From: nvonstein@memstvx1.memst.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
Subject: Re: Taming Iguanas
Date: 18 Nov 92 12:08:44 -0600
Organization: Memphis State University

In article <1992Nov18.062014.25700@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>, dalton@spot.Colorado.EDU (lizard man) writes:
> 
> My iguana, Rupert, is afraid of people. When new people come into the
> room or anybody approaches him, he immediately goes on the defensive. 
> He puts out his dewlap and gets ready to flee/fight. If you reach for
> him, he will whip you with his tail before fleeing. 
> 
> Fortunately, he is still pretty young, maybe 6-8 inches long, so it
> doesn't hurt.

My Ig, Chivas, is about the same size as yours, and he/she is my first lizard. 
He does not have run of the place (I have cats, too).  I see some similarities
in my ig's behavious and yours.  Chivas does notice strangers - the only bite
I've had so far was when my daughter approached (she does not live at home
anymore).  It really surprised me since I've been handling him for a while.

> 
> i can usually catch him pretty easily, as i have been keeping lizards
> for 16 years now. Sometimes he bites me, but again, it never hurts; 
> though it always surprises him when i don't react!
> 
> Once i catch him, though, i only have to stroke his head four or five
> times to calm him. He likes to have his neck stroked, and will doze off
> in a matter of minutes!! This is kind of strange given his initial
> reactions on the approach of a human, but i attribute it to his small
> brain size and the fact that once he's caught, he's not immediately
> threatened anymore.
>
Chivas does this too sometimes when I pick him up - I decided he was feigning
death as a defense mechanism.  I was very shocked the first time he did this. 
He was cradled in my hand.  Then he went totally limp, his head dropped over to
the side and he shut his eyes.  I was afraid he had died of shock!  Then one
little eye peaked open - I thought "What a smart little bugger!"  
 
> So i think he is not beyond the possibility of taming.
> 
> But my worry is that, when he gets older, he will be dangerous (that
> tail is gonna get LONG) and no fun to be around. So i am wondering if
> anybody has any tips on how best to tame him while he is still young.
> 
I am a docent at the zoo here and we have a  3' ig we take out for the public
to touch ONLY (they are not allowed to hold him).  We ask people particularly
not to touch his tail for fear he will lash with it.  My ig at home, even with
the daily handling, has not lashed me yet - but I am very protective of him.  I
also talk to him even when I'm not handling him.  Chivas has taught me that he
is not threatened until a stranger comes around.  AS far as the ig at the Zoo
is concerned, I think he is an exceptional character, because he is exposed to
strangers.  I think one of the keys is that he is not kept out so long that he
tires.

> He does not live in a cage; he has free run of the apartment but
> generally stays around the window where i put his food, a hot rock, a
> couple lamps (one a Vita-Lite) and some plants (including a Ficus tree
> he spends lots of time in.)
> 
Anyway good luck!

Nancy
> 
> Thanks for any help,
> 
> --brad dalton
> -- 
> ---
> "a woman wants an abortion not as she might want a Porsche or an ice
> cream, but rather more as a trapped animal wants to gnaw off its leg."
> --Frederica
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