Question
Jenny The Iguana
I have just recently rescued a 4 year old green iguana, I have had iguanas in the past but they were ones I had gotten as babies. My new female was kept in a cage with regular flood lights for heat lamps and no uvb lighting. She was being fed a diet of mostly fruit and had almost no humidity in her cage. Iv had her for 3 days and have switched her lighting to a basking heat light, a broad spectrum uvb light, and at night she has a 75 watt night heat bulb on her cage. I have been feeding her Collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens,Green beans, orange-fleshed squashes, bell peppers, sweet potato, carrots and a small variety of fruits as snacks. My problem is that when I first brought her home she was fairly calm, let me pet her and did not mind me opening her cage and putting fresh food and water in, and now that she has been on proper lighting and diet she has become very aggressive. Now when I open her cage to give her food and water she lunges at me with an open mouth, hisses and draws her tail back. I thought with improved living conditions and diet it would make her happier and more laid back with human company, I have never dealt with aggressive iguanas before and am not sure how to approach her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much,
Christine
AnswerDear Christine,
Believe it or not, this aggression is a good sign! One would hope and think that an iguana would become less aggressive the happier and healthier it is, but with iguanas, a calm, docile iguana is usually a sick iguana. It is likely that now that she is feeling better, she has more energy and being that she is in a new environment, she is stressed and feels she needs to use that new energy for defending herself.
Now, it is wonderful that you have educated yourself so well on iguana care. From what you have told me about your husbandry, you have a GREAT diet going and it is essential to have the UVB source. I am assuming you are well-acquainted with Metabolic Bone Disease, so I do not feel the need to go into depth on the condition, because it appears that you are actively trying to reverse any effects this condition may have had on your iguana due to her previously poor living conditions.
Now, keep in mind, you have only had her for 3 days. This is probably playing a minor role in her skepticism toward you and her new surroundings. Iguanas become stressed very easily and the dramatic change in her environment is undoubtedly a huge shock to her system. She really should be left alone for most of the day and not disturbed so she can grow comfortable. She should not be handled until she has settled in for a week or two to minimize the stress on her. Oftentimes, very stressful changes can make iguanas sick because their immune systems become suppressed.
Now about general iguana behavior: I like to describe iguanas as "paranoid" and even if you have had your iguana for her entire life, she may still retain a bit of her "aggression". I put the word aggression in quotations because iguanas are not naturally aggressive, they are naturally defensive. When an iguana appears aggressive, she is scared for her life and is fighting her hardest to avoid being captured. Iguanas do not hunt prey for their food source, so they are not innately aggressive in the respect that they want to outwardly harm you for no reason. They are, on the other hand, the prey to a lot of different predators in the wild, so they are designed physically and behaviorally to react on instinct to "fight or flight".
Reluctance to being held, tail whipping, thrashing, and biting are very common, normal behaviors. I have an iguana named Trogdor and I have held him everyday and given him kisses everyday since I got him over a year ago and he still runs to avoid me and shuts his eyes on me when I get him in a submissive position. I do firmly believe that this behavior stems from the fact that iguanas act very strongly on instinct. As I mentioned above, iguanas are designed to be very defensive creatures to ensure survival in their natural habitats. Their anatomies are very specifically designed to appear dangerous and threatening with their long tails used for whipping, tall dorsal spikes to appear sharp, long dewlaps to appear thicker, long claws and sharp teeth, and the parietal eye to sense predators from above.
Keeping this in mind, it is important to remember that their instincts tell them that anything approaching them or attempting to put their mouth near them appears to be a predator and even if they do like you, they cannot grow comfortable with the fact that they are in a position in which they could easily become lunch. My experience with iguanas (and others may not agree with me) is that iguanas do not generally LIKE social interaction with humans and are not interested in making personal bonds with humans. In my opinion, the most socialized iguanas should only be expected to tolerate their owners and to bypass their survival instincts because they are conditioned not to fear you.
Also, oftentimes iguanas will calm down with age and if your girl is not quite into her adulthood, she may calm down even further as she gets older. If she is an adult and set in her ways, you should not take this personally, these are animals that were not designed to form any emotional bonds to other creatures, as they do not even stay with their eggs after laying to raise their hatchlings. With this in mind, just try to enjoy her and give her some time to adjust, then start working with her. Approach her slowly and from the sides, speaking in a calm voice. When you go to touch or hold her and she tries to intimidate you, don't back down or she will continue to do that because it has worked in the past. If you need to, throw a towel over her head and pick her up that way, then slowly peel the towel back from her face and keep her in a submissive position. While you hold her, you should talk to her and make slow advances to pet her. Practice doing this every day and holding her a little longer each time than you did the day before. Iguanas need to be maintained to keep socialized.
Well, I hope this sheds some light onto your concern and I do hope you are reassured that she does not dislike you. Keep working with her and continuing to hold her. Remember, being slow in your movements and soft in your tone of voice so she feels extra relaxed near you. Good luck to you and your new baby!
Sara
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