Iam a New iguana owner as I just recently took in a 1 1/2 years old (female) iguana almost a month ago. The thing is; when I first took her home ive made a mistake of miscalculatingf her would-be new home which is an aquarium, which is shorter than the iguana by an inch so she have to bend her tail a bit, but she didn't trashed about or anything, finally, i bought her a MUCH bigger tank, where she could literally roam around but the weird thing is now that she's got a much bigger home, nows the time she started to act differently, she would always try to "dig" under and "climb" the glass walls as if trying to escape. When I first bought her in her color was blunt dark green with some brown stripes, now her color's lighter (so I guess giving her vitamin supplements was effective) and only recently has she developed an orange color on the tip of her spikes, and under her feet. Before this, and since the day that I first took her in, i make it a point to literally talk to her and handle her which I guess worked out fine as she would calmly sit on my shoulders as we bask under the sun, or on my arm as she feeds though this also concerns me since she wont eat unless I hand feed her or im gently stroking her head. She goes berserk everytime I settle her down on the floor. 2 days ago, the same day that I discovered her new orange colors, i did our traditional bonding time... the 1-2 hours sun bathing, the feeding... in which she was calm... after the bonding session however, i placed her back in her tank in which she managed to escape from... (good thing that her tank was IN my bedroom). 2 of our household helped in finding Liz which I eventually did, she was blankly staring at the guitar so I gently talked to her as I lift her up to my shoulder then one of my "companions" squeeled since the iguana usually go berserk if not placed on my shoulder, after she squeeled the iguana blankly looked at my neck, then bit my shoulder good thing that she bit the crumpled part of my brown shirt... i can understand the biting part what I cant take was her being so trashy in her BIG tank while she was not in her temporary small tank (the first tank that I mentioned); and her being a bit grumpy and the sudden orangy color in some of her parts, another problem is that Herp vets in the philippines is RARE.

Im by no means an expert on this but it sounds like your girl is a guy and going into his breeding season, Males in breeding season turn orange, and can get aggresive. does it look like theres wax sticking out of the pores unter his back legs? i noticed that when my male started his first season a month or two ago
how large is the Iguana and how large is the cage?

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I'm with Jade here it sounds like your she may be a he. can you post some pictures of the head and under the back legs.
Male igs going into breeding season can have behavior changes and can be dangerousy aggressive.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Ian, can you give us an idea of the length of your Ig, and age if possible?

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Answers are great. But I prefer questions!

Visit me at www.jaysreptiles.com

Jay from his intro
my iguana is 1 1/2yrs old, 28 inches long

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Sounds like puberty has come!! Be careful as they can be very unpredictable.

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Answers are great. But I prefer questions!

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Ian have you looked at our carepage at http://www.herpcenter.com/showthread.php?t=2734

There are several things that need to be addressed.

Tanks are the worst sort of home for an iguana. Iguanas are tree dwellers and like cages that let them climb up high. In their mind to be down low on the ground is to be exposed to danger. Something will come along and eat them. Being in the small tank was like you being locked up in a small closet. There was no room to move around so the iguana seemed to be calm. in reality it was stressed.

When an iguana is moved to a new location or new housing it stresses them and they may behave differently. After the ig settles in the activity level increases and they may not be nearly as docile as you expected. In fact iguanas are not by nature a docile animal. Many times people get a "docile" iguana only to discover that as it settles in it is not nearly as tame as it appeared. In reality it is finally showing its true nature.

reptiles have a problem understanding the concept of glass. In their mind they can see thru it so they think they should be able to walk thru it.

Be careful with the vitamins. too much can be fatal.

The color changes you describe sound like breeding season changes. The orange color is a signal for other igs to steer clear. This also applies to humans.

What are you feeding it. It sounds like the ig has been spoiled to hand feeding They are very good at training US to do what THEY want us to do. The only way to deal with this is to stop handfeeding completely for a while. When the ig gets hungry it will eat. I have yet to see a healthy iguana deliberately starve itself to death. they can go with out food for some time. When my female goes gravid she doesn't eat for a couple of weeks.

I hope this helps. Iguanas are a complicated species to keep. You have one advantage of being in a tropical country. At least you can get the iguana exposed to natuiral sunlight regulrly so that you don't have to bother with UVB lamps.
I am sure that others will have things to add to what I have posted. if there was something that wasn't clear or you have other questions let us know.
We are here to help.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

the following pictures where taken a week ago, now, her/his color's light green, blue (head) and orange (spine, feet), i didnt had a real camera so I took these using a phone camera... thanks a lot

im trying to look for (femoral pores?) and I cant seem to find them

Attached Images

	Liz4.jpg (11.8 KB, 24 views)
	Liz5.jpg (11.1 KB, 21 views)
	Liz6.jpg (11.9 KB, 20 views)

im also actually planning on hiring someone to make a customized enclosure though I have some concerns about using a mesh/chicken wire/whatever. The new tank was actually a temporary home since ive read about iguanas becoming REAL big Lizards so in this case I expect to change iguana home a month from now. regarding the glass thing, what could you guys suggest that id do since I cant afford my planned iguana cage till next payday... thanks for your help and understanding..

oh another thing, the iguana doesnt seem to get any fatter though its stomach is a bit bloated... or so I think...

Ian, do NOT use chicken wire... it will cause damage or even cut off your ig's toes. Use a heavy gauge wire with SQUARE openings, and make sure the intersections are welded and smooth.

You want something like this:

welded wire

NOT this:

woven wire or


chicken wire

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~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck