Intro / Part IStarting Tuesday, March 24, 2020 I will be starting a multi-part series to be posted on Saturdays surrounding 10 reptiles or groups of reptiles, it’s actually a few more if you’re keeping count, that new keepers should absolutely avoid. This is not to say that these animals can not make fascinating and rewarding captives to those with the proper skills and resources, but rather to say simply the following. If you are a new keeper these animals are not for you. That is not an attack on your character, it’s not an insult to your intelligence, and it’s not meant as an affront to your ego. These are animals that require either advanced techniques and skills, have enclosure requirements beyond what the average new keeper can provide, or have the potential to pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of those who are inexperienced. Make sure to let your friends know if they're looking for their first reptile and aren't sure what to get or not to get to check out this series and please feel free to share the articles each week on your social media profiles. Part I Green Iguanas I’m going to start with green iguanas, scientific name Iguana iguana, because they are one of if not the most commonly imported and sold lizards in the pet industry. Originally the majority of green iguanas came from wild populations being imported by the thousands and dying in captivity just about as quickly due to a lack of understanding in regard to their basic care and needs on the part of Joe Public. By the 90’s many of the babies being imported were coming from farms in various regions of South America, where they are also a food source, which was an improvement to the situation, but their basic care was still largely misunderstood and so still the majority of these imports died. Currently there are an increasing number of individuals raising captive bred iguanas within the U.S. who selectively breed for specific color and/or pattern traits, but the large majority in pet stores still come from farms in South America. Whenever possible it’s always best to purchase from private and reputable breeders over farm bred babies. You will typically pay significantly more, but the animals are generally better adjusted and healthier overall with a significantly lower chance of the parasites associated with farm bred and wild caught animals. Part of the reason so many die in captivity is that the farm bred animals can generally be purchased as low as $10-$20 which leads chain pet stores stocking up on them and impulse buying on the part of the consumer and typically a lack of research on even their basic care requirements. Sub-adult and adult males can, and often do, become territorial and aggressive during breeding season making them unruly captives at best and dangerous ones at worst. Because of their large size and arboreal nature they require large enclosures that hold humidity well. The absolute minimum cage requirements for a single adult would be something along the lines of 7ft tall x 5ft long x 3-4ft wide with an area outside of the cage to stretch and explore on a regular basis. Minimum for a full-time enclosure should be at least 7ft tall x 10ft long x 10ft wide. That being said, as with most reptiles the larger the enclosure the better. Iguanas can be somewhat difficult for new keepers and advanced alike to socialize as they are naturally flighty, and they usually take a great deal of patience to work with in the beginning. Green iguanas are also obligate herbivores, and balancing their diet can be a challenge all on its own; they also eat a lot for their size and a mature adult can easily eat several lbs of vegetation each week. It’s not that green iguanas are not fascinating and rewarding captives, but if you’re considering acquiring one I recommend that you start with something smaller with something smaller like a bearded dragon or blue tongue skink. If you’re looking for a strict vegetarian maybe consider a uromastyx. Get a feel for what it’s like keeping reptiles, balancing the diet of a vegetarian lizard, and cleaning up lizard poop for one that doesn’t weigh 20 lbs before you go committing a small room-sized enclosure for the next 15-25 years of yours and your family’s life. Axanthic green iguana. Axanthic animal lack the yellow pigment cells, or chromatophores, that occur in normal colored specimens. Since the green appearance of green iguanas is caused by light passing through blue and yellow cells and then bouncing back to our eyes the lack of yellow only leaves the blue coloration. After all of this you might be thinking that if you get a green iguana and it doesn’t work out you’ll just sell it or give it away, but speaking from experience I can tell you that it is not that easy to find any home, let alone a good home, for an unwanted iguana. It may be a little easier for a young one, but that will likely be to someone who has just as little experience as you did to start. Why is it so hard you might ask? Well partially because experienced keepers know what to expect from them, and inexperienced keepers are unsurprisingly intimidated by a large possibly moody and potentially dangerous lizard. If you happen to raise a healthy and well-adjusted animal, but still decide you can no longer house it then it will likely be easy enough to place. However, how will you guarantee that its new home will take proper care of it and isn’t just jumping at the chance to take advantage of your hard work and financial investment, which you will not get back, only to provide a sub-par living situation and diet because they wanted a “cool” giant lizard without the effort. The facts will still remain that the majority of iguana owners are unprepared and ill-equipped even if they have the best of intentions. The sad part of this is that it's the animal who pays for this and usually with their life. The Iguana pictured below was my Yoshi. Yoshi was a rescue from a situation where the people made every attempt to do things the right way, but in the end it became too much for them to keep him. He was injured when original owner's two large dogs figured out how to tear through the bottom of the cage. The dogs themselves didn't hurt him, though they easily could have, but rather Yoshi hurt himself in the panic that ensued during the chaos. Somehow he ended up with a broken jaw and two large cuts down his side where his skin got snagged on something in the cage. Even after all that he healed mostly back to normal though he had a crooked jaw, but afterwards the presence of the dogs continued to stress him out to the point that the family was afraid to go near him or interact with him because he would lash out tail whipping, threatening to bite, and scratching. Tail whipping constantly caused him to lose a small portion of his tail eventually. So, I eventually received a call asking if I had the space and willingness to take him in, and even though I had no plans of getting a green iguana at the time I did have experience with them and had all of the raw materials and space for the cage so I agreed. After several months of food training and patience I was able to handle him fairly easily, he no longer panicked every time someone passed his cage, and would even climb up my leg or arm to get to his food. I had him for about 3 years before I found him passed away one morning. I never knew what caused his death as it was so sudden and I had no idea how old he was. However, if you have been keeping reptiles for a while, you have done your research, and you have the space in your home, heart, fridge, and wallet then by all means look into giving an iguana a serious home. My advice is as always, ASK QUESTIONS FIRST & BUY LATER. Have your plan in place for the adult enclosure, the diet plan, and set up as much as you can before actually bringing the Iguana home. It can take some time to get basking temperatures, humidity, and ambient temps all dialed in. Then do your research on acquisition. Remember to try and either buy from a reputable private breeder, or adopt an iguana in need. Don’t buy farm raised babies from random pet stores. If it’s a store you know well and trust and the animal has been well established (in their care for at least a month and healthy) then so be it, but remember farm-bred animals are often carrying internal parasites and will need to be treated for those, especially if you have other animals in your collection. And lastly, don’t forget to quarantine your animal. Quarantine procedures are something you should be familiar with prior to ever considering adding animals to a collection. I’ll have a blog about that down the road. Below are some links to good sources regarding green iguana care. You’ll notice early on that some details like minimum cage size will vary from source to source, but if you’re diligent in your research you’ll have a good idea where to start when the time comes even with those minor variances. Pay special attention to the dietary needs as they are not as simple as some pet stores would have you believe. 1. http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/ 2.http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Lizards/Green-Iguana/ If you like what The Bearded Herper is doing and would like to support this page as well as the educational presentations TBH organizes there are two simple ways to do so.
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