Taming and socializing your iguana

I want to help you socialize your iguana. (Take note, I did not use tame - an undomesticated animal will never be tame - although we speak like that.)

I brought my boy home when he was 5 days old. He was as big as my thumb!

His first cage:

It was only 1.5 meters wide and 2 meters high. It had a thick branch and plants inside to give him protection and make him feel close to his natural environment. The cage was already running for a week before I brought him home.

> I placed his cage in the lounge where he could see the tv but still far away from high human traffic.
> I covered 3 sides of the cage to make him feel more secure and it really did help.
> I left him completely alone for 2 weeks so that he could settle in, plus see us moving around, watching tv etc. but not interact with him.

Handling:

In my opinion ROUTINE is of the up most importance. Your iguana gets used to it very fast - he knows what to expect and believe it or not, he knows exactly at what time as well. He will start to trust the routine and in the process start to trust you. Do exactly the same, on exactly the same time on each and every day.

Always move extremely slow, talk very softly and in a kind manner and do it all while smiling. Your iguana will watch your face very closely and he will observe and start to know you. If he wants to taste you then allow him to without being fearful. It is a GOOD sign.

Apart from routine the second thing that was important between me and forest was my hands. I taught him to know what my hands mean and to trust my hands. Sounds strange, but believe me it worked and I gained his trust very fast.

Day 15:

I opened his cage in the morning and said Good Morning like I did each day when I brought his food and fresh water. I held my one hand behind my back and showed him the other hand and placed his food down on the ground. (Not on a ledge at the top because it dried out to fast.) He would just stare at me and not move an inch like he did the previous two weeks.

I had all his food and nasturtium growing in my garden a month before I brought him home. With my one hand still behind my back, I showed him the other hand and I picked up his yellow flower and slowly moved my hand towards him. At this stage he sat up, I kept on moving slowly towards him and told him 'yum-yum'. He started reversing and I lowered my hand again and placed the flower back in his dish. Closed his cage and left him alone.

17:00 The same day. I opened his cage said Halo and bla-bla, once again holding my one hand behind my back and showing him the other. I had another flower in my hand and slowly moved my hand towards him. He LOVES yellow nasturtium flowers! He sat up and I still moved closer. I stopped when he started reversing and left it for later.

19:00 The same day. I did exactly the same as 17:00 and got the exact same results from him.

I kept this routine, showing him one hand while hiding the other. Bringing my hand closer until he starts reversing and then backed down. This happened for 4.1 days x 3 + 1 times a day = 13.

Day 20:

17:00 My boy decided that he wanted the flower. I moved my hand closer and closer and he did not reverse! He took the flower! The same happened at 19:00.

Day 25:

I kept the morning and 17:00 routine unchanged.

19:00 I opened his cage, gave him a piece of fruit! The shock on his face was sooo precious! At first he did not know if he should reverse or if he should try it out, I took the wind out of his sails! He tasted - tasted and decided to not trust it. I then swopped it for the flower again and he gladly took it.

Day 26: 19:00 He took the piece of fruit.

Day 27:

I kept the morning and 17:00 routine unchanged.

19:00. Always showing him only one hand I offered him another type of fruit and he took it. This time however, I did not close his cage. I acted as if I forgot and sat down to watch tv. With the lights of his cage reflecting on the tv I could clearly see what he was doing without looking at him. He was, amazed, shocked, unsure but I won't say that he was afraid. (I leave all my cages open because I want my animals to feel a part of the household and not as if they are locked up.)

I repeated the routine - including leaving his cage door open at 19:00 for the following 4 days. I reckoned that it took him 4 days before he took the flower so I will keep to that.

Day 31:

19:00. One hand behind my back, showing the other I gave him his flower. While eating it I lifted my hand towards him again but with nothing inside. He was shocked and did not know what to expect. I stroked him just behind his head. He realized what was going on and started reversing. I stopped and backed down. By day 33 I got it right to stroke him comfortably without him showing any reaction.

Day 34:

 

I tried to stroke him in the morning but did not succeed. Tried again at 17:00 and 19:00 with no problems. (Until today my boy is not a morning person and wants to be left alone in the mornings - we have this understanding.)

I kept to this routine for a week to make sure he is 100% comfortable with me stroking him.

Day 40:

19:00. After the flower and stroking I showed him my second hand and he immediately took notice of it. I brought both hands towards him, palms facing up and he showed no reaction until I moved my hand in underneath him. He started reversing and I backed down, placed my hand behind my back and stroked him with the other hand. Now he knew that 2 hands mean something is definitely going to happen!

Day 46:

19:00. He did not reverse when I showed him both hands and I picked him up. I turned him towards my face and softly told him what a big boy he was and I then placed him back on his branch.

Day 47:

17:00 I was so excited about my progress of the previous day that I could not wait until 19:00 to try it again. It did not work, the moment he saw both my hands he started reversing. I broke the rules and paid for it for 2 days!

Day 49 - 56:

I always kept the morning routine the same and after day 47 also kept the 17:00 routine strictly to giving fruit and a stroke - nothing else.

19:00. He did not reverse when he saw both hands and I could pick my boy up with no problems. I loved it and I felt soooo trusted.

Day 57:

19:00. I picked my boy up and moved away from his cage. He started wiggling, tail whipping and scratching. I did not put him back in his cage because I knew that if I did it would mean that I would be 20 steps backwards. I increased my hold until he calmed down and I turned him towards my face and talked to him softly and calmly. He started relaxing and then started up again. Every time that he wiggled I increased my hold and then relaxed again when he calmed down.

I went to sit in the bathroom and placed him on my lap. He was blown over - new environment, new smells etc. It took him almost 10 minutes before he climbed off my lap and started exploring the bathroom. It was incredible, he looked so interested but scared in a way. I held out some fruit for him but he wasnt interested. We sat there for almost an hour, it felt wonderful to give my boy a little bit of freedom and to let him see that I am not going to keep him locked up for the rest of his life.

Day 57 - 117:

I kept to this routine of sitting in the bathroom for 2 months. He started approaching me when I held out fruit or a flower and ate it out of my hand.

Day 90:

He did not wiggle, tail whip or anything when I moved away from the cage. I was over the moon.

Day 118 and on:

We trusted each other enough to move from the bathroom to the bedroom. He loved having the freedom to explore and taste and see new things. Every now and then I would go and pick him up and place him back on my lap. I would then stroke him and he really seemed to love it. After a while he would climb off again and explore.

I also walked with him through the house and allowed him to taste everything, 'climb the walls' etc. but I did not put him down anywhere but in the bedroom.

2 September 2008:

My most REWARDING iguana day ever! Forest climbed on top of me by himself! I stroked him and he stretched out and fell asleep.

The camera flash woke him up, but notice how relaxed he was: http://reptile-parrots.com/forums/showthread.php?120-Taming-and-Socializing-your-Iguana

Now you know how I got my iguana to stop running and to start trusting me. I have a very special bond with him and there is mutual trust and respect between us. He is my best friend.

I hope that this will help somebody.
Side note:

I cried many-many times during the year of 'taming' Forest. I felt like a failure, thinking that I must be doing something wrong or that Forest hates me and will NEVER trust me. It was a very hard time and my arms were scratched all over, it looked as if I had it in a shredder! You must also not chase your iguana around IN his enclosure, the trick is to move in and take him BEFORE he has time to react. If you hesitate once then it is too late and he will run like you've never seen an animal run before! THEY ARE SUPER FAST!!! It was 3 bad days, catching crocodile rolls and then 1 good day making up for it again. Taming an iguana is truly 1 step forward 2 steps back and if you do not feel frustrated and like a failure during the process THEN you are doing something wrong OR your iguana is ill. It also took a HUGE chunk out of my family life, sitting alone with him for an hour each and every day for a year. Everybody else were watching tv and chatting about their day and I was stuck in the bathroom and bedroom alone with Forest FOR A YEAR.

It was worth it and I will do it all over again! Today the vets and everybody that meets him calls him puppy tame and I am very proud of him. He loves my company and seeks me out at night when we get home, he will clime on my lap or sometimes just lay by my feet on a warm water bottle. I love him with all my heart.