Green Iguanas in the pet trade.

[DaveDragon]

Ours kids would love to have one! There are plenty available as rescues around here. But the chances of finding a semi-tame & healthy one is about the same as winning Powerball! The (4) Tegu's we have are more than enough. We don't give them as much attention as we'd like. Adding another big lizard would only make it worse. But you never know! Maybe someday we'll find a nice tame one from reptilezz. DOH!!! Did I say that???!!!

 

[angelrose]

this is a happy story about an iguana.

I am one of those people who did buy an iguana. this was my first reptile. I kept her in the patio during the summer. she was absolutely wild as a baby. as she got older she calmed down. she did not let anybody else come near her. she did the head bobbing and the whipping as warnings to everyone else who came near her. then we went through the egg stage. the last couple bunches she got egg bound. that was an expensive vet bill to get the ovaries removed only to find out she made more eggs the following year and the vet did not remove the ovaries completely because of the danger of the artery that runs through them (I was told). but she was absolutely worth every penny !!! her name was 'Gucci'. after she passed naturally about 17 years later. I didn't look at another lizard / reptile until I met Angel my colombian tegu.

 

[PuffDragon]

I own a young Savadorian Blue Jeweled Iguana and it is no cakewalk.

What is that??? Please provide pics of your guy.

The Iguana's role in the pet industry is very sad. However, I don't believe they should be pulled from the industry. We as owners should not be able to tell what other reptile owners can and cannot keep. It is our responsibility to properly educate people and in some cases try to persuade them into buying a more suitable animal. All it takes is one person with a passion for these animals to give it a good home and show that while they are not for everyone, there is atleast some people out there who are eligible to care for these beautiful and under appreciated animals.

After all it's not these animals fault they are born into a world of uneducated owners.

Here is "P'diddle," a adoption I will most likely pick up in a month or two. He was rescued by his current owners 2 1/2 years ago and has a nice big enclosure. He's missing some toes and one eye. His temperment was great and he's a pleasure to be around. He's a little over 4 ft.

P'did enclosure

 

[DaveDragon]

WOW!!! He is beautiful!!!!

 

[angelrose]

wow Puff, he is a big, handsome iggy. awesome enclosure. maybe I will get another 'Gucci'.

 

[chasehelschien]

i live in south florida, and when im driving ill pass a lake near my house ill often see over 20 iguanas on a hot day, some of them dont look so healthy

 

[PuffDragon]

Here's 2 shots of when I went to meet him yesterday. Sorry, I didn't take more as we were short on time.

 

[teguazul77]

Well guys !!! I come from PR and to tell you the truth the island its infested with green iguanas , to the point that the pavement its no more black now its green and red !!!! ( Sad but true ) These animals were sold in the island pet trade during the 70's and now call PR home , you cand find even different locals and colorations going from the red's that are becoming popular now to white heads very impressive , blue , black , you name it !!! But people back then didn't realize that the cute green lizard will grow to be GODZILLA and start to do the same thing that irresponsable people do when they dont find an exit to a problem they let them go .....


The same happened with spectacle caimans , we have a population of them lose back in the 70's and now they are spreading all over the place ...

We have to keep our eyes open and point out the irresponsable people that turn lose their pets , when things related with rep's happens they said its the herpetoculturist comunity that are responsable for this situations .

Trust me its not cool to find out that all the work that you put into your hobbie or your bussines its going to the trash because a few morons descide to turn loose Dino !!!!!

I dont think that people should have green iguanas as pets !!!!

 

[Alek]

Iguanas turn on you no matter what.

 

[PuffDragon]

Iguanas turn on you no matter what.

Can you cite some first hand experience of this, please?

 

[Gx3]

Iguanas turn on you no matter what.

I somewhat agree with this. First, my uncle had an Iguana that he used in his 4th grade class. It was over 4 ft long and was handled daily and sometimes it would be a sweet heart and other times it would tail whip with no warning or even try to bite. He was fine until he reached sexual maturity (which happens quite often in males). I also met a woman fairly recently who had a male iguana for over 4 years and it was as friendly as can be until one day it was cruising around the room and crawled on top of his cage and lunged at her face while she was on the computer and basically ripped off her nose. After lots of reconstruction surgery she is nearly back to normal, and she DID keep the iguana and is just more cautious around him now. I believe a lot of it has to do with the individual animal. But I have never seen s a fully matured male that NEVER tail whips or shows aggression. (I know there are some I just havent actually seen one). HOWEVER, iguanas like all reptiles are wild animals and should be treated/respected accordingly.

 

[Beazer]

Okay. Well, I suck at sentence structuring for online debates and yada yada. However, I have had a lot of experience in this issue.

I agree green iguanas should require some sort of permit. But its hard to get small restrictions because the gov. will try to use it as a stepping stone to ban reptiles or make permits for more animals even ones that dont require them. If the greens werent produced in such a massive number and had a higher price tag, and hard to get a hold of, theyd actually be a pretty neat lizard if you think about it.

Green iguanas are a problematic species in certain states. Even here in Phoenix, Arizona we have green iguanas roaming the streets certain neighborhoods and actually breeding succesfully.

They are often a species mistreated/abused because every 10yo wants a green iguana and thats the only reptile the parents know about and also the most readily available lizard. They are never set up properly (especially when purchased from petsmarts or petcos) and/or people do not want to pay that much to set up a 15 dollar lizard. Most parents do absolutely no research on the animal and no petshop owner is going to pass up a sale so that part sucks too.

From having worked at a petshop I have seen them brought in with all sorts of problems ranging from mbd to nose rub. People do not realize the size cage the animal needs and the most common excuses I hear are, "The people at petco told me they grow the size of their environment". Which obviously to us who know a bit about reptiles is not true (that and a small cage isnt going to stump the genes/evolution this animal has acquired in its dna to grow large).

As far as regulating goes on the green iguanas, I am all for it. There is no way it would hurt the trade unless they tried attatching other animals to be regulated too. And to be honest, I have no trust in the USFW or the local Fish and Game. They mostly want what will make them more money or get them in the newspapers. I also would never, ever, trust local Herpetological Societies. These societies are often flooded with morons who think they know it all but cause more harm and ignorance in the trade than anything. Most ones Ive heard about and experienced are exactly like this and also they brown nose each other just for higher status in the club. Though there are a few out there, theres not enough good ones to use as a standard to regulate. Too much drama in them and too much backstabbing/greed/politics envolved it would be just like letting Fish and Game run it lol.

I hate telling people the bad about green iguanas for the safety of the animal and theirselves. Though, if people were reliable on making smart choices, they are a rewarding species, as with every reptile, to work with. If they were a rare lizard on the market, they would definitely be one of the most sought after reptiles by high end collectors (think about it).

Will they lash out at you no matter what? Well, just about every large reptile is going to throw a hissy fit. What can it do? Slap you with its palm across the face? Or yell at you telling you its having a bad day and you are being annoying? Or push you away? No. All they have is a mouth, tail, and nails and too often we ignore their signs of being annoyed. So its unfair to act like its a horrible creature for lashing out. I mean seriously, as humans we talk about animals as if they have no right to lash out in their own way. But if you look at us, we are more violent then most animals on this earth. We lash out in our own ways and usually its punching/kicking/verbal abuse/attempting to kill and its more common than most animals. Punching and kicking and yelling are our ways of defense. These animals just have teeth, claws, and tails.

I will stop it at that because I think waaay too much and get off track (I guess its a gemini trait).


-Jon DeLong