I am considering getting an inguana, does anyone know how hard they are to take care of?

I like leos better but if you want a iguana try googling it

Okay thanks

Don't get an iguana, they're a pain in the you-know-what lol.

1) They get HUGE. A male iguana can get 5, 6 feet long. When they get that big, they practically need free roam of a whole room. Either that or a custom built enclosure that takes up half a room. And custom built enclusures are not cheap, especially if you don't have a family member who will build it for you.

2) They have an attitude. You can get an iguana, spoil it, give it an excellent diet, have a super nice enclosure for it....and it's not going to appreciate it one bit and it's still going to bite you, tail whip you, run from you and give you open mouth threats. Even once they are tame, they are still wild animals and can act like one at any given moment. Now take the fact that they get huge, and add it to the fact that they can be aggressive. What does this equal? It equals the possibility of a bite that will send you to the hospital to get stitches.

3) Nutritional demands. Now this can get so complicated it's not even funny. You have to keep the diet varied so it doesn't loose interest. You have to remember that what iggy likes today, iggy might refuse to eat and suddenly decide it hates it tomorrow. There are foods you must absolutely avoid all together like apple and cabbage. There are foods that can only be given in moderation like carrots. Carrots are high in calcium oxalates which can crystalize calcium and cause MBD. You have to watch calcium. They must be supplemented with calcium or they will get MBD (metabolic bone disease) and their bones can literally turn into rubber and they'll die.

4) Heating/lighting and humidity. You must have a UVA/UVB light for an ig. This light needs to be on for 8 to 10 hours a day and you have to either remember to turn it on and off, or buy a timer. They need a CHE (Ceramic Heating Element) to provide heat for them during the day . They need a nocturnal heat lamp to provide heat for them at night without disturbing their sleep (which isn't a wise thing to do because it makes them crankier than they already are to begin with). A heat pad is usually also necessary in the winter. Because iggies are from tropical rainforrests, there is alot of moisture in the air. So you need a humidifier to create some moisture in the air.

5) Breeding season. During breeding season, you will have to deal with a gravid female laying unfertile eggs. This can make her either aggressive, or sweet, or completely unpredictable. Your suddenly sweet male will become totally aggressive and unhandlable. And you get to deal with this until breeding season is over (a few months later).

And those are just the basics.

If you want a simple, easy, fun lizard, then check out leopard geckos and bearded dragons. They are not nearly as demanding and they are alot tamer and friendlier.

Thanks for all your adivice. I am instead getting some leopard geckos.

but if you want a exotic looking lizard get a bearded dragons i got a bearde and thay are a lot more fun then leopard geckos i also got 1 but leopard geckos you won't see them a lot becuse thay come out at night but i love them both also leos are lot a lot of fun to

Okay so everyone I've talked to said that bearded dragons are better than leos so I think that is my final answer. Thanks for all your help!

but i like iguanas becuse they look like godzila

They look cool but they are extremeley hard to care for.

Yeah, they may be really cool looking, but they're really demanding and a big responsibility.

I think a bearded dragon is a great choice. They're very mellow lizards, not high maintenance and alot more predicable than an iguana. And they don't get ticked off at you if you go on vacation for a weekend. You can also walk around just about all day with a beardie latched onto your shoulder. You can't do that with an ig because they get bored and restless and if they see something interesting, they won't hestitating in taking a crash course flying lesson to investigate.

Don't listen to people who tell you big lizards are a pain!!! If you want a big lizard, get a big lizard. It's a lot like taking care of a dog! Besides, big lizards live longer so you won't have to say good by to your lizard freind for a long time!!!!!! And by the way, sugarbird, Bearded Dragons have nasty bites, and like to show off that they do.

GO FOR THE LEOS THEY R AWSOME! My albino is a little over a foot long

quote:

Originally posted by raneth_speckle:
Don't listen to people who tell you big lizards are a pain!!! If you want a big lizard, get a big lizard. It's a lot like taking care of a dog! Besides, big lizards live longer so you won't have to say good by to your lizard freind for a long time!!!!!! And by the way, sugarbird, Bearded Dragons have nasty bites, and like to show off that they do.

uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh leos rn't big and they live like 20-30 years

Uhh, wanna point out where I said they didn't?

Any lizard can give a pretty nasty bite if they want to. Bearded dragons are alot more mellow than iguanas and you are more likely to be bit by an iguana than a bearded dragon.

Big lizards are not at all like dogs, do your research before making such claims.

A big lizard isn't something you can just get because you want one. You MUST be able to provide for it. You need money, space, patience and a high pain tolerance. They are a pain, take if from the people who have owned them. I came across another iguana owner yesterday who had a huge 6 foot long male. This iguana did NOT like people to wear hats and if guests did not heed the warning they got to take their hats off, they got clubbed with a 4 foot long tail composed of nothing but muscle....Not a pleasant experience. And you cannot train an iguana not to do this like you can train a dog.

I totally agree with sugarbird,

You can not even compare dogs to big lizards. Big lizards like Iguanas are even more hard to take care of then some dogs. All lizards can have nasty bites if they bite you but as sugarbird pointed out about a million times Bearded Dragons are more mellow than Iguanas, that doesn't mean they will not bite but they do not tail whip you and try to kill you if you make them mad in anyway.

And as shadowtheblacklab said Leopard Geckos are probally the easiest lizards to take care of, the only downside to them is that they are nocturnal and so they are mostly sctive at night.

I am sorry but Iguanas are not very good pets!

I have thought of it alot and I think that I am going for the Bearded Dragon beacuase after all this talk and plenty of reasearch I have already bought a cage for it. Thanx to all that helped me in this important decision!

I generally agree an iguana does not make a good pet for most people, BUT, reptiles of any kind require prospective owners do their research because all have very important needs that have to be met: UVA/UVB lighting, heat, humidity, and diet are just a few.

I have a juvinile green ig and he is a lot of work but I love taking care of him and seeing him grow. I also have a Cuban knight anole. He is more difficult because he is aggressive all the time and will only eat live crickets. My blue tongued skink is a lot easier. She may hiss at me and even act like she is going to bite, but it has so far been an act. My veiled chameleon is pretty easy also but chameleons are not known to do well with a lot of handling.

And, as I tell my children: any animal with a mouth can bite.

Oh, and one more thing: most pet stores do not give accurate and/or complete care information when it comes to most reptiles.

I also agree with sugarbird. Iguanas are extremely difficult to care for and grow to very large lengths. They also require considerable space and will cost alot of money in the long run. If you live somewhere like Florida and can provide a very large outdoor, custom enclosure and can pay the monthly food expenses of the lizard, then be my guest, but I would reccomend something much smaller.

I have 2 desert iguana's and they are great. They don't have teeth, are veggie eaters with occasional tofu or scrambled egg for protein, let you handle them, and alittle daily maintains makes them easier. They do need specific heating and lighting needs but not as difficult as most lizards. They are out during the day and get 10-12 inches long in general.I started with one and added a second and they do fine together. I really enjoy them.

I recently told a desert iguana keeper that they are relatively difficult to keep because alot of them are wild caught. THey found out where they bought the desert iguana and said it was captive bred. I was thrilled with the news and was happy to hear they did their homework, but desert iguanas are nowhere near as hard to keep as the common green iguana previously described in this blog. If you are planning on getting any type of iguana, I would recommend a desert iguana, but if you are looking at generally larger lizards, a chuckwalla may be a good choice.

i use to have an igauana that died a few years back and yes he got big but he was a good pet we took him for walks and fed him fruit and vegies. the only problem was when he got hungry if you didnt feed him right a way he would slap the aquarum sides with his tail and hiss a bit