Help/interdiction

[rose]

Ok so first off we are a family of 6 4 kids ages 13/11/4/&1 we didn't plan on getting our new member but the people who had him was not good he was is bad health and they never handled him (he was cool looking) his toes are braking and he is missing nails he is doing other better then he was he has picked up weight and his tone is now green not almost black but he is agreasve my children
Are aware they can not handle him as of now maybe not ever but I attempted to a few times a day my question is what am I doing wrong that his nails are breaking I feed him any veggie I can find at the stores to figure out what he likes he doesn't like many fruit I cont to try because maybe he was just to sick I've only had him for a month but plan on having him for years if we can get him healthy enough

[JennaAndIguanaGwen]

Hi Rose!

I'm happy to hear you want to help this little guy out. Do you know how old he is? One of the most common reasons for toes breaking is the type of enclosure they are in. Anything with bars or wires for them to climb will easily break their toes. Their long toes are meant to climb trees and branches and although they may like climbing anything, it can definitely hurt them. What kind of enclosure do you have for him? When I had Gwendolyn I built her enclosure because there really aren't any cheap ones on the market.

Iguana's do have specific dietary, lighting, and heating needs that are important for the right amount of calcium to be absorbed into their system. I have a link to our food section here:

tesa.proboards.com/thread/3578/food-chart

At the bottom of our food chart there is also a link to the Green Iguana Societies food chart (with pictures). Our list looks pretty basic so I keep their link at the bottom.

I have a few basic questions to help me help you:
What have you been feeding him?
What kind of lighting do you have for him?
What are the temperature ranges in the enclosure? (highest/lowest)
What kind of enclosure do you have for him?
Is his enclosure in a quiet place or in a busy room?

Pictures are always great if you can
These guys can live long lives! My girl Gwendolyn lived to be 18 years old and I knew someone who had an iguana that was 24. Generally she was great (granted great for an iguana and great for a dog are two completely different things) but she was always cautious of strangers and didn't like people wearing bright colors (territorial colors). There's a lot to learn about these guys!

Ask any questions you have an I will do my best to answer them

-Jenna