SEXING YOUR IGUANA

First thing first, it is very important to know the difference and know what sex you have in order to care for your iguana properly. When it comes to breeding season they both require different care that you need to Br prepared for especially if you have a female.

Here are a few photos on my iguana to help sex a young iguana. Iguanas cannot be sexes when they are hatchlings, they need to be about a year to 18 months to begin being able to tell (unless they are DNA tested)

Look at the following picture first and try to guess what one is male and female before you scroll down. The following pictures shows the difference and what to look for.

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This photo shows Molly on the top and Pip on the bottom.

There are a couple things you can look for, one is the hemipenis bulge at the base of the tail. There will be a bulge on either side.

Secondly you can look for the femoral pores along the underside of the upper leg. Males have larger pores that travel from their vent to the knee while females pores may be large but most of the time they are smaller , there will only be a small number of them in a line close to the vent, about 3-6 pores.

 

The pores are very visible on a male during breeding season as they will get waxy plugs growing out of them, the male will then drag his back end as he walks rubbing some of the waxy substance off on the surface to spread around his territory. These lines are invisible for us to see however other iguanas (males or females) can see this clearly.

 

Due to these invisible lines having two males even in separate enclosures close to each other can stress them out because they will both be leaving markings while out in the same area.

 

 

So what's the big deal if you get a male or female? Or does it really matter?

Well it comes down to dealing with a gravid female and possible dystocia (egg binding), its very common to have happen to female iguana in captivity and unfortunately many igs die from this each year.

 

I have seen so many causes where an iguana has laid eggs and the owners are so shocked because they thought their ig was a male the whole time. Females in that situation often have low calcium levels since they weren't substituted enough extra during that time and this can result in MBD or they many not be strong enough to actually lay they eggs which leads into dystocia and since the owners have no idea she is gravid she gets no help and will pass away.

 

PLEASE SEX YOUR IGUANA AS SOON AS YOU CAN. If you want specifically a male or female please adopt a juvenile iguana that's old enough to be sexes properly so you can be 100% . If you are going to buy an iguana or adopt one always sex it yourself or have someone you know sex it, don't always trust what the ad says, I have seen many that are wrong and mislead new owners.

 

 

I am always available to help sex an iguana if you would like help, you can reach me on my instagram page the fasted or on Ontario Iguanas Facebook page. If you would like help please send me a photo similar to the one I have posted above.

 

 

Robin.



 

 

 

MAKING TIME

Many people who own iguana often own other reptiles, amphibians or arachnids. Its very important to make time for all your pets, give them the attention they need and let them explore and do things they want to do outside their enclosure.

You cannot bond between your ig and you without spending quality time together. My boyfriend and I in total own 5 iguanas, 2 bearded dragons, 1 savannah monitor, 3 cats and 1 dog. I make it my priority to spend time with all my babies (bearded dragons aren't mine so Sebastian gives them most of their attention). With saying that, I don't mean sitting with them for 5 minutes I mean spend some quality time with your iguana, get to know them better, allow them to bond with you and you can then bond with them.

I am at fault some days I get to busy and I just don't have time and that happens, life gets on the way, but I always go back tomorrow and make sure that time is spent with them. With the amount of animals I have some days I spend all my time in the reptile room, that's why I put my craft table in there, so now I can sit and still get work done but be spending time with my iguanas as well and allow them to get out and run free.

I know I'm most of the people who will take the tome to read this already know this info and the people who don't read it are the ones that should.... oh how the world works.

Well that's my mini message for tonight :) hopefully have time tomorrow to work on one of my videos for my YouTube channel.

Have a great night
Robin

THIS WEEKS NUTRITIONAL NEEDS

This post will show the process I go though every week to prepare the salads I need for the week for all 5 of my iguana :)

I purchased 6 bundles of collard greens, 5 bundles of escarole, one large acorn squash and a bag of parsnip.

This is just the collard... what a bunch of greens.

 

 

 

I start by first cutting up al the greens, starting with the collard greens. Now because I have different age gasps with my iguanas I always cut the largest part of the stem out of the leave to avoid having a choking hazard.

 

Then I continue to cut up the escarole greens.

Next I have the scorn squash and parsnip, I forgot to take a picture of it but I first take the squash and remove each end then chop the skin off of it. Then after its peeled I cut away all the big pieces they can eat and leave being the center eggs.



 

Continuing on to the parsnip, I take off the ends and slice it into strips then chop into fine bite size pieces that my smallest if will be able to eat.

 

I finish up by putting the food onto their dishes and dish up the salad they will eat today. Phoenix, Billy and Sassy all have their own dishes for each day, Molly and Pip have giant containers that dish up each morning into their enclosure dishes. As well as it gives me leftover to use for my his when they are extra hungry :)

 

I gave them a treat as well, the salads they had today had raspberries, least to say is they ate them fast!!!

 

 

This is what I get to do once a week :) makes my life so much easier with the prepaid salads :)

 

 

 

ROBIN

TRAINING YOUR IGUANA TO BE A LOVING COMPANION

        

Getting to work with your iguana and watching him or her grow up and mature into an adult is very rewarding and an amazing experience. Just like people and other animals all iguanas are different and have their own personality. Some may respond fast to training and others who may be a rescue may have a longer time to rehabilitate before they become "puppydog tame" as some people put it. Some iguanas may just always be nasty or not like to be handled, that's just who they are.

Take my lovely Phoenix for example, I have had her almost a year now and to this day when I walk by her enclosure she bobs her head at me and may also lunge, once I get her out and start working with her I can get her calm in about 10 minutes vs the 30-45min it took me before. Its all about patience and respect.

When you purchase a baby green iguana you never can tell what its temperament is going to be like as it ages, and it will change many times for many different reasons. You may have a well behaved 3 year old iguana one day and the next she bites you for what you think is "no reason at all". Well there is most likely a reason you just may not recognize because last week you did the same thing and she didn't care but not she doesn't like it. That is exactly the reason why you need to be aware of what your iguana is telling you every time you approach it. Watch how they are sitting, how they move, where their eyes are focused and body (including tail) posture.


Once you pick up on the signals your iguana is giving you and understand what they mean and how to address them individually your training process will be a lot easier for you and a lot less stressful on your iguana.

There are many different holds that I have found to work when dealing with flighty or aggressive iguanas which allow your iguana to still feel safe as well as keeping all of your fingers out of harms way. I will try to get a YouTube video of these holds posted within the week ( please be patient as lately I have been so busy). You can see me using one hold on Phoenix in the picture above but its a poor shot to show my exact hand position.

I will also be working on a video  of how I am currently working with Phoenix, as she wasn't responding to my other method that well (some iguana respond to different types of training, depending on their personality so you may have to work with a couple methods until you find what works). You can see my training video on my YouTube page by clicking here >>> Phoenix's old training method <<<

So look for those videos in the next couple weeks to come out!
If anyone has any questions or concerns you can easily reach me on my Facebook page or on instagram at @robinsmall or #Ontarioiguanas


Thanks
Robin.

MALE AND MALE IGUANA COMBINATION IS NEVER GOOD

 

This is not my iguana, I'm sharing this story on behalf of the owner who recently rescued this guy and is giving him the care he needs. This goes along with my previous post about owning multiple iguana. This male was housed with another male and when the fought the owner at the time wouldn't split it up. You can see the actual jaw marks on this poor boys sides. 

Like I said on my Facebook page these bite marks and gashes could have happened from a female also, iguanas can be extremely aggressive and cause a lot of harm.

So please of you have multiple iguanas as companion pets please house them separately and if they like each other let them roam out of the enclosure together under a watchful eye. Even if the previous owner had of split it up there still would have been sever damage to this guy.

Always watch your iguana(s) body language.

Robin

IMPORTANTCE OF PROPER CLIMBING MATERIALS

Iguanas are built to be in the trees and to be agile and strong. Providing your companion with the good quality climbing is important to their health (which is why tanks are not a good fit for iguanas but I'll get into that another time).

Its nice to have big shelves and flat ramps for your iguana to easily climb up and down on but it doesn't give the iguana the natural exercise they need to keep them as strong and healthy as they could be. Providing your iguana with natural limbs, multiple shelves and different ways to get the same place will allow your ig to climb naturally and keep their legs as well as the rest of their body strong. This is extremely important when it comes to breeding age females. Females who don't have the chance to climb and build strength aren't as strong as those who do. This means when they become gravid they need to be strong enough to last through and actually lay they eggs when the time comes. Dystocia (Egg binding) is a huge reason many females die in captivity each year.


So give your iguana some good climbing materials and if you can't inside the enclosure build something they can explore on when they are out. Its very important that your iguana use the muscles they have for what they were intended for to be healthy and strong.


Robin

OWNING MULTIPLE IGUANAS

When you own more than one iguana it can become an issue or it can go smoothly you never really know until they meet, even then it can change when the seasons do. The most important thing is to never house multiple iguanas together.
When iguanas as hatchlings they naturally like to stick together, this is for their love for each other this is because there is safety in numbers. So people buy two babies and house them together and thing they love each other.
Everything could go fine for a couple months, but as they grow small changes become apparent. One isn't growing as fast, isn't eating as much or isn't betting good basking spots. This is because they start to become more territorial, they want their own space, so the bigger and stronger one takes over the cage and controls the food and basking spots. This causes a lot of stress not only on the smaller one but also on the other one. When iguanas have high stress levels it causes their body to release more adrenaline, this causes the body to slow its growth rate.
Also with babies you could come home to one or both with injuries from a fight breaking out. Its safer and healthier to keep your iguanas in separate enclosures.

Adults can have larger issues and bigger more sever injuries as they are stronger and more powerful. Adults require a lot of space for themselves and some are very strict about maintaining that territory clear. Housing two males together is a complete no no, even if they get a long outside the enclosure (mutual territory) doesn't mean you house them together. Come breeding season you will have very aggressive fights break out and they can be fatal. Two females can be similar but normally not as aggressive. A male and a female is better however when breeding season comes the males will want to constantly breed and the female will tolerate it for a bit but then will fight back and become aggressive which can cause serious injuries.


I get it a lot where people say "they have been together since they were babies and never had a fight"
You may not notice small things that happen or that one isn't getting enough heat or food. Or they could be getting along fine but they change as they age. It only takes one of them to do something the other one doesn't like to start a fight and personally I do not recommend taking that risk as juvenile and adult iguana fights can be very sever or fata. Its not worth risking the life of your iguana, just get a second enclosure and let them roam around together.

For the safety and wellbeing of your iguanas PLEASE HOUSE THEM SEPERATLY they can spend supervised time together outside the enclosure but not in an enclosure. Some pairings may be fine to spend time together like my Molly and Billy. They love being together but I will never leave them unattended for long periods. So allow your iguanas to interact (if they like each other) but give them separate enclosures. Once you become familiar with their unique body language you can read them better and understand their moods and what they are thinking and planning on doing.

Hope this helps clear up some confusion when it comes to owning multiple iguanas.


Robin

this is a photo of Billy and Lola (an iguana I rescued worked with and rehomed back in 2012. They were housed together for the time being and got a long fine but would have small disputes about the favourite spots. I wouldn't have ever housed them together but she was a rescue and I didn't have another enclosure and it was for s short period of time. I had to remove Billy from the enclosure during breeding season as he became to much for her. This is a perfect example for knowing what signs to look for and when its time to remove one.