Iguana Taming and Handling
Are you having a hard time taming and handling your iguana? Well, honestly, making a good connection with your iguana takes certain stages and time.
But with proper knowledge, persistence, time, as well as patience, you will make your wild pet like you in no time. Aside from that, gentle, regular, and consistent handling is extremely important to tame iguanas and keep them manageable and tame as they get bigger.
Getting the right answers regarding how to make your iguana a great companion and other questions regarding ownership is very important. But sometimes finding the right answers seems difficult since you will be overwhelmed with the many different information available.
Either way, if you’re one of the many people who doesn’t have any idea on how to tame and handle such creatures no worries because we’ve got you covered.
Bellow, we will tell you everything that you need to know about iguana ownership. Here, we will provide all the answers that you need in an accurate and straightforward manner.
How to Tame and Train an Iguana?
Iguanas— one of the most popular and exotic pets ever. However, most pet owners are surprised by how strong, large and sometimes aggressive these reptiles become as they mature.
This is why it is important that newly bought iguanas should be trained and tamed as soon as possible.
Do Iguanas Become Aggressive?
Pet store iguanas are a bit stressed out when being handled, shipped and housed. Meanwhile, rescued iguanas have been mistreated and neglected, making it longer to gain their trust.
In general, new iguanas are quite docile for the first few days when brought home. This is why most owners think that taming it should not be a problem. However, after a few days, when the iguana becomes more comfortable with its new surroundings, it begins to show signs of aggression.
This is normal though. Iguanas tend to be intimidated and nervous with their new surroundings. But as it becomes too comfortable, it will start to show displeasure when handled.
How to Train and Tame an Iguana?
Taming an iguana will not happen overnight. Consider the following tips if you want to tame an iguana.
- Give your iguana at least two weeks to agitate before the taming process takes place.
- Communicate with your pet on a regular basis and place the cage in an area where he/she can observe you while doing your routine.
- Try to approach your iguana by placing your hand in the cage. Move your hand gently and slowly until your pet held your hand.
- Afterward, try holding the iguana and put down on the floor gently and slowly.
Be Patient and Predictable
Before you start the taming process, you need to give your new iguana a few weeks to settle in. First, establish a routine of cleaning, feeding and handling your pet. It establishes a predictable daily routine that should provide a sense of security for your pet.
Talk To Your Iguana
AS you do the routine tasks, you also need to talk to your pet and keep it in a place where it can observe you as you do your routine. This should help your pet get used to your presence.
Make sure to spend time just talking and watching your iguana. You can name your pet since iguanas do recognize their names.
Determine When It Feels Threatened
Iguanas bite with their serrated, sharp teeth and may even try to whip out its powerful and sharp tail. They also have extremely sharp claws, so you need to expect some scratches when you first handle your iguana.
Thus, it makes a great idea to be familiar with its behavior and body language so you can read the warning signals. Extension of the dewlap and head bobs signals that your iguana feels threatened and will defend itself. In addition, tail twitching and hissing is a definite sign of aggression.
Show That You’re The Boss
Taming and training your iguana is a balance between showing who’s in charge and not pushing too hard. You need to be persistent and firm without pushing it too hard and stressing your pet.
Meanwhile, if your iguana is aggressive or struggling to get out of your hold, don’t put it down or back off immediately. This will make your iguana thinks that it has won and it should be aggressive to get what it wants.
This may be quite hard when your pet is trying to bite you, scratching you or lashing out its tail, however, you need to make it clear that you’re the one making the decisions and in charge of the interactions. To be safe, you can wear gloves when doing so.
Gently Approach and Handle Your Iguana
Gently place your hand in the enclosure as you approach your pet. Don’t do this from above since your iguana will look at it as a threat. Instead, do it from the side. If it scrambles around in panic or makes an aggressive posture, back off just a bit but keep trying, while talking it down with a gentle voice. Make your movements smooth and slow. Repeat this for a while until it is more used to your hand.
Picking Your Iguana and Petting
Once your iguana got used with your hand, try to pick it up and petting it. If you have a smaller iguana, you can scoop it under the belly. However, it is a bit larger, then you need to support under the belly and its pelvic.
Putting Down Your Iguana
When first picking your iguana, it may try to escape your grasp and might even bite you in the process. If so, hold onto it until it is calm.
This should help teach your pet that being calm is what will make you put it down. In case your iguana escapes, do not panic and chase it down. First, let it calm down and slowly approach it while softly speaking.
Most often, though, you may end up having to chase your pet, but when you do, never grab for its tail. This is because iguanas can drop their tails, so you will be left holding to a tail while your pet is still on the loose.
Other Iguana Taming & Handling FAQs
Are Iguanas Good Pets?
Iguanas can make a good pet. However, always remember that caring for iguanas is quite different than caring for a dog or cat.
Having that said, it’s a good idea that you have an idea about their special requirements, habits, and needs before adopting an iguana as your pet.
Do Iguanas Make Noise?
Yes, these creatures make a sound. However, they are not making too much noise.
They do make sounds affiliated to snorting and sneezing. You may also hear a whipping iguana sound because his/her tail slices through the air.
How to Tell How Old An Iguana Is?
You can actually tell how old an iguana is by its sex organ maturity, sex, and size. In males, there’ll be bigger bumps and jowls on their heads as they grow.
In fact, even veterinarians can’t guess their right age. On the other hand, animals are aged by their teeth. However, iguanas tend to shed their teeth five times per year
How Make Your Iguana Like You?
If you want to make your iguana like you, you should be patient and at the same time gentle. Similar to taming your iguana this process doesn’t happen in just a short period of time.
As a matter of fact, you can follow the same tips on how tame an iguana. Furthermore, when you are trying to make him/her like you make sure that your pet is calm.
More importantly, let your new pet adjust because being moved to another place is a traumatic situation for iguanas.
Conclusion
Taming your iguana means that you gain its trust which is something that will not happen overnight. But with consistency, patience, and gentle handling, you should be able to tame your iguanas faster and keep them tamed as they get larger.
Read more: Iguana Care 2020