iguana taming

Question
Diane, please help us.  We have had our igauna for over a year now and he just won't warm up to us.  He will let us feed him and almosts leaps for the food no matter how much he has already eaten.(feeding him staple greens and occassionally mango or banana, vitamins and supplements)  He just runs when we try to approach him and he has bit my husband twice.  How do we tame him and make him friendlier?

Answer
Hi Karee,
One of the tough parts of owning an iguana is accepting the fact that they may take weeks, months, and even years to tame..and also that some never tame at all.  Some learn to tolerate humans but prefer to be left alone other than to feed them and do what is needed.
I am one of those people that have one of those igs that prefer to be left alone and will bite when given the chance.
A good approach to taming can be found at http://www.greenigsociety.org/taming.htm  As I said, sometimes no matter what approach they never tame.
Many iguanas always think someone is trying to take their food, no matter how much they have or how full their bellies are.  It's their natural instinct to protect food.
Again, I have one that charges her food every time...its rather scary with a 13+ lb iguana!!!
With the running away....many times that is due to how we approach them.  Are you coming at him from above? When coming from above, to them, we are big birds swooping down to grab them up for a meal. This is one of the biggest problems with using a tank as a cage..which really should never be used as there just isn't the room an iguana needs..which, can be another reason he is protective.  When they have too small of space, they don't want anything to invade that space.
I have one rescue that was in a cage that was about 4 ft high, 6 ft long and 28 inches deep.  In order to get him out or clean the cage, no matter what I did I was always over top him as the door was rather small.  Once he got his "big Boy" habitat (6 ft tall x 6 ft long x 3 ft deep) with big sliding doors he immed. settled down and allowed me to touch him all over and pick him up..he still doesn't like to be held, but will gladly lay on me as long as I don't hold him.
So..in a nutshell... read the info on the above link... if he is in a tank, move him to a larger habitat that you don't have to go over top him to do anything...and go slow with him.  Talk softly..start with just doing things in the cage and talking to him but don't try to touch him.  Once he seems secure with that, then move your hands toward him but from down low.  Be happy if the first attempt allows you to touch a toe without him running away.
The biggest thing is to realize that it can be a very long, slow process to getting a tame iguana and also be prepared that it may never happen.