|
|
Post by suemelu on Jun 10, 2014 11:22:29 GMT -8
Hi my name is Suzan and I have an 8 yr old male iguana named Max.
I have Max trained ( mostly) to go to the bathroom in my shower as he has full rain of my house except the carpeted bedrooms. When he comes out of his cage I ask him if he has to do poppies he shakes his head and he goes towards the bathroom when I am here. If I am not here the doors are closed then he poops in front of the door( that's why I have tile on my floor). When I go away and leave him the neighbors used to take care of him but he didn't eat mostly till I came back. Most of the time I bring him with me since I have him trained I feel bad leaving him when I go away as who will take him to the bathroom. I was thinking of hiring a babysitter when I go away next week. It am afraid that they will be afraid of him because I get scratched all the time sometimes I bleed. It is very hard cutting his nails as he swats at me and moves away from me as he is very strong. I was thinking of those nail covers so that anyone watching him for the week wouldn't get cut. What should I do? Help
|
|
|
|
Post by JennaAndIguanaGwen on Jun 12, 2014 17:53:31 GMT -8
Hello there Suzan!  That is a great question - I haven't personally used nail covers but I have heard of them - they sound nifty but I'm not sure how practical they are since you would have to put each one on each toe individually. What I use are ig-grips. They are pretty much thick long open finger gloves for handling iguanas.( iggear.com/ ) They help out A LOT! I just have to be careful about keeping my fingers covered as much by the glove while still keeping a grip on Gwendolyn, my iguana. A thought about having Max poop in front of the bathroom door - perhaps you could get a tub of water (like a brand new cat litter box) and put that in front of the door. Gwen used one of those for years (until recent years that is - in her seniority I got her a tub that wasn't so tall - she is 16 now. I would be a bit concerned that one of those nail covers might fall off and Max might try to eat it - or he might try biting at them while they are still on this toes. If you do hire a pet-sitter just be sure to find one who is not only NOT afraid of iguanas but actually likes reptiles If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask! -Jenna |
|
|
|
Post by suemelu on Jun 13, 2014 20:42:25 GMT -8
Hello again
When is mating season and is it the same each year? I know he gets more aggressive and he tends to leave his cage more to roam the house. We moved in Oct and before that he was good when going to the bathroom but since we have moved if we are not around he goes where he wants to. He doesn't go in his cage though. I am wondering if he is going more because if the move or because he's just getting older or what? I have 2 cats also so the pan with water may not work as I would be afraid they would drink out if it and Max may spill it all over. They all roam the house together. At times he ever chases the cats around which us very funny to watch.
|
|
|
|
Post by JennaAndIguanaGwen on Jun 14, 2014 9:08:04 GMT -8
For iguana's breeding season is around fall - there's a relating post I just came across from the Gender Issues section of this forum: tesa.proboards.com/thread/3593/breeding-season . I'm pretty sure that he is pooping around the house because of the move; I got Gwendolyn when she was 8 years old and she hasn't had any real "accidents" until just this year and even then I think it is because her new tub with shorter walls is also a bit smaller than her previous tub - I think she would rather have a bigger tub but I haven't found any yet. I thought Gwen would dump her tub over too so I used to fill it really full but I realized those tubs are more stable than I thought they were - I fill Gwen's less than half full so it's easy to carry and she doesn't come close to tipping it over (she used to weigh 9 lbs too). I do understand your concern about the cats drinking out of it though  that would be suuuper gross and unhealthy. I always get a little nervous when I hear about iguanas chasing cats or cats chasing iguanas but I have seen examples of other animals and iguanas getting along - do they usually get along together? -Jenna |
|
|
|
Post by suemelu on Jun 15, 2014 11:46:18 GMT -8
They get along they walk past each other, but the cats are afraid of him as he chases them around at times when he gets in that mood so they normally stay away from him. I am going away for a week and normally take him but thus time I'm leaving him home and having a pet sitter come in to feed and take him to the bathroom. I know when I'm away he normally won't eat much guess he gets separation anxiety so I hope he doesn't poop much either. He does love his massages and kisses I just wish I knew what the bobs were all the time and the no bob too. Lol
|
|
|
|
Post by JennaAndIguanaGwen on Jun 16, 2014 19:02:07 GMT -8
Have you found a good sitter for him yet? In that last sentence you said "mages" - what is that? Also - head bobs can mean a wide variety of things ranging from "Hello" (generally a slow bob) to "I reeealy don't like you right now, go away" (fast shudder-bob). They can mean a whole lot of things.
|
|
that would be suuuper gross and unhealthy. I always get a little nervous when I hear about iguanas chasing cats or cats chasing iguanas but I have seen examples of other animals and iguanas getting along - do they usually get along together?