Green Iguana

I miss mine, despite its hi-jinks. Every now and again (breeding season, I suppose) the damn thing would forget who I was and slap me with its tail, attempt mad dashing escapes and try its hand (claw?) at stealthily creeping away. Bath time was so much fun, I couldn't wait. It would hear the water and go into 'slapping stance', then whale me in the leg, only when my back was turned. At five feet, I did away with the cage, and let it live on top of two large dressers, heat rocks, food, water and lamps here and there. There was a break in and the damn thing freaked out and hid under a desk for a while. Fun was had by all when I finally put it back on its rocks. By fun I mean tail slaps and feigned bites. I had to go out of town and leave it in the care of a trusted pal once. He left town, too. It dehydrated and died. Poor lizard.

As with any reptile, or any pet for that matter, you must know what you are doing. Adult iggies, especially during breeding season, can be aggressive. Tail whips, scratches, and sometimes even bites come with the territory. If you aren't willing to deal with that, as well as caging requirements and proper UV lighting and diet, don't get into reptiles. They are extremely rewarding and interesting animals, dont get me wrong, and many morphs can even be investments. There are quite a few iguanas out there that are dog tame and are very safe and a joy to have around. It all depends on what you're looking for in a pet.

I don't think these should be kept as pets, period. I had a friend who had one once, and I spent the weekend with her. She let it hang out on the towel bar as I was washing up in front of the sink in the bathroom and it struck out at me and scratched my arm. Said friend defended its behavior by saying t was just scared because its vision was failing and could hear but not see me. Her arms were covered in scratches from holding it by the way.

If you ever wanted a 6 foot long dinosaur than this is the pet for you,  they can get huge, live a very long time and can become aggressive when they are adults. For experienced Herps only. If you know what you are doing than they can be pretty cool.

For experienced reptile owners only! This is not a pet for kids. If you are in love with the look of an Iquana, buy a water dragon. They are just a gorgouse, but have a much better temperment and do not even reach half the size of an iguana. But, for those of you that know what your getting into, an iguana can/will make a great pet...just do the research first!

I had an iguana that I rescued from a school display (they didn't know that the cute little lizard would someday outgrow his 10 gallon aquarium!). He got to be about three feet long and would climb out of his cage so regularly, that eventually we just let him out in the morning and put him back at night. Unfortunately, one day he discovered a small opening in the corner of our pool cage screen and he made a break for it. We never did find him, but, since we life in southwest Florida where temps are warm, chances are good that he's in the trees somewhere.