Adam, I am so sorry to hear that this has happened.
Do you think that perhaps the presence of the other guests made it more jumpy than usual? Did any of them make loud noises? I think this is something that needs to be kept in mind. If it was at least indirectly a result of your guests, this is the second time I have heard of an ig losing its tail as a result of guests.
That's it. I will NEVER let ANYONE except me, my girlfriend (whom the ig already knows) and possibly a vet EVER see my iguana.

That's a good way to make a paranoid iguana right there Anthony. It is good under the proper situations to let your iguana meet new people. I introduce my iguana to as many people as I can because I want him to be used to the idea of strangers. I don't introduce him to loud hyper kids, just people who agree to be quiet and move slowly and not scream and drop him....I like to try to get my iguana to be social and comfortable in all situations.

And Adam, don't worry about Fluffy, she'll be fine...she probably got a kick out of watching you turn pale and almost have a heart attack

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

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

It doesn't take much at all to have them drop their tail. Huff did a croc roll and got his tangled in his leash. He dropped about 4 inches. His healed and grew back decently. Dragon's was already dropped when I got her. Baby is the only one I have now that has her original complete tail.

I also feel they need to be exposed to other people. You never know when you will have to leave them with someone in the future. Dragon and Baby got exposed to people everyday when they stayed at the computer store so they are now comfortable with others.

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Jan. 25, 1963 - Sept. 10, 2006 (R.I.P)

I agree with Lacey and Marie.

A very big part of socialization is to expose the iguana to many different people and experiences. I still believe one of the reasons Rex is such a calm and secure iguana is because he was taken to parades, fairs and kids soccer games on a weekly basis. Of course he freaked a few times, but overall it helped him deal with crowded situations and many hands reaching for him at once. Also remember, Rex was on a leash every time so he could not bolt off somewhere. Mostly he was held by Tammy or myself as he interacted with the people and the noises.

I have a good friend who has a large female iguana. She has sheltered the iguana for most of its life, never exposing her to loud noises or other people. Now that the iguana is 5-foot long, she is the only person who can interact with it. It's a pain in the vent every time I have to take care of the iguana as I have to use a towel to handle her because she if so completely afraid of anyone other than her owner she freaks. She's not friendly, no one can really pet her. she startles at every noise. Not my idea of a great pet.

So yes, be very careful how you handle the socialization thing. Too much calm and quiet makes for a large, jumpy and insecure iguana later on.

As far as tail autotomy is concerned, some iguanas are more prone to it than others. In our own case, Rex was raised along with 4 and 5 year kids (my sons) and never dropped his tail. Years later we rescued two juvenile iguanas. To spite the fact that my sons were better educated in iguana handling, both rescues dropped their tails within weeks of taking them in.

I have had baby iguanas in my hand who's tails appeared to snap off from no reason at all and other babies who have tried to escape and were accidently caught by the tail, but never dropped it.

My point is, I think the desire to drop the tail is somewhat tied to the personality and security of the individual iguana and not so much to how it is handled.

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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

Well I was gonna argue back towards the earlier posts but Dominick's post which pointed out actual examples got me to agree. Too bad I have no friends anyway so no one to expose my ig to. Duh.
In Hong Kong though, many girls will scream when seeing a lizard because they are not scared but they think its cute to scream at these things and act all vulnerable thinking that boys like it. There was a post on a chinese forum where such a scream caused the tail to fall off without any physical grabbing. I guess I will just have to give serious warnings to anyone who goes into the herp room before they enter that the Ig is not to be feared but I am. Which will probably make them not want to enter anyway and never speak to me again so its a catch 22. Duh.
Yeah I know I sound angry I am really angry at our government but thats another story.

I just wanted to add my bit to this discussion. I am also in favor of taking the iguana out in public. I have taken Zok to events and parks as well as the local pet store. She has been touched and looked at and occcassionally handled by many strange people and she has never dropped her tail. Not only is it good for the iguana but in the process you also help educate people as to what the "cute little green lizard in the 10 gallon tank", can become! Something else to consider with the "one man iguana" idea is what happens to your pet should something happen to you that you are no longer able to keep the iguana, be it lifestyle changes or even health issues or death. If the iguana cannot be handled by someone else it will most likely mean that the iguana will be destroyed.
And trust me Anthony, Hong Kong is not the only place where people act absurd!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

LOL, I think I'll start using that!



This question occured to me:
Is the tendency to drop the tail usually a juvenile thing?
Most of the stories that I've read & heard seem to be all of young Igs losing their tails. Does it happen to adults often? Or is it like they reach a certain age/size that it's likely the tail won't drop?

Merlin, I said I agree with Dominick that it should be exposed to many people already.
I cannot however take it out in public to parks, events etc. because I have a CITES possession license to keep it in one of two residences. My own, and my girlfriends. To display him in any other places, I would have to get a temporary exhibition license to do it legally in Hong Kong. This includes any public place, except in transit from one place to another such as in between registered locations and to and from the vet.

Gotcha Anthony! I wasn't arguing with you personally just putting in my 2 cents in the general discussion.
You have to deal with a lot different situation over there!

Kira they do tend to loose the tails more when they are young but they can lose it even when they are older. When they are young they don't have much in the way of defending themselves and everything wants to eat them. As they get bigger they get more capabale of defending themselves so the tail drop isn't needed as much.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Merlin I wasn't argueing with you either I agree with you that the ig should be exposed to different peolple now that I have heard you guys. Just I can't take him out to all these places I would have to bring people to my house instead somehow which is hard because I don't got that many close friends that haven't moved away from Hong Kong already. Right now there are two people. Maybe one day soon I will tell my parents about them as well they work in the office just downstairs from where I live maybe they can come look occasionally.