HELP ! my iguana has become very aggressive !

Discussion in 'Iguanas' started by leroyreggiebrown, May 9, 2009.

  1. leroyreggiebrown

    leroyreggiebrown Embryo

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    Hi guys, I am a little worried about my green iguana as his habits seemed to of changed dramatically. When I first got him he came from a place where he was able to run free around the house however he was not handled or tame. At this point he was approximately 6 months old. Before I got him I previously built him a house that stood 5ft high and 3ft square with adequate heating and ultraviolet lighting. He seemed happy in his new home however his aggressive behaviour was still prominent in response to the spitting and whipping. He grew out of this environment very fast so the time came to built him a new home which is approximately 8ft high and 12ft long and 5ft in depth. The heating is good in his basking area which he spends a lot of time in. However when he is not there he is trying to escape out of all the glass panels, the glass panels give him a view to the whole outside area and lets in natural sunlight light too. Within his home he has fresh running water adequate lighting, heating, humidity and furthermore lots of activity things to climb on in order to keep him active. My concerns start here as he has become so aggressive and whips out, spits and now lunge bites. He has become a wild animal that crocodile rolls in your hands ripping them to bits. He is 1 year old now, and seemed to like his new environment at first but since being in there his habits changed dramatically. He has now gone completely of his food and picks at it every so often additionally he has not shed his skin in over 7 weeks. I am aware that iguanas are creatures of habit and do not like change, however there was not an option as he grew very fast and needed moving into an appropriate environment. He adjusted to this well at first but now seems unhappy. I would appreciate any comments to help resolve this current situation and give him a happy and content life, many thanks for your time and expertise. Mike Silver. [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. bruno

    bruno Moderator

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    Hi Mike,
    Welcome to the forums,
    Since I PM'd you I have been giving it more thought. Is the new enclosure all glass on 4 sides, if so it may be beneficial to cover the back and sides.
    The rest of the setup sounds incredible.
    The previous owner didn't do a good job of taming him by just letting him free roam, this is going to be difficult to change, unfortunately.
    You say he's about 1 year old, could he possibly be older in fact, he may be small but the poor husbandry of previous owner may have contributed to it.
    If this really agressive behaviour started within the last few weeks, it may be due to the start of the mating season.
    Male iguana's do get extremely agressive during this period, especially towards the female species including humans, this will last several weeks. If there are ladies present in the house including children then caution should be the key word, when they are in his presence. He will also see you as a rival, hence he "fights" you for dominance.
    It's not uncommon for them to go off their food, my snakes do it every year, during this time as well, it could also be the reason why he hasn't shed, although they do shed less frequently as they get older.
    You could try wearing an old T-shirt for 24 hrs...ewww..:) then placing it near where he normally sleeps so he gets used to your scent and hopefully will realize you're not a threat to him, do this several times.
    I suspect he's more mature than you think and it's down to the breeding season.
    Lets hope other iggy owners will see this and give their input as well.
     
    reptileden0 likes this.
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. bruno

    bruno Moderator

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    Hi Mike,
    Thanks for adding those pictures, he looks a beautiful guy and is obviously benefitting from that AWESOME setup you have there.
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. ajlista

    ajlista Well-Known Member

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    Thankyou for this post :)
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. iguana20s

    iguana20s Embryo

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  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Joel Lowe

    Joel Lowe New Member

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    whats C.A.T? yeah let me tell ya.. male igg in the breeding suck! also holy smokes your cage is great.. 12f by 8f mr igg should love you for that much space
     
  12. reptileden0

    reptileden0 New Member

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    I loke the cover the sides and back Idea. Securiyt. Also Territioy can be part of this issue. He probably started bluffing you at first.. and you responded by backing off, so in turn... he won. ? The t shirt idea is great too. Another suggestion for biting threats is get a stuffed animal (not beanie baby type for beads are messey and dangerous). If he gapes at you or tries to bite, call the bluff/agression behavior out and hand the stufffed animal to his mouth. Let them get the territory/breeding agression out. This same stuffed toy or even towel is to be designated as bite toy forever. Ive had great succes with this theory in many iguanas and lizards. They might gator roll the toy, "crunch" down on it, drag it around and some even try to "mate" with the toy. But it takes that focus off of you and you again become food-heat-positive attention provider. Nip it in the bud now before he gets big. Tell him in words and tone of voice he is or isnt allowed. make a strong but gentile pattern with him and dont back down. Leather gloves and leather or canvas coat can help show them you arent afraid and helps protect soft human skin when handeling
     
    Joel Lowe likes this.

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