how do i get my green iguana NOT to bite or tail whip me!!!!!?????

Question

well, i just got him and hes pretty agressive, will he eventually not whip or bite me? how do i do that? please help>?????

i just got him from petco and he is about a foot and a half long and pretty young

Answer 1

I find that it usually depends on a number of things. 1. the age of it, whether it is an adult or a juvenile. 2. if it is an adult is it in a sexually mature state. 3. if it is not sexually mature, did you rescue it or buy it from a store or a private pet owner. 3. if it is a rescue or bought from a private owner, was it neglected or abused or mishandled in anyway by the previous owner. 4. if it is a juvenile still and bought from a private owner, how much has it been handled by the previous owner. 5. if it is a juvenile bought from a pet store how well was it handled, has it been mistreated in anyway while in the care of the pet store. 6. if it is a juvenile or adult and mistreatment does not apply 'knowingly' to the iguana, then you should in a positive way show him/her that you are not in anyway going to mistreat/mishandle it and allow it a chance to acclimate (get used to) its surroundings before over-handling him/her. if the mistreatment/mishandling is not a root cause of his/her agression and neither is the sexual maturity factor, then the next possible cause could simply be to relocation stress. if this is the part that applies, again allow him/her to acclimate to its new surroundings before handling it to much more, but encourage him/or her to get used to you by talking to it calmly, offer to pet him/her while allowing it the space its habitat offers and allow him/her to come to your offered attention but don't force it. once it becomes acclimated to you and its new home, it will become less aggressive and a lot more willing to be handled. once it is willing to be handled then take it out and hold it and pay attention to it as much as it is willing to permit, this will help tame most of the agression issues. also the more you get used to it while it gets used to you, the more your fear subsides. the less fearful you are of your iguana the more it will sense that you are not afraid of it and it will come to respect that more. Yes iguanas to sense fear and react to it like any other pet does. It also react aggressively to anger as well.

Answer 2

Over the years I have seen a variety of Iggy's that all have different temperments. I have fostered some great ones and some that were terribly aggressive with no hope of calming down. As juveniles often once you gain their trust and they are comfortable being handled they actually enjoy it. It takes time and patience. You have to go slowly. Try feeding them by hand. Adult Iggy's that have a bad temperment seldom ever calm down. They biting and tail whipping is a defense mechanism. Having an Adult that is calm and docile is the exception to the rule. I have seen adults that were so calm and laid back that you literally could turn them on their backs and scratch their bellys. Again that is an exception to the normal behavior. The bottom line is if they are aggressive they will probably remain aggressive. I fostered two females for over a year and no matter what I did they remained wild. I had a walk in habitat for them and as soon as I would open the door they would go bonkers. There was just no way to calm them down.

Answer 3

a million.) you won't be able to tell the version interior the genders of Iguanas even as they're youthful, all of them only seem an same. in worry-free words even as they advance up will you've the means to inform even if this is male or woman. 2.) Male Iguanas have a tendency to be aggressive for the entire 365 days, yet even extra so round the breeding season. A properly tamed male will nevertheless lash out and be violent round the breeding season. i imagine the breeding season commonly occurs after the cool era in iciness, provided that they use iciness cooling as a demonstration of even if this is time to reproduce. 3.) They do have one of those 0.33 eye, in spite of the actual incontrovertible truth that this is not any longer something like the type of eye you're probable deliberating. this is only a small gentle sensor on the accurate of an Iguana's head, observed as the Parietal eye. it may distinguish between gentle and darkish, which could help the Iguana to stay away from any threats that would want to be looming above them. 4.) they are not meant to shed their tails, yet in many circumstances pores and skin it is shed from the Iguana's tail would not come off authentic (by way of dry circumstances), which cuts off the blood grant to the end of the tail, causing it to die and fall off. also, if an Iguana's tail is grabbed and pulled extremely troublesome, then the Iguana can choose to launch that area of this is tail, to make for a hasty destroy out. wish that enables.

Answer 4

Keep handling it. Get it used to being picked up and held. Don't wear gloves because you cant tell how hard you are squeezing it. Just don't act nervous. Most iguanas do this out of fright. Try moving its enclosure to a secluded area, away from noise and floor traffic. When you handle it, make sure its only you and your iguana. You might want to try letting some room temp water run on it in you r shower. just make sure its not too hot. room temp to a bit cooler. around 60-65 degrees.

Answer 5

Pretty normal behavior for many igs. Part of owning them is the challenge they provide! Lots of gentle handling, hand feeding, wear gloves! Some are naturally more aggressive than others, and during breeding season most are. Melissa Kaplans book Iguanas for Dummies is excellent and offers much advice. Here is her website:

http://anapsid.org/

Answer 6

If he is an adult, he is sexually mature and will remain aggressive. If he is a baby, you can calm him down with regular handling, but he will become aggressive again once he reaches sexual maturity.

Answer 7

i would try and offer him some fruit my iguana loves cantelope and let him get it itself but dont pet him try to show him that your not going to harm him

Answer 8

i always just sprayed it with water and it calms down right away, it loves bein sprayed, oh and "it"
is my iguana scoop