being there... I'm biased against pet stores because they buy animals to sell without knowing much about the species, its a common sad story and a repeating cycle. Anyway, they also like to go to the bathroom in water so I have a tub of water in my iguana's enclosure but some people take their iguanas to the bath tub and let them poop in the water, empty the tub, do a quick wash down, and fill it up again to let the iguana soak in some water. Don't fill the tub up full though, especially if they are little they should have a place to rest. The bigger ones will splash water out of the tub is too full. another note: don't make the water too warm, room temperature is good. Loud noises and quick movements tend to scare iguanas along with some bright colors like red sometimes. When the pet store person said they make great pets, well maybe for some people but not for others. Iguanas are an amazing creature but they usually aren't cuddly like a cat and will never be as smart as a dog but they have a charm about them to some. Be sure to get a UVB light and make sure the temperature isn't more than 95-100 degrees especially if he/she is in a small tank. It's important he/she can move to a cooler spot if it gets too hot. The temps should not get below 70-75 degrees, that would be too cold for them. I would not recommend heat rocks because they have been known to over heat and burn iguanas (they tend to be slow to react to heat changes). Well, that's all I have for now, if you have more questions just ask and be sure to look around the website for food and housing info