Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried.

Posted by Tucker on 8/1/2012, 9:26 am, in reply to "Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried."

I bought 2 iguanas from the same pet store 4 months ago. For a long time, in their first habitat I had, they constantly spent time next to each other, often one falling asleep on the other. However, for the past 2 months I upgraded them to a walk-in closet. At this point, I noticed one begin the head bobbing, asserting his dominance (definitely, because the other would immediately get out of the way) Coming to my point, although the dominate iggy has perfected the head bob, my other iggy has not been seen performing it yet ( I hear females start later, but they are too young to sex yet). However, my submissive iggy HAS developed his or her own way of letting me know she's not pleased - she opens her mouth at me like she wants to take a bite, though she hasn't bit or tail-whipped yet. This may have been a hiss that I didn't audibly hear. You will learn your iggy's body language, just as everyone else is telling you. The really cool thing is that I read someone say that their body language is how we talk to our iguanas. As for mating season, my plan is to buy a small stuffed dragon-like animal from eBay. :)

Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried.

Posted by hanna on 8/1/2012, 9:18 am, in reply to "Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried."
99.9.129.53

sorry but your iggy is fighting mad at his reflection, not introducting himself. Iggys don't want another iggy around. They are solitary and territorial, so don't fix him up with any 'dates'! I know, it's a bummer as it would be fun to watch them play together if they just would but they will fight no matter what sex iggy shows up. You just have to be their big buddy and enjoy them for their intelligence and quirks. Keep up the research. Knowledge is power and sure a big help when surprises happen. These animals are big on giving their owners surprises!

Iguanas generally stress on playdates. Iguanas........

Posted by roger on 7/30/2012, 12:11 pm, in reply to "Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried."
70.36.215.249

don't have the same social instincts as we do. Roger

Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried.

Posted by Becca on 7/29/2012, 11:22 pm, in reply to "Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried."
75.170.231.58

The vibrating head bob is called a shudder bob. When you see that you are being told, "Back off, I'm a big, tough iguana" in a VERY serious manner. This is a territorial gesture- so watch him carefully. When Sammy does this, I talk to him in a cheerful, high voice and I watch his eyes. If an ig is going to jump you, the eye gets a hard look to it and the gold rim around the pupil flashes brightly. Sammy postures a lot but my first ig, Norm, gave me the flash eyes right before he bit me twice in less than 15 seconds. Observe your ig's body language until you can read him like a book. That will help with the adventure called breeding season. Good luck!

Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried.

Posted by Nannette on 7/29/2012, 11:02 pm, in reply to "Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried."

Vince, they don't know that the mirror is a reflection...they think it's another iguana. Some iguanas have broken mirrors becoming territorial. Because the hemipenes are extending from the vent (that's the hole you call a butt), it's extra important not to have lint, hair, sand, substrate, bark or other small things that could stick to it and either cause it to stay out, or go in with it and cause trouble. Keep everything very clean.

Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried.

Posted by SusanD on 7/29/2012, 8:15 pm, in reply to "Re: Please! Help with my iguana's butt! Very worried."
72.84.137.82

hes not gay- just very excited :) Try offering him a "girlfriend". You can look for a stuffed animal that resembles and iguaua, some people sew dark colored socks together- you can get creative and if one doesnt work try something else.You should not hook him up with another iguana, male or female. They do alot of damage to one another and can get serious injuries. He'll be happy when you find a suitable "lovedoll". Breeding season last several months, he may eat less so its important to offer him water, keep him misted and well hydrated. This can also be a dangerous time because they can become territorial. They can see one of 2 ways. One- they may want to mate with you OR they may want to fight with you. It is important to keep yourself safe so pay careful attention to head bobbing and other signs that may be warnings.