sounds like he is a smart one lol keep your hawk eyes out lacey!
Reminds me of when my kid was a toddler~~~into EVERYTHING haha

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Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

It's a pain, I have the house *almost* iguana proofed, but if there is something I missed he will find it.

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"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

I don't think saying "no" with any reinforcement will do much, sorry Lacey, but I'm just not sure that iguanas register speech patterns enough to respond to one word.

You may want to try a visual cue, or a smelly cue. Try putting a sticker of a color like blue or yellow on a couple of places you don't want him on. Then when he crosses the sticker, put him in his cage, or if he avoids it, give him a treat. Or you could mark thoe places with a perfume or scent of some kind and do the same thing. I think that might be a little more effective than just saying no, but I've never tried it, so I could definitely be wrong.

Smarter, probably. They learn you as well as you learn them. Their temperament is much different than a dog or cat, though. You will never get them to perform tricks, and they will always remain wild, which means there are times that they will react aggressively no matter how well taken care of they are. They can, however, be taught that when they get in their little carrying cage, they get a treat. When they get picked up with a towel, they are going to the tub, or when they bob their head at a timid owner, the owner leaves, and they have the upper hand. And they WILL use all that information against you, believe me.

They're smart and they're evil. And that's the way we love them. Sad, huh?

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

Wow! Great input folks! I hardly have anything to add....not. LOL

After 10 years of living with the green turd and many, MANY hours, days, weeks pondering what I can do to "repel" him from certain areas, I've come up with....nothing. A big, fat nothing!

I have searched the web and iguana forums trying to figure out something that will keep him from constantly trying to get behind the TV, or computer desk, or laundry machines. And I am sad to say that I have...nothing.

Mr. Hickey brought up an interesting point with the vinegar, gonna try that this weekend. Typhanie brought up a good suggestion with color dots, but I'm way beyond "training" him to do anything more.

What I do know is that iguanas are very much creatures of habit. They thrive on habits and are more comfortable in "known" surroundings. I do know that everytime he heads for the TV, he knows I am watching him and will react if he tries to go behind it. I usually get up and turn him around, or place him in another area of the room, or in another room, or back on his shelf. We do this 10-30 times a day each weekend. So, when he gets to a certain point in front of the TV, the point of no return for him, he will spend 10 minutes headbobbing me (not aggressively, just friendly, "hey look at me over here, you payin' attention?"). When he moves a muscle I say, "Reeeeex, don't go back there" and he head bobs some more. We do this several times. Then at some point he decides to try it anyway and he starts moving for the side of the TV. When he hears the recliner snap shut as I once again get out of it, he freezes and just pretends he's not really trying to get behind the TV. I recline. He moves again, I close the recliner. He freezes, I recline. On and on until he he makes his final move and I lift his 20-pound butt up and move him away.

Then, slowly and nonchalantly he begins the walk to the TV all over again. We do this over and over several times. And I'm not always this calm about it. LOL

But, he definitely knows he is not supposed to go back there and he knows the sound of the recliner and knows enough to stop. But, in the end he also knows that he has me trained pretty well and he can make me get up over and over again. LOL

In the beginning, I even let him back there a few times so he would understand that he will get stuck and not be able to get out without our help. But, he still wants back there, even though he knows there is nothing there. Problem is, he pulls wires out and knocks out the cable box, which really annoys me.

So, this weekend it's paper towels soaked in vinegar. My gut tells me he will tongue flick it and then just walk right over it. But, if you are right Mr. Hickey you will be my new iguana hero! LOL

Good luck Lacey. Let us know how it goes for you!

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Regards,
Dominick
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"Do you watch too much television? Did you do so as a toddler? Evidence tonight that it could be the cause of learning disorders, like attention deficit and hyperact-Ooooh, a kitty!" - Keith Olbermann

Thanks for a great laugh, Dom. What Rex is really telling you is that he desperately needs your attention! LOL.

I do believe that they can take verbal cues... Gil knows darn well what "no" means... he simply chooses to ignore me. Same thing with the sound of the recliner. It's the equivalent of "no."

I recall a story from a member of another forum whose iguana understood and responded to about seven phrases including, "Where's Peter *****?" (The neighbor's cat). When the question was asked, the iguana would look out the window for the cat.

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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

lol. Maybe im just a bit off, but listening to this talk of iguana behavior actaully makes me want one, reminds me a bit of my cats, My dogs will sit and beg, whine maybe, roll over, and so on if they want attention. My cats will usualy find better (craftier) ways to get my attention, like knocking something heavy over. (table lamps dont work well with my cats) As for keeping them off tables, ive learned no matter whats tried, thell figure out that rule seems to only apply when someones around, and im not quite willing to put sticky paper down on tables. (its been suggested a few times) Its actualy behavior that makes me respect them a little bit more.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

everyone thanks for the good laugh...I needed it I have to go the dentist later today LOL
I dont have the want for an ig ...Im already trained by my kid haha
but sounds like they are pretty smart... some more than others!

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Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

yeah, i get the cat/ig comparison here. My cats KNOW what "no" means, they just choose to ignore it.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

I beg to differ, he knows what "NO!" means, or at least he understands the tone of voice and the fact that i'm going to have to get up and throw him back into his cage.
I'd say 25% of the time he heeds my warning and walks away, 25% of the time he freezes until i'm not looking like Rex does, and 50% of the time he says "Screw you, this is my house and if I want to climb the blinds I will!"

So should I just be happy with what I have?

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"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Hmmm... He really responds to "no"? I tend to think it is the tone of voice, but maybe he can follow vocal patterns. Huh. Mine doesn't seem to register more than my tone of voice ever. Wish he would though. It would make certain things much easier.

He does, however, strongly respond to things like "if you go here, you get a treat". He doesn't seem to care about much else. Greedy gut.

Give training him a try, Lace, just be prepared to only get minimal results. Maybe he'll surprise you.

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.