I thought by now I would have made alot of progress with Zair, I had him to the point were he would walk out of his cage to me while I was making his food and to the point were I could put my hands on him and even partially lift him while still in his cage with out him flipping out.
but since his heat I feel like I've been thrown back to the begining, he alternates between attacks and spooking to the point that I have to leave the room before he'll stop running around his cage.
I dont know if he even ever came out of his heat his dewlap,armpits and bottoms of his feet or still orange (those are the only parts that really turned orange throughout his heat)

right now im trying to take a deep breath and start over, im back to hovering my hand overhim while he eats so and sometimes he'll tolerate alittle petting on his crest, but I feel he's more likly to bite now so I have to watch him very carfully and try to only end the interaction when I get a non-aggressive reaction, like closing his eyes and ignoring me or continueing to eat.

if he doesnt have food in his face he'll run and whip when I reach for him

It'll get better wont it?

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0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
1.3.0 Nigerian Uromastyx
1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
1.0.0 Green Iguana
1.0.1 American Toads
2.0.1 African Clawed frog
0.1.0 Dune Gecko Steno Petrii
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko
1.1.1 Red Spotted Newts
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider
0.1.0 Box Turtle

Yup, your back to zero. Welcome to igs. This time you have experience but he has more size and power. At times I have used heavy terry-cloth gloves (supposed to be cooking gloves) which I have cut the fingers off of these go clear up to my elbow but I can still use my fingers.

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~ Mark

Hi! I take it that Zair is male? How old is he?

Hang in there, Jade! Gil's first season lasted about eight months; I thought I was gonna freak! Now he's an absolute jewel though. The chances are good that Zair will come through this just fine. Keep up with the socialization, and try not to let him intimidate you.

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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

I feel your pain, but its just a term of our slavery to them, you have to deal with the icky attitude

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

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Jade, welcome to iguanatude! This is just one of the joys of dealing with them!
Keep the faith and watch your fingers!
It will get better!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I agree with Stpeh, Jade. Keep your socialisation up and try not to let him know that you are feeling intimidated (easier said than done when your hand won't stop shaking, I know) - hopefully, one his season passes you should be back on track pretty quickly.

Good luck

When Rex hit first heat he had to be locked in a cage, literally. We could not allow the possibility of him getting out of the cage by accident as he was extremely vicious and unhandleable. That last eight long, hard months. He has permenant scaring on the snout from the many times he would attack us through the wire of the cage and knock out teeth!

One day, after learning to sneak around the iguana so as not to cause him to rage, there was simply no reaction. Bravely I opened the door, reached in (talk about shaking hands, and body and palpitating heart! LOL) picked him up and cuddled him. That fast, from one day to the next his heat ended and he went back to his calm self.

Do as Steph suggested, keep up contact at any cost (of injury to you) and always remain in control.

Think of it from his perspective; he has no idea why he feels this way, he knows deep-down inside that you are his owner and care-taker, but his hormones do not allow him to make rational decisions right now. It's why I so often refer to heat as being "possessed". Sometimes you can see, past their gaping mouth and sharp teeth, in their eyes that they are confused about what is happening.

When he comes through it, things will get much better again. Hang in there!

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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 atleast I dont have to keep him locked up but he is more intimidating then he used to be.
I'll work with him and try to keep my fingers safe, any hand protection upsets him more I think becuase to him if im protection my hands then im probably going to pick him up.

lol I dont even need him to be a cuddly iguana If I can atleast get him to tolerate handling the I would be happy

o well I'll keep working on him and see what happens

__________________
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
1.3.0 Nigerian Uromastyx
1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
1.0.0 Green Iguana
1.0.1 American Toads
2.0.1 African Clawed frog
0.1.0 Dune Gecko Steno Petrii
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko
1.1.1 Red Spotted Newts
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider
0.1.0 Box Turtle

oh come on Jade answer me, how old is it? Male? Female?