Iguanas a good pet?

Question

Are Iguanas good pets to have? and are they easy to take care of, handle, etc.
~If anyone who owns an iguana or just knows a whole lot about this type of reptile could please tell me, it would be much appreciated

I'd like to get as much information before deciding to be totally spontaneious without knowing what i'm getting into when buying something like this.

Do they do well with other pets, or is this a total no- no?

Answer 1

I had an iguana and it was very young when I got her and she was about two to three inches long and we called her godzilla, we did not know much at all at first but I got lots of books and talked to other iguanna owners and learned that they can get stressed easily and stress is a very bad thing that kills them, iguanas need lots of sun and heat, they need to have the right diet and room to grow, they are curious and playful and a lot of work. When iguannas are brought to us most are transported in gunny sacks and are with out needed light for long periods of time which causes a lot of stress and most will not survive or will have medical problems, You want to get one with nice bright color and seems active and healthy. Mine was very pretty bright green and loved to run my house and would even sit on the coffee table and watch tv with us, I also knew some college girls in an apartment complex I managed that had an 6 foot plus iguanna named boots and it loved to play with shoes and it ran thier apartment, one day boots was out of the cage and the girls were gone, we had another maintenance man that helped us with repairs and he went to make repairs in thier apartment and walked in to find boots carrying a shoe by the shoelace and he came right back out and asked me to get boots in the cage because he was afraid of it. I have had nothing but fun with mine, only she was attacked by a baby sieberien husky who did not know better and survived and actually recovered from being paralyzed from the back leggs back the she started to produce an egg which my daughter was not very old at the time squished her and then she died from too much stress. If you have other pets and kids make sure you have the time to keep them away from the iguana or that you can keep the iguana protected from danger. Read about thier diet cause that is a lot to know right there too, learn about thier health and how to deal with first aid issues and so on. But I think they make a good pet if you know what you are doing and what you are getting into.

Answer 2

Iguanas can be tempromental u could get one that hates to be handles and bites all the time, I've had some like that, but u must handle them often once they have established themselves in ur home for a week or 2 and are feeding normally. After that try stroking them over their nose thru the eyes, that would allways make my big iguana sleepy, it kind of hyptomizes them, so u can trimtheir nails ( pointy and sharp keep them trimmed) cause when u handle them they can really dig in. It alot of work had 3 of them, are u ready for that? They get big too.

Answer 3

Iguanas are peculiar pets. Some turn out nice. Some become viscous. You need to have plenty of time on your hands to keep it social and let others handle it too. Some are so lazy they wouldn't harm a flea, literally. Why bother eating a live bug when you get infinite amounts of fresh veggies, fruits and Iguana Chow?!?!

Answer 4

i would suggest you read and get as much info as you can specially about their diet (most important)..and the type of bulbs for their heat and etc. (also important)...be careful what some pet stores tell you...they are not educated in the way to take care of reptiles...these sites will help you and inform you the most..good luck if you decide to own a iguana they are fun..have their own personalities...like i have one now that loves watchin tv..and gets mad if he cant see it...also gets mad when he sees a camera hates his pic taken...

http://www.repticzone.com/

http://www.greenigsociety.org/

http://www.anapsid.org

Answer 5

Nope they are not good pets for most people.

If they don't die they can grow rather large & need a very large cage preferably outside in the sunlight.

They are messy, grow very fast, are prone to nutritional diseases.

They have very sharp claws and you will always have scratches if you handle them.

Adult males can also be very aggressive and cause serious bite wounds.

Buy a bearded dragon instead!!!!

http://www.anapsid.org/societies/grimreality.html

http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html

Answer 6

They are easier to handle and raise the younger you get them at. You need to hold them and touch them alot so they become affectionate to humans and especially you. If you dont do this, they will become very combative the older they get. Oh, and when it comes to fighting with them, don't worry about the mouth, the teeth are harmless, it's the tail that will slice you like a razor.

Answer 7

not if you are under 5 foot 6 and dont mine having an agressive pet with teeth

Answer 8

They are ok. They need to have very strict climate conditions and they need to eat daily. Also you need to constantly was your hands since they carry salmonella.

Answer 9

yes they are a good pet they grow HUGE

Answer 10

I had one a few years ago, and after awhile it turned on my wife, and bit her.