Iguana handling

How to handle iguanas

Handling an iguana

To enjoy your iguana most, you need to work with it, taming and socializing so that it can be enjoyed and handled with ease. Naturally, an iguana is not a domesticated creature.

This type of creature has instincts from the wild relating to survival. Therefore, when working with your iguana, you will need to be patient and realize it takes time to tame your pet.

Additionally, to help your iguana feel, comfortable and confident in you, and to help reduce injury to yourself, it is imperative that you learn how to handle an iguana the correct way.

By handling your pet each day, even if only for a few minutes, you will slowly build the relationship. With proper handling, your iguana will not be fearful but become trusting of you.

Picking up iguanas

It is important that you learn to pick your iguana up properly. First, it will ensure your wonderful pet is not harmed and it will help build a lasting, loving bond between the two of you. You should also create a proper habitat for it, so that you have enough space for handling the iguana.

Baby iguanas

For the baby iguana, you will notice it is squirmier than that of a mature iguana. For this reason, you need to take extra care to ensure it does not wiggle out of your hand, only to fall and become injured.

When you bring your baby iguana home, you want to start handling it daily right away. Eventually, the iguana will start to settle down, staying in your hand without jumping or wiggling.

The best thing is to go off to a room such as a bathroom where the door can be shut and a towel placed at the bottom so your new pet does not getaway. Additionally, check for edible things in the trashcan that would need to be removed. Finally, make sure the toilet lid is down!

The most important thing when working with a baby iguana is not to grab at it but gently pick it up, stroking it and talking softly. Always approach your new pet slowly and calmly, especially males. You can pet its head and back as you slip one of your hands under its front feet, carefully scooping the rest of the body up in the palm of your hand while cupping it with the other hand for protection.

When you hold your pet iguana, you need to make sure its body is supported, holding it close to your body so that if it jumps, it will fall into you and not on the floor. Once you have picked your iguana up, sit down in your iguana-proofed room and let it investigate your lap. By doing this every day, you will soon start to see a difference in how your iguana reacts to you touching and holding it.

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