Hello I have some more questions. Well I've had my iggy for about 3-4 months now I believe? He's just about that age; however, I'm have a few behavior questions. This is what happens when I am interacting with him:

When I'm entering to fix his cage up or retrieve his food dish, he usually just calmly watches me, usually no reaction from up on his basking branch. Sometimes he might edge his body away, but no biggie. Same thing when I place his dish with food... he watches the food and later runs down to chow down.

This is where the reaction starts. When I'm reaching towards him, I go slow and keep my plam faced up. He just watches me get close until I'm less than an inch away and his dewlap, I believe it's called, sticks out and he usually moves away. He later starts moving a little quicker the next few attempts using my tactic of slow approach, but he let's me touch him like his arms or head or tummy; however, at first few tries he moves away. He has flicked his tail and barely flicks now. I manage to scoop him up after a few attempts. Once he's out on my hand he's scared of my other hand and will jump off or run sometimes when my other hand gets too close. He tries to get away from me when I try to retrieve him again. I always manage well with him, but I hate that he is still afraid of me when I have never done him any harm. In fact my boyfriend teases me because I care too much. Treats don't really work, he's always too afraid of my hand for treats. I do manage to touch and kiss him, but I can tell he's still afraid of me. How can I make him more comfortable? What do you guys think about his reaction from the time he's been with me? It hurts me so much when he moves away.

First, I moved this into its own thread. There is never a problem with opening a new thread for new questions.

Second, his reaction to you is NORMAL at this point. You're still a predator in his eyes. Keep on handling him. Try to take him out after he's been asleep for an hour or before his lights come on. He'll be aware enough of what's going on, but will be too tired to put up much of a fuss.

TIME, PATIENCE, and CONSISTENCY are the three keys to having a well-socialized iguana.

Good luck!

__________________
~~Steph

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

Ohh gosh, I can't tell you how much that sentence means to me! I kept feeling like such a crummy owner lately. Thank you for moving it for me, I thought I was going crazy . Thank you soo much.

You are not crazy...he is acting like an iguana!
It can take a long time to settle one down. In some cases a year! Just keep doing what you are doing!

With the exception of kissing him!
Do not put your mouth on the lizard. That's asking for a good dose of salmonella.
And THAT'S definitely unpleasant!

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Kissing can also bring a nasty bite to the face or mouth that you'd really rather not have. Though I feel I have the sweetest iguana most of the time, she will occaisionally feel the need to grab for no particular reason I can think of, but SHE thought it was necessary to do so. Iguanas get tamer by slow work, mine got that way because she was in such terrible shape she had to rely on me totally for everything. She even drank from a bottle for awhile because she was having trouble staying hydrated - our vet thought that was very funny that she had us that well trained LOL. I hope you are giving him the right amount of calcium, uvb light and a good iguana salad. Lots of luck with the taming; patience and fortitude!

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Kat