Owning a Green Iguana- Steps to Socialising and enclosure placement

Diet and routine- A Summary.

In our previous post we covered the importance of a good diet with proper Calcium and Phosphorus ratios, in addition to the lighting and heating methods we had in place for our Iguana's very first enclosure.

Jäger lived in this set-up for about 9-12 months and in this time we had our good days and bad days with him, in terms of his eating patterns and also his temperament.
 
In the diet section of our former post, we mentioned how he would go through phases of not eating very much at all. Naturally this is a concern to the owner of any pet, but we observed that this reluctance to eating, which could last for a few days at a time, was most often the result of subtle changes in his external environment; whether this be in our own routine,changes to the room in which his vivarium was situated (even something as simple as an item of clothing being left nearby his vivarium) and also whatever the weather outside might be doing at any given time. Since making this early observation we have always tried to keep things as consistent as possible, provided it was within our control.

External and internal vivarium temperatures- observed effect on appetite

Jäger would be, and still is very perceptive to the external temperatures and other activity going on outside of his vivarium. However, if you are making sure the internal vivarium temperatures are kept constant, their behaviour usually shouldn't be governed by external temperatures. We would always consider this last as a possible hindrance to appetite. Of course the more obvious cause of reduced appetite is that the iguana is entering its breeding season, and your iguana has more pressing issues on his mind other than food! This generally tends to happen once or twice a year around the same time each year. However if it is a result of the house being generally cold due to seasonal changes etc, then it doesn't hurt to bump up the temperature by a degree or two just for a short while until the cold snap passes. Otherwise it's a case of keeping your own central heating on all day which isn't always practical or financially viable.

Illness

 A more serious issue would be illness, and Iguanas are extremely good at hiding illness from you. This is because in the wild an ill iguana is extremely easy prey, so they do their best to appear OK for as long as possible. If your Iguana's lack of appetite continues for longer than five days, and is accompanied with any of the following: unusual bowel movements,a distinct change in colour or limited activity then a visit to a good herp vet may be in order.

Mix that salad up a bit!
 
 Taking the aforementioned into consideration, you may simply need to add a bit more interest to his salad, by adding a new fruit item or vegetable that you haven't yet tried. We always attempt to mix things up a bit using items from the 'occasional' list on the Green Iguana Society website just to keep things fresh and interesting for Jäger and it seems to work nicely. He now eats from a large plate, and will sometimes scratch at his plate to ask for more food if he clears it! This is very endearing and demonstrates just how intelligent these lizards are! We always make sure however to keep his feeding times between 10am and 4pm just so he has enough time to digest what he has eaten under the daytime heat of his bulbs and ceramic before he goes to sleep. This prevents improper digestion of his food which could lead to constipation.

Placement of your Iguana's Vivarium

 
Green Iguanas are very curious creatures. They like to keep an eye on whatever is happening outside of their own territory. This more than likely stems from the fact that in the wild these reptiles are prey to many animals viewing Iguana's as a tasty treat. They therefore like to know where things are coming from and where things are going. We suggest keeping your vivarium in the most active room in the house, which for most is usually the living room. This will contribute well to the first step in socialising your iguana, getting him used to your daily routine and movements throughout the room and the house in general. This gives them a routine and since they are creatures of habit, you will quickly begin to pick up on your iguana's own little schedule: when he basks, goes to eat, uses the toilet and has a bit of a roam about his home.

We found it good practice to deliberately sit right by his vivarium within a few feet of his vantage point on a daily basis, doing whatever we were doing, be it using the laptop, watching TV or reading a book. We noticed Jäger would sit and watch, and slowly he got used to our movements. Initially we would try to keep our movements nice and slow and were always mindful of the fact we were being watched. Over time we could make our movements more natural and fluid without thinking too much that they would affect or stress Jäger.

Here is a picture of a Juvenile Jäger sitting on his favourite shelf, keeping an eye on us and the other pets.

 
More to come on handling your juvenile iguana in the next post.