very aggressive iguana

Question

I haven't tried the leather gloves but one site (can't remember which one) said to take cloth on a stick and use that instead of your hand.  He didn't take to that very well.  Do you think once we move him into his even larger cage he will get better or worse?  I will go out and get leather gloves and try that, but is there a website that I can go to to find someone in my area that could possibly come here and help with handling?  We were also told by a man that owns a pet store and has 8 or more big iguanas that we could use a pellet type food.  Were using Zoo meds all natural adult iguana food.  I didnt think it was good, but my boyfriend opted for the easy way and switched him from his salads to the pellets.  He still gets a salad once or twice a week.  Do you think that could be contributing to his problem?  

Answer
Hi Marissa,
Along with the leather gloves,(goatskin gloves works the best as it is very thin, but tough) be sure to wear a long sleeved shirt.  denim works well as does a sweatshirt.  There is two reasons for wearing this... one, it helps protect your arms from their claws and..two..it helps the iguana feel secure as he can grasp onto the material with his claws/toes.  The stick method is ok with some igs, but others do freak out  because it looks like something coming after him.  One color that most igs have a real problem with is white.  Also, wearing green or orange can upset them.  With the green or orange color, you look like a big iguana that is tough...which can either frighten them or put them on the defensive.
Feeding a commercial food is "OK" on occasion or in addition to a diet as was in my caresheet. Try adding more of the good foods daily to his diet with a smaller amount of the commercial food.  Its possible it can be part of the problem as the food may contain some mineral in excess or not enough of something that he needs..I don't think it would account for all his behaviour problems though.  A diet of the correct greens is much healthier and natural for him though!!With the larger cage, be sure to use the step stool so that you are above him on his highest shelf. Depending on how long he is from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail will determine if he can stay in the 3 foot cage for a while yet...but...with igs, they are soooo weird at times, moving him to the bigger cage MAY calm him down..or it may not. Having more space may make him realize he can't protect it all, which is a good thing for you.The larger cage can go either way with his attitude. Us caution..but don't show any fear as that he will take advantage of that real fast!!! Unfortunately, there is no website that I know of that lists help, but it more of a word of mouth type thing.  If you would like, you can email me privately your state and town location.(diane@scalesandtails.org )  I can then take that to my rescue group(scalesandtails) (www.scalesandtails.org) and see who we have that may be near enough to you to offer a helping hand.
I'm sorry that you have one of the more aggressive igs, and I commend you for your desire to want to work with him to try and tame him to the point that he is safer to handle. He is, at his age, basically a teenager and some teens tend to want to be the "top dog" or at least try to be top dog.  Many times, with the owners perseverance, the ig will finally realize that life isn't so bad and the owner is "the hand that feeds" and they settle into a spot that is enjoyable for the owner...but, with some iguanas, when they settle into a place that we can at least handle them, that's good enough!! Some igs, just like teenagers, take a little longer to grow up and settle down. Best guess on your igs age would be somewhere between 15 months and 20 months... the age they are at their worst in most cases. Throw into that mix that iguanas start breeding season behavior in the later summer months usually, and if he is a male, throwing that into the mix...well...they sure can be a handful!!!!
If you are able to send me some pics of your ig(or if you have pics posted someplace, I would love to take a look at them.  You can email them to me at diane@scalesandtails.org  In order to possibly tell the sex of your ig, if you go to my webshots page http://community.webshots.com/user/rottnborder  into the folder "makutah" you will see pics of a young male ig and in the folder "Lew" you can see a young female ig.
Going on his age, he is basically acting what is normal for igs his age.  I know I've never been one of the lucky ones that has had a young one tame in a short period of time like some do. If you can, can you tell me the exact type, brand and length of the uvb you are using?  Also the distance it is from his back.