Licking

Question

Me and Sylvester   My green iguana was abandoned at my house by someone and we took him in. I know he is a male but i don't know how old he is.  He has always been aggressive and flighty so we kind of left him alone other than feed and cleaning.  I have taken the challange of taming him. I take him out of his enclosure for about 3 hours a day.  It has been three days and last night he wrapped himself around my neck and laid down and took a nap.  When he got up he decided to explore my face with his tongue.  He licked my cheek, lip, ears, neck.  Why does he do this?  Is he not happy or is this a happy gesture?  He has not done this before.

Thank you

Answer
Hi Christina,
Sylvester is a cutie!!! It is really hard to even guess his age. He could be anywhere from  a year old to several years old, depending on past care and genetics.
Iguanas smell with their tongues. When they tongue flick the air or objects, they are smelling what is in the air or the object.
I am happy to say that when they tongue flick us humans, it generally means they have accepted us as a safe place to be.  Congrats!! You are well on your way to having a tame, social iguana that is seeing you as a gooooood person and a safe place to be!!
With all of his smelling you, he will "remember" your scents. This is why many times, when people change perfumes, deo, shampoo, etc their igs act like they don't know who you are!!