# New pair of iguanas we rescued



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

Was a breeding pair, taken from a bloke who was going to dump them. Critters in Hindley first took them off the breeder and then passed them onto me. The male is ok and can be petted, the female who is possibly gravid is aggressive. She is also missing some spines after the breeding session (poor sod), she also at some point lost her tail which has since grown back but the end is still missing.


----------



## Nat (Jan 26, 2005)

oh wow!! Id love a iggy...but would like one from baby.
Those 2 are increidble....thankgod they have now fallen into some resonsible and caring hands!!


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

I feel so sorry that she has been used like a 'cart horse'. I'm going to look into her getting spayed as i feel its the best option.


----------



## Nat (Jan 26, 2005)

aaaaaaaw yea i defo agree huni...so sad that she has been bred into the ground....ppl shouldnt be allowed to keep reptiles and do that, or any animal for that matter, its so sad, and no way of life for anyone....will u allow her to lay her eggs, or will thy be removed when spayed? I dont really no much bout this sort of thing


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

No sure if the vet can deal with the eggs before spaying, will know tomorrow whan i speak with my vet. But if she lays then i WILL destroy them, then get her spayed.


----------



## Nat (Jan 26, 2005)

aaaaaaw wow, well keep us posted on their progress babe, always nice to hear when reps being treated the way they should xx


----------



## NNY (Feb 2, 2006)

They are lovely D... will they now be staying with you for good?


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

thanks Nat. 
The enclosure now is 7ft wide, 5ft deep and 7ft high. They have a pool to bathe/lil' swim and now can climb, which for the first 4 years of their lives they haven't been able to do.


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

Thanks Tim and yes i think so...don't think they can be separated.


----------



## nicky (Jul 13, 2005)

well done for the rescue D, heres to a better life for them both...


----------



## manda (Mar 18, 2005)

my vet offered to spay my wd while she had eggs in her the simply remove the eggs then spay them at the same time so less hassle
manda xx
p.s they are lovely i want them


----------



## Nat (Jan 26, 2005)

aaaaaaw sounds like they will be having a whale of a time in your set-up now then lucky babies....well done again babe!


----------



## loulou (Jan 18, 2006)

Alot of exotic verts will not spay a female iguana unless she has retained eggs as its such a dodgy op its not worth the risk, we have a spayed female here and she was done for that very reason (egg bound) but with a spayed female there is also the possibility of complecations, they have the ability to produce eggs after they have been spayed if a tiny bit of their reproduction organ was left in by mistake when the op took place, i cannot stress enough a spayed female iguana must have x rays every year after her normal egg laying season just to make sure nothing is there, we do this just out of habit for my whole iguana as well as she laid eggs last year but this year laid none so i wanted her checked out. 

Also with female spayed iguanas it has been discovered that they can (not always) become very male in their characteristcs and behaviour (ours has a very male looking body and head and is very dominant for a female iguana) 

personally i would jut let her lay her eggs naturally get it over with, dispose of the eggs and then get her x rayed to make sure they have all been removed. then next year about this time i would have a routine x ray done ot make sure she has no eggs and is clear. If you want to split them up and you are worried about the male "missing"the female during his mating season then get him a stuffed toy to take out his frustration on alot of people do this and its very successful.

good luck with them they both look lovely 

oh and ps do not worry about the spines one of ours has no spines at all half for about half the length of his body, it doesnt effect them at all just make sure any open wounds are kept clean as i am sure you know already


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

loulou said:


> Alot of exotic verts will not spay a female iguana unless she has retained eggs as its such a dodgy op its not worth the risk, we have a spayed female here and she was done for that very reason (egg bound) but with a spayed female there is also the possibility of complecations, they have the ability to produce eggs after they have been spayed if a tiny bit of their reproduction organ was left in by mistake when the op took place, i cannot stress enough a spayed female iguana must have x rays every year after her normal egg laying season just to make sure nothing is there, we do this just out of habit for my whole iguana as well as she laid eggs last year but this year laid none so i wanted her checked out.
> 
> Also with female spayed iguanas it has been discovered that they can (not always) become very male in their characteristcs and behaviour (ours has a very male looking body and head and is very dominant for a female iguana)
> 
> ...


THANKS FOR THAT. I AM FULLY AWARE OF ALL OF THE COMPLICATIONS OF SPAYING AND THE EFFECTS IT CAN HAVE ON HER...oops sry for caps! LOL It's the complications for her that are my main concern. As for the male missing her, well that wasn't what i was getting at....I was thinking of companionship since they have been together since they was young. This is a little off topic but i have two terrapins that had lived together for years and stopped eating when separated. Therefore i don't want to add more stress to the iggies if they were to be separated as they live in groups in the wild. There is little advice where this is concerned and have asked my vets who wasn't really able to answer. and indeed some keepers of iguanas who i'm in contact with who also say it's a tricky question!
Her spines are not a worry either.what is a worry is the biological effect constant breeding has on her health! Simple as that. i just don't agree with letting iguanas breed for the hell of it and for us to destroy the eggs cos spaying has complications. When in fact ignorance has more complications.

Always good to get others point of veiw when topics like this are tricky.


----------



## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

well done D, i'm glad they've gone to someone who will care for them properly 
Hows your other big fella doing?


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

I'm thinking which one LOL?
If you mean sexy Anubis...well hes doing ok..in the vets on friday for the wires to be removed.


----------



## Jack13 (Nov 30, 2005)

why is it always iggys that get abandoned.....i go to the pet store atleast once a week and they have a new abandoned iggy in there each week....


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

Sods law mate..........iggies and terrapins get the shittiest deals in this hobby! :evil:


----------



## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

Reptilerescueden said:


> TTherefore i don't want to add more stress to the iggies if they were to be separated as they live in groups in the wild.


Wrong, no they don't Igs are very territorial...go read anapsid.org


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

They are territorial however they do live in groups.
"In the wild, iguanas have a very dynamic social hierarchy. Males stake out territories and there is always a dominant male in any group. In a large population there may be several dominant males but they may keep some distance between themselves. Subordinate males will challenge dominant males, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, retreating to the outskirts of the colony group to try again another day, another year."
Quoted from http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/multipleigs.html

So you go read anapsid.org


----------



## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

Reptilerescueden said:


> They are territorial however they do live in groups.
> "In the wild, iguanas have a very dynamic social hierarchy. Males stake out territories and there is always a dominant male in any group. In a large population there may be several dominant males but they may keep some distance between themselves. Subordinate males will challenge dominant males, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, retreating to the outskirts of the colony group to try again another day, another year."
> Quoted from http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/multipleigs.html
> 
> So you go read anapsid.org


I've read anapsid, now you go and find images of the damage one iguana can do to another in a battle for supremacy.........it's not recommneded that you keep them together


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

I know it isn't but at the same time its not recommended if they pine for each other. I am fully aware of the damage caused etc and i'm not prepared to make a mistake at their expense. I have discussed this with my herp vet and many keepers and so far it has been decided that she will be spayed and they will live together with me keeping an eye on them. They have lived together for the past 4 years, it's not like i have just thrown them together. So get off your high horse. I do keep another two iguanas who do live apart from each other and will NOT be sharing with any other iguana, So i do know what i am doing and addressing this current situation with a profession attitude and the main concern is for the iguanas welfare! Any doubts then i have always discussed with my vet at Pennine Vets.


----------



## loulou (Jan 18, 2006)

Reptilerescueden said:


> i just don't agree with letting iguanas breed for the hell of it and for us to destroy the eggs cos spaying has complications. When in fact ignorance has more complications.


I hope that last sentence was not pointed at me was it? :wink: 

and not to drag this up again you are entitled to your opinion i am mine and i would like to just say i would myself rather have a healthy adult iguana produce eggs every year then go through an unneeded huge op, and i was always lead to believe in the wild young hatchling iguanas stick together as a "colony" (i use that word loosely) for protection and once they get to an adult size they go their own way, males will have scraps for the highest best branch in a tree and that will be there territory females will wander in and out of different males territories to find the biggest or best mate for their eggs and to keep their gene pool going.

anapsid is not the only source of information as well it is very very good but there are alot more out there such as AIML with people such as melissa caplin, bob maccarger, sue solomon just to pull some names out of the hat and i along with many others have learnt a hell of alot from them with single and multiple iguana care and anatomy. 

Il just throw this in for the hell of it because i have had a pants day at work and feel like it, _cyclura_ iguanas are one of the few iguana species that will guard their eggs for more that 48 hours they will guard their eggs for a good couple of weeks before they leave the nesting site, and its not fun trying to get the eggs away to incubate LOL

Oh Fixx hasnt got a high horse we have a shetland pony :lol:

Oh and good luck with them i said it before and i will say it again they really are lovely iguanas and i would love to have them here in one of our rep rooms if you ever needed to rehome them for any reason (i am a sucker for iguanas)


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

LOL no wasn't throwing out as indeed as i have said it's great to get many different opinions in this tricky topic. If i need to rehome then i would gladly ask a person such as yourself and Fixx as experience with iguanas is an essencial factor to the iguanas welfare. But i think these will be staying here as we built the iguana room just for them, and she just loves to swim in their pool. 

BTW glad its only a shetland pony! :lol:


----------



## leila (Jul 26, 2006)

Just wanted to say they are soooo beautiful and I am so glad they have a good home!


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

Thank you x


----------



## pixie_bex (Jul 1, 2006)

Aww they are such cuties!!!I will never get over the fasination i have with big lizards! I dont have the room to house one at the mo,Have made a deal with my other half though that when we get our house if we dont have a baby within a year (been bloody trying for 3 already!) then im having an iggy! lol Good Deal? lol 

I wanna see her swimming!!!! lol


----------



## Reptilerescueden (Jan 2, 2006)

Sounds cool but what happens when baby arrives lol?


----------



## pixie_bex (Jul 1, 2006)

lol come on if it hasnt happened by then, then i doubt it will ever happen!! 

I WANNA IGGY!!!!

lol


----------

