How can I tame a baby iguana?

Question

I just bought one.

Answer 1

Taming a baby/young iguana does take a lot of time and patience.
It took a good 1 1/2-2 months before my iguana stopped trying to whip at me, hoping her mouth threating me she was gonna bite. Some it might take longer, up to a year.
Iguanas are not like a dog and cat, they are wild, and always will be wild. They can, if they want to be, loving animals.
Some iguanas will always hate us human slaves, some tolerate us human slaves.
Sit next to your iguana enclosure (since its a baby/young iguana under 8-12 months is should not be in anything less then a 55 gallon tank), talk to him/her ramble on about your day, what you saw on the news, let it get used to your voice, yes they can understand there name so use it, put your hand in the enclosure for 5-10 mins a day, don't move it just let it be in the enclosure, don't have it too close but not too far, your ig will possibly run away from you, don't let that discourage you, your ig will get used to it more and more as time goes on, for how long, could be again 6 months.
The more you hold your iguana the better, BUT please remember baby/young iguanas do not hold there body heat like the older ones can, so do not have out more then 20 mins a day. Bath times are precious, and great way for your ig to use the bath tub instead of it's enclosure, and will learn to use water in his/her enclosure also.
I started petting my ig from the tail, so she'd get use to me touching the tail, remember igs can drop there tail if they feel scared. Then I started petting her head, where the 3rd eye is. Then I started petting the neck around.
Reward your ig for going potty in the tub, letting your pet him her. Your iguana may not accept food from you, try if not put in food dish. Piece of canalope, soaked 12 grain wheat bread (please make no bigger then there head - watermelon is great frozen and shaved on food for hydration also). My iguana didn't take food from me til she was like 5/6 months of having her, and now I have to give her food after bath time. =) Which is a joy!!!
My girl is 2 yrs old now and is the most sweetest thing, but will she, I don't know 2/3 yrs is usually when the igs can be come try and become the more dominate type.
Iguanas can either be dominate or submissive to there slaves/owners. Do not back down from your iguana because then your ig has won.
Iguanas do take a lot of time and patience, but don't think that your ig doesn't like you because he/she isn't enjoying your time w/ you, it's not the case, they have to feel comfy w/ you before they can relax, and sometimes it can take up to a year. They are a joy to have in your life for the next 15-20 yrs.
Remember igs need UVB, heat/temps, good staple greens to live.
UVB: ReptiSun 10.0, Repti Glo 8.0 or ReptiSun 5.0 are great UVBs, there is a distance that they should be from your iguanas body for the 5.0 and 8.0 is 6-8 inches, 10.0 is 8-10 inches, you'll need to adjust as your ig grows, you can usually find UVB tube light cheaper on the internet then threw the pet store. The UVB's that are coil compact type do not proved the UVB that your ig needs, also the "U" shaped brands can actually cause eye problems for reptiles. CHE's (ceramic heat emitters) work great at night, they produce heat no light since igs sleep at night no light for 12 hrs day time lights on for 12 hrs. You can use a house bulb for the basking area (wattage will depend on enclosure size), instead of buying one of the expensive basking bulbs at pet stores. Temps: never let drop below 70F ...basking 92-96F if temp is too low digestion is slowed too high food digests too fast and nutrition is lost -medium/middle 88-92F - cool 75-84F - at night 73-84F. Having a thermometer that has a probe at the end works the best because you can place the probe more where your ig is.
Iguanas need humidity, its is hard to give the humidity that they truly need, because if we did we'd have mold growing on our walls. Some ig owners aim for 50-60% humidity. Having silk fake leaves bigger then your iguana will help add some humidity, plus they may try and lick the water off the leaves which will help w/ hydration, again make sure leaves are bigger then there head, and if any exposed wires please remove and replace. Placing a humidifer or vaporizer next to there enclosure will help also, for big enclosure they should be outside so there is no way of harming them from the warm humidifiers or too cold from sitting on the cool humidifiers. You can pipe in the humidity from the humidifer w/ common house hold items, but having one next to the tank/enclosure will help.
Diet, this is only a small listing: daily food should have 5-7 good staple greens (2-3 cups a day if not more younger igs may not eat a 1/2 cup for a few months) ... collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens (if you can find), endive, radicchio, arugula, mache (if you can find), watercress ... some greens to give occasionally in small amounts kale, bok choy, escarole ... you can add some basil into the mix only w/ good staple greens, sometimes this helps the little ones eat ... some things to add (small amounts) snap peas, bell peppers (every now and then), parsnip, sweet potato/yam, acorn squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash ... fruits should only be given every now and then once or twice a week type of thing fruits are like junk food to iguanas ... some fruits to try papay, kiwi, mango, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, honeydew (great water source), canalope (great water source), 12 grain wheat bread (soaked) ... if anything has seeds make sure you remove seed before you give it to your iguana, for thinks like strawberries ones w/ small seeds, don't give for at least 3 days to pass threw system ... watermelon (seedless) can be frozen and then shaved onto your iguanas food helps w/ hydration everyday ... there are some foods that aren't good for your iguana: spinach has oxalate acids bind to the calcium, so even though spinach is high in calcium, almost none is actually available for the iguana to use, also the oxalate acids can form oxalate crystals which can and do build up in the kidneys causing kidney damage/failure ... some ig owners do give there ig spinach but in very small amounts and only once a month ... corn igs can not digest ... carrots aren't the greatest to give, can block calcium absorption and high in Oxalates, small amounts occassionally is fine ... food should be cut/chopped/diced no bigger then the iguanas head, if they are small having a chopper chop them up, or slice them into very small pieces ... spray/mist food to help w/ water/hydration ... remember some foods can be very toxic and deadly to iguanas.
Here are some links to sites I highly recommend reading:
http://www.greenigsociety.org/
http://www.iguanaden.org/
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html
Also, a great book to read and have on hand:
Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan
If you would like to join any Yahoo groups for iguanas, the following I found are the best for new iguana owners, again if you'd like to join:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/BabyIguana/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/IguanaDen/
Good luck w/ your little one!!!

Answer 2

You have to hold them as much as possible everyday atleast 30 minutes a day. Most Iguanas for the first few years tend to be a little skittish no matter what but if you keep holding them they will calm down.

Here is some helpful info if you don't know it already. And the websites at the bottom will have more info about taming.

They need:

45% leafy greens such as escarole, dandelions, endive, mustard, and collards, NO lettuces or spinach! They aren't good for him.
45% hard mixed veggies such as an orange flesh squash the harder the better(acorn,pumpkin,butternut... fresh green beans, fresh peas, parsnip, and green bell peppers, NO broccoli or cauliflower, or avocado!
10% fruit such as figs, papaya, mango, pear, and berries. NO bananas, only very rarely as a treat.
NO ANIMAL PROTEIN such as bugs, meat, eggs, or cheese!

Cage size:

Minimum length (side to side): 2-3 x
Minimum depth (front to back): 1.5-2 x
Minimum height: 1.5-2 x


Temperature:

They need a basking area of 95-100 and normal temps of 75-85. NO heat rocks!

Lights:

They need a 5.0 UV light.

Hydration:

They should also get baths everyday or so. And should have a water bowl in their cage.

Vet:

You should take Your Iguana for regular vet checkups to make sure it is in good health. Reptiles can have internal parasites that can harm them so you should make sure the vet checks that.

Here are some good sites, the first one was recomended by my vet.

http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html
www.greenigsociety.org
www.triciaswaterdragon.com/igcare.htm
http://www.baskingspot.com/iguanas/igboo...
http://www.reptilecare.com/IgCare.htm

Answer 3

Give it time to adjust to it's new home first so it can settle in and not be stressed. Then start with short, gentle handling sessions each day. Don't over do it--to a baby iguana, you are a predator and any handling is going to be stressful at first. In time, many become accustomed to being handled, but some never do! Learn to read his body language, and be prepared for some nasty behavior around breeding season. Here's some helpful info:

http://www.todaysplanet.com/pg/beta/lizardlover/page3.htm

http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html

Answer 4

The easiest way and the only way to tame them is to handle them every day. Here i made sorta a schedule for you.

(week 1)- 15 min everyday
(week 2)- 35 min everyday
(week 3)- 45 min everyday
(week 4)- 45 min everyday
(week 5)- either continue as in 3&4 or do more.
(week 6)- you dont have to handle them everyday, but atleast 3 days a week, and a long period of time.

then eventually every day do the same step as week 6. Eventually as they get bigger they will become more time. Also try feeding them by hand so they know you hand from food. They reason you are going to want to handle them for these long peiods of time, is because they whip you with their tail, and if they dont stop this when they are younger, when they are older it' gonna hurt. Trust me, take my advice, i had a bad experience once, on my face.
Hopefully this helped, i gave you all my suggestions from my experience all in a nuttshell.

Answer 5

Go to
http://www.greenigsociety.org/

They have excellent care sheets and some advice about taming.
There are a couple schools of thought on taming so you need to choose what's best for you.
Just do lots and lots of research to give your iggy the best care possible.